AugmaLesson 01 · What XR is
Four words, one idea: computing in the space around you.
AR, VR, MR, XR, spatial computing. The labels change with every product launch, but the idea underneath is simple. This lesson sorts the words, walks through the devices on sale today and shows how many people actually own them, because who has the device decides what you can build for them.
The words
From a layer on your view to a world that replaces it.
Think of one line. At one end the real world stays and a little digital is added; at the other the real world is gone. Most business projects sit near the start of that line.
Your real view stays; graphics are laid over it, usually through a phone camera. A sofa in your living room, a filter on your face.
Digital objects understand the room: they sit on your table, hide behind your sofa and respond to your hands.
A headset replaces what you see completely. Good for practice, rehearsal and places you can't easily go.
XR is the umbrella for all three. 'Spatial computing' is the newer name for apps that live in the space around you rather than on a flat screen.
The devices
Seven kinds of screen, and one of them is already in your pocket.
We describe device types rather than brands, because the lineup changes every year. Where a figure belongs to one maker's product, the source names it.
- Phone and browserPhone AR and WebARThe biggest XR screen is the one already in everyone's pocket. AR runs in an app, a social camera, or straight from a link in the browser.AR Lenses on one social camera alone are used 8 billion times a day.Snap Inc., 2025 ↗
- GlassesAI and camera glassesEveryday frames with a camera, speakers and an assistant; a few now add a small display. They are where the growth is.Audio and camera glasses were 70.3% of all XR units shipped in Q2 2026.IDC, Sep 2026 ↗
- HeadsetStandalone VR/MR headsetsSelf-contained headsets with passthrough cameras, so they do both VR and mixed reality. The workhorse for training and events.The best-selling line shipped 5.6 million units in 2024.The Register, Jan 2026 ↗
- Premium headsetSpatial computersHigh-resolution headsets built around apps in space, priced for professionals. Strong for design review and showrooms, small in numbers.One premium headset shipped 45,000 units in 2025, against 390,000 in 2024.The Register, Jan 2026 ↗
- New platformAndroid XR headsetsA third headset platform arrived in late 2025, bringing phone-style app stores and assistants to MR headsets from more makers.The first Android XR headset went on sale in the US and Korea at $1,799.99.9to5Google, Oct 2025 ↗
- AR glassesSee-through AR glassesGlasses that draw graphics into your real view. Developer kits today, with consumer versions announced.AR and ER glasses shipped 505,000 units worldwide in Q2 2026.TechNode citing IDC, Sep 2026 ↗
- The webWebXR in the browserA web standard for opening VR and AR from a link, no install. Still marked experimental and not yet supported everywhere; it needs HTTPS.MDN Web Docs ↗
How many people own them
Glasses are growing. Headsets are a smaller, steadier base.
- 70.3%of XR units shipped in Q2 2026 were audio and camera glasses, up from 61.9% a year earlierIDC, Sep 2026 ↗
- 15.4%were VR and MR headsets; display glasses were 14.3%IDC, Sep 2026 ↗
The bars share one scale, so the gap is the point: phone AR reaches hundreds of millions, headsets reach millions. Shipments count devices sold in a period, not devices in use.
Side by side
What each screen is good at.
Start with who has the device, then decide what to build.
Next, the companies behind these devices and tools, and where the market is moving.