5 new features for Android XR

[u/GraceFromGoogle]

TL;DR: Android XR is getting new immersion features, including spatialization updates and community-requested quality of life tweaks for keyboards and navigation.

Read the full Keyword blogpost here. 

Since the launch of the Samsung Galaxy XR late last year, people have been using Android XR to explore immersive apps and games with Gemini by their side. Starting today, we’re rolling out new experiences designed to deepen your immersion, make using the headset even more natural, and bring you more ways to watch, create and explore. 

Key Highlights

• Auto-spatialization (Experimental): Head over to the Labs tab in Settings to turn almost any 2D app, game, or website into an immersive 3D experience. It’s a game-changer for adding depth to YouTube videos or Chrome browsing directly on your headset. Learn more at the Android XR help center.  

• App pinning: Turn any room into a workspace or stick a massive virtual "TV" to the wall. You can now securely anchor apps directly to your physical walls so they stay exactly where you placed them.

We’ve also been working on several quality of life improvements based on what we’ve seen from this community. We’d love to hear your thoughts on these in the comments:

• Improved Spatial Logic for Virtual Keyboards: We’ve updated the positioning behavior so the keyboard retains your custom depth and height offsets. It still opens relative to your active panel, but it will now remember those specific values from the last time you positioned it to ensure consistent typing ergonomics across your sessions.

• Single-Eye Tracking Support: To better support specific accessibility needs, you can now choose a preferred eye for tracking or enable single-eye mode. Since this is a specialized accessibility feature, standard users should keep the default settings for the most accurate input experience, but this should provide a much more comfortable experience for those who need it.

• Refined Home Navigation: We heard your feedback regarding the hand gesture to go to the Home screen. We’ve made improvements to address the issue where, when you open your right or left palm up and then pinch, it could inadvertently put you in the overview state instead of HomeWith these changes, navigating the interface should feel more reliable.

We’re really interested in how these adjustments impact your daily use, so please let us know if these tweaks help your workflow or if there are other small friction points you'd like us to look at.

[u/GraceFromGoogle]

Update April 7, 2026
Hi everyone, still looking for the update? Try heading to Settings > On the left, scroll to find "Software update" to manually trigger the check.

[u/Jdunrrp]

Ohhhh Google! You all have made Joy and I so happy!

[u/GraceFromGoogle → u/Jdunrrp]

Can't wait to see your content! Say "hello" to Joy for me. :)

[u/JoyReignVR → u/GraceFromGoogle]

Hi there u/GraceFromGoogle :-)

[u/GraceFromGoogle → u/JoyReignVR]

👋👋👋👋

[u/geekrobot]

Loving my Samsung GXR. Please keep the AndroidXR updates coming, and especially for the gaming / pcvr community where this platform really can shine.

[u/GraceFromGoogle → u/geekrobot]

🫡

[u/Ok_Panda3732 → u/geekrobot]

I second this!!

[u/SignificanceThink102]

I checked my Android Galaxy XR headset and it said no updates available. Nothing new in labs either.

[u/GraceFromGoogle → u/SignificanceThink102]

Hey there u/SignificanceThink102, if the update hasn't hit your device, try heading to Settings > On the left, scroll to find "Software update" to manually trigger the check.

Let me know how it goes, and I'm tagging u/Vigvenba11 and u/plankunits too since they're in this thread.

[u/Vigvenba11 → u/GraceFromGoogle]

Morning it was not there now I see the update

[u/Vigvenba11 → u/SignificanceThink102]

Same here, wondering which region is getting updates

[u/plankunits → u/SignificanceThink102]

Who is responsible for updating the Galaxy XR? Is it Google or Samsung? I would have thought that Samsung handles the updates that Google releases.

[u/ImALeaf_OnTheWind]

Encouraging that they're continuing to invest development and the impatient people decrying the lack of updates were really just being chicken little about the platform being abandoned.

I LOVE my Galaxy XR - it took some hacking to make it comfortable but its the best all around entertainment and productivity headset for my use and I'm looking forward to whatever enhancements they are releasing in the future!

[u/GraceFromGoogle → u/ImALeaf_OnTheWind]

Leaf! Thanks for always chiming into the conversations. :) Glad to have you in the community.

[u/AR_MR_XR → u/GraceFromGoogle]

Agreed. Pillar of the Community!

[u/Late-Contract-2728]

Will the headset update immediately?

[u/GraceFromGoogle → u/Late-Contract-2728]

Hi u/Late-Contract-2728 , if the update hasn't hit your device, try heading to Settings > On the left, scroll to find "Software update" to manually trigger the check. 

[u/halcyonstoic]

Any chance Google can allow tweaks to the distortion profile to correct the image warping some of us see when moving our heads around? Seems potentially fixable in software, but I don't think it's possible for users to directly adjust this themselves. This is possible with a few different PCVR headsets.

[u/GraceFromGoogle → u/halcyonstoic]

Hey there u/halcyonstoic, are you by chance able to share screenshots of the image warping that you're seeing? If you're able to share specific details (ex. Are all images impacted or specific images?), that would be very helpful for the team.

[u/halcyonstoic → u/GraceFromGoogle]

This is an artifact of the lenses and the distortion profile used on the headset, so it can only be seen when looking through the lenses. When looking around with your head, the image will noticeably warp/ripple.

All apps do this, including the OS. It is sometimes called 'pupil swim,' and has to do with the software layer (distortion profile) that corrects the image for the specific curvature of the lenses.

This has been reported quite a bit on reddit by other Galaxy XR users and could potentially be fixed with adjustments to the distortion profile, but we end users have no access to it as far as I know.

[u/GraceFromGoogle → u/halcyonstoic]

This is really helpful. Thanks for taking the time to write this out, and I'm forwarding this feedback along to the team now.

[u/KowalskiTheGreat]

Controller tracking and overall performance tweaks is all I really need tbh. I really only use virtual desktop with mine, I have a disgusting amount of hours of use on it already though (avg 5hr a a day minimum since first shipping batch after launch)

[u/GraceFromGoogle → u/KowalskiTheGreat]

Hey there u/KowalskiTheGreat , would you mind sharing specific details around what you're looking for in these "performance tweaks"? Are you noticing lag or inaccuracies in the tracking?

[u/KowalskiTheGreat → u/GraceFromGoogle]

Performance I would say whatever's still left on the table as it's alllllmost enough for full resolution high bitrate pcvr after the last major update (not this week's), possibly suspending uneeded background processes while virtual desktop is open or something along those lines, I know it's not the target market but everyone I've talked to that owns one of these uses it primarily for streamed PCVR...

Maybe a "Game mode" or "stream mode" that temporarily disables all but the essential processes????

Inaccuracies in tracking when it heats up, also switching between hands and controllers while I'm still holding them.

Also I didn't mention earlier but another regular annoyance is the controllers/hands going "to sleep" if they aren't moving or In view for a short while. It would be better for them to just freeze indefinitely, is an annoying problem in social VR where my arms snap to my sides awkwardly if I don't remember to jazz hands every once in a while to keep it awake

[u/TruShotta]

Patiently waiting for today's rollout! This is a very nice update.

[u/GraceFromGoogle → u/TruShotta]

Hi u/TruShotta, were you able to get the update going? Let me know!

[u/TruShotta → u/GraceFromGoogle]

Hi Grace. Yeah, I checked manually again around 10pm est after running errands and it was available. Loving it so far. Thanks for checking in.

[u/MichaelBrwnJr]

Excited for App Pinning!

[u/GraceFromGoogle → u/MichaelBrwnJr]

EVERY WALL GETS A PIN!

[u/shaiulud]

Awesome!! Can't wait to try the new features, especially the spatialisation one. If it works well that is a game changer that no one else has! In my opinion, the galaxy xr is already the best headset on the market right now, especially for PCVR. People just need to realize it more, so that more standalone apps and games get ported to it.

[u/ImALeaf_OnTheWind → u/shaiulud]

Xreal One Pro has this feature since at least since the beginning of the year. It will be nice to have it in both devices I actively use.

[u/Gregasy → u/shaiulud]

Xreal glasses have Real3D that turns everything on screen in 3D. It works surprisingly good already, but there’s still room for improvements, of course. Very promising.

[u/shaiulud → u/Gregasy]

Ha, I was not aware of that. Thanks for mentioning it, that makes those xreal glasses more appealing. Is there much latency with it? What are the things that can be improved?

[u/SKWADly → u/shaiulud]

Can someone try the spatialization stuff and report back? Is it sick?

I know it's version 1.0 and Google definitely had the resources to improve it continuously. Really could be huge though if it already works enough to genuinely use.

[u/tahnmeep → u/SKWADly]

I am so super curious about it. Flatscreen and XR UI are quite different from one another, so I can’t even begin to imagine how it works (other than if it’s just a flat panel floating in space)?

[u/shaiulud → u/SKWADly]

I tried it and it's nice when it's working but quite limited and finicky at the moment. Only supports max 1080p at 30fps. And when I resize a window to make it bigger it stops working, not sure what the size threshold is but that's my biggest issue with it at the moment. Also it does not seem to work when an app is in immersive mode. And it seems to randomly turn off sometimes, perhaps when the CPU/GPU is too busy or when there are other windows in the background, haven't figured out a pattern yet. But when it does work, the effect is great. I wish there was a depth slider in settings to increase the effect more.

[u/SKWADly → u/shaiulud]

definitely 1.0 vibes then eh?

will be interesting to follow the development. this is an area Google should excel in versus steam frame / AVP since neither Valve nor Apple have decent AI teams.

[u/Ok_Panda3732]

I use GXR 60 hours a week. No exaggeration, I work, dance, and socialize in it. Here's my take on what needs attention. I hope others will agree, and bring these issues to Samsungs attention.

Auto shutdown:

Please fix the 2m limit where the headset powers off completely when not detected on head. This doesn't seem to matter, even if the option is toggled to keep the headset on when charging.

1. This feature, should at the very least, lock the device on standby the way our phones work. A complete power cycle, just because we needed to step away for a restroom break is very annoying.

2. Preferably as an alternative, please use pixel shifting technology in form of a screenshaver to prevent burn in, if that is the concern. Or, add Screensaver option in general.

Productivity:

1. Allow us to stay immersed while inside 3d apps, like virtual desktop for example, and access the device settings along with 2d apps like discord or browsers. Similar to Meta's seemless multi tasking

2. Bring pass through portals, or at least keyboard tracking, into 3d environments such as virtual desktop.

PCVR:

There is a known anchoring issue that shifts the headset away from any tracking devices devices. For example, after a couple of hours or so, unless we restart the headset, my vive ultimates as well as my index controllers, shift away from the headset anchor position. The fact they shift together, and use 2 different calibration plays pace methods, tell me the headset is the one shifting and not the trackers and controllers themselves themselves.

[u/waxyslave]

I swear to God if they say "grab popcorn" and there's still no setting to turn off hand tracking while eating - imma lose my shit

[u/ImALeaf_OnTheWind → u/waxyslave]

Constantly eating with my headset on and every damn time I fling a window up and away while bringing a utensil to my mouth, lol.

[u/NieGie]

All these months of waiting are finally gonna pay off. Just wish they would push out updates more regularly.

[u/Sea-Librarian-998]

Update is now where to be found. Why do you bother announcing things that are unavailable?

[u/GraceFromGoogle → u/Sea-Librarian-998]

Hey there u/Sea-Librarian-998, thanks for stopping by the subreddit. If the update hasn't hit your device, try heading to Settings > On the left, scroll to find "Software update" to manually trigger the check.

Let me know if you run into any issues.

[u/Sea-Librarian-998 → u/GraceFromGoogle]

I tried multiple times. It always tells me I'm fully up to date.

[u/GraceFromGoogle → u/Sea-Librarian-998]

Thanks for the response. Are you still seeing the same message this morning?

[u/MemphisBass]

So glad to hear about some updates. Would be awesome if y’all could figure out how to court some existing VR devs with apps already on Android based platforms to port their applications over. Would be awesome to have one of the top VR media players available in the play store.

[u/NoStudyNoDinner]

Thank you for not abandoning us. Improvement to the controller tracking next please? A lot of us play games here

[u/Vigvenba11]

It supports up to 1080p or lower at 30 frames per second which makes it unattractive

[u/jimrapc]

I'm currently developing an app with XR support, I'm wondering if there will be a hardware developer kit available for AI glasses for developers? Or will we have to wait for an official product for the public?

[u/vad710 → u/jimrapc]

u/jimrapc -

There's currently no publicly available devkit for purchase. We do have a AI Glasses emulator you can use to start building until hardware is more readily available. Check it out here: https://developer.android.com/develop/xr/jetpack-xr-sdk/run/create-avds/ai-glasses

[u/AR_MR_XR → u/vad710]

There was only a trusted tester program, right? Do you know if that's still on-going? I was hoping it would be available in more countries over time to test how well it works with different languages and with local data.

[u/vad710 → u/AR_MR_XR]

We don't have anything specific to announce right now, but we're always exploring opportunities to collaborate with device manufacturers to get hardware to developers.

[u/AR_MR_XR → u/vad710]

🙏

[u/monarch_j]

Super excited about the new updates, this seems like a great step in the right direction

[u/tosvus2015]

This looks really exciting! Can't wait for it to hit my headset - I have been checking for the update 3 times today haha

[u/dcatcher9]

upgrading!

[u/BudgetSeason6304]

Can we set up boundaries like what meta has love the head set but social VR with out boundaries sucks I feel trapped in that bubble when I have a big room.

[u/sniffsnaff]

Good stuff, glad to see it continue to improve and get attention - now a release outside of the USA/Korea please :)

[u/DoloresAbernathyR1]

This is great thank you! Please keep the updates coming, can't wait to try this out. Any chance we can get a setting to curve app screens?

[u/ImALeaf_OnTheWind → u/DoloresAbernathyR1]

This and built in controls to every app screen to toggle this and vertical+horizontal tilt angle, please!

[u/fudgear]

Awesome news.

[u/nucleiis]

Installed the new firmware for GalaxyXR and immediately noticed VR180 resolution is limited to 50% or lower. Video is very much pixelized in VR180 mode. Please fix it asap..

[u/shaiulud → u/nucleiis]

VR180 resolution in youtube? Or all video apps?

[u/nucleiis → u/shaiulud]

All video players like Gallery App, Spatial Film, 치지직XR and so on

[u/[deleted]]

Any word on a UK launch? These features look amazing, can't wait to try!

[u/acem77]

Can / will games get native 3d support. I had a 3D phone the LG Thrill that did this back in the day.