Qualcomm’s 5G XR Viewers will stop the wave of mediocre AR headsets

Companies have used the term “extended reality” (XR) to describe both virtual reality and augmented reality hardware, but consumers think of VR and AR as completely different things. For a variety of reasons, the former is popular, and the latter is not. Analysts predict the VR/AR balance will remain heavily in VR’s favor for years but will eventually tilt toward AR.

Today, Qualcomm announced the first step in changing that balance: 5G-powered “XR Viewers” — in other words, AR glasses that could actually go mainstream. I would normally characterize this announcement as long overdue, except that the underpinning technologies weren’t ready earlier. Now these pieces have come together, and within a few years I suspect we’re going to be laughing at the clumsiness of early AR headsets.