I didn’t suppose I’d geek out over glasses and footwear, however right here we’re—AWE USA 2025 modified that. Now I’m rethinking what “on a regular basis tech” even means.
Augmented World Expo USA 2025 (AWE) brings collectively over 250 exhibitors, all displaying off the latest tech in spatial computing. It calls itself the highest XR occasion round—and yeah, that feels correct. You get to discover next-gen instruments and take a look at gear that pushes digital interplay ahead. Digital actuality isn’t just a few sci-fi dream anymore. Folks now create full-blown digital worlds with beautiful element. Lots of options that after wanted AR might now work in VR as a substitute.
Certain, I get the enchantment of strolling by a mall or driving a coaster at a theme park. That have nonetheless hits completely different. But when I simply wish to decide up a microwave, I don’t care about fancy music or cool shows. I simply need pace and ease. With the tech rolling out at AWE, it seems like that sort of buying might occur inside a headset quickly. So possibly, what felt like a far-off future isn’t thus far anymore.
1. AR glasses: Snap Specs
AR glasses may not look like an enormous deal but, however I can see them getting there. If Meta opened up entry to the Orion glasses for normal customers as a substitute of holding them unique to builders, I’d be first in line. That’s the place Snap modifications the sport.
Snap CEO Evan Spiegel made a daring declare at AWE 2025: “We’ve spent 11 years and invested greater than $3 billion in constructing augmented actuality glasses.” That stage of effort exhibits actual dedication.
Snap has aimed greater for a very long time. Whereas Snapchat introduced a brand new approach of connecting by brief messages, the corporate at all times imagined one thing past the display screen. “The tiny smartphone restricted our creativeness. It compelled us to look down at a display screen, as a substitute of up on the world,” Snap mentioned in a press launch.
Now, Snap is getting ready to launch its fifth technology of Spectacles, at the moment slated for a 2026 launch. Builders are already engaged on new options, increasing what these glasses can do. The corporate calls them Specs, and they’re going to mix an ultrapowerful wearable pc with a light-weight design and see-through lenses.
Snap can also be updating Snap OS with instruments from OpenAI and Gemini. Gemini handles photos effectively. OpenAI brings highly effective reasoning. It helps to have each.
2. Freeaim VR Footwear
Go searching, telephones, TVs, and video games value greater than ever. However why does VR hit the pockets so onerous? An enormous a part of it comes from how new the expertise nonetheless is.
Growing movement techniques, constructing customized {hardware}, and refining the expertise all take time and sources. That’s the place Freeaim steps in. Their newest VR footwear problem the development by providing a extra budget-friendly possibility with out chopping corners. They’ve managed to mix stable engineering with actual consolation, bringing easy VR motion nearer to extra individuals.
The Freeaim VR Footwear mark a significant step ahead. They really feel mild, match effectively, and keep powerful with out shedding the wow issue of digital worlds. I’m impressed that they now connect with a PC in 2 other ways. Earlier than, they solely used Bluetooth. Now, they’ve added Wi-Fi. That provides the Freeaim VR Footwear extra flexibility indoors and out. For avid gamers, this implies smoother motion by digital areas.
The footwear work with SteamVR, all its titles, and a few Quest video games. You may decide them up for about $1,000. For companies, it’ll value extra—however Freeaim is clearly aiming large.
“Over the approaching years Freeaim’s VR Footwear will assist take VR to the following stage by introducing easy-to-use, pure and limitless motion,” mentioned Ashley Foxcroft, founder and CEO of Freeaim.
3. Android-based spatial pc: Play for Dream MR
Play for Dream rolled out 3 standout options at AWE after displaying off the MR headset at CES. They’re branching out with combined actuality for arcades, eye-tracking instruments for healthcare, and seamless SteamVR assist for avid gamers.
Apple could also be making headlines with the Imaginative and prescient Professional, nevertheless it isn’t the one participant in spatial computing. Play for Dream is stepping up with an Android-powered headset that features an 8K Micro-OLED show, 14ms VST latency, and each hand and eye monitoring. The Play for Dream MR is shaping as much as be a severe competitor.
For avid gamers, the headset helps SteamVR titles like Half-Life: Alyx. Wi-Fi 7 and Digital Desktop enhancements assist ship sharp visuals and easy gameplay, all without having to plug right into a PC.
What stands out is the pricing. Whereas the Imaginative and prescient Professional begins at $3,499, Play for Dream’s 512 GB mannequin lands at $1,999. Even so, Meta Quest 3 begins a lot decrease at $499.99.
Weight stays a problem. At 1.43 kilos, the MR headset feels simply as cumbersome because the Imaginative and prescient Professional. Help bands can assist, however the stress doesn’t vanish.
4. VR gloves: UDEXREAL UDCAP
UDEXREAL makes a number of the lightest and thinnest VR gloves on the market. They give attention to elastic sensors and sensible gear that assist seize motion with pinpoint accuracy. Whether or not you’re into robotics, health, or simulation, their tech covers all of it.
UDEXREAL’s signature glove, the UDCAP, weighs simply 1.6 ounces. You may bend, stretch, and transfer with ease, all whereas your fingers get tracked in fantastic element. It makes you’re feeling like your palms are proper there contained in the digital world. Assume concert events, poker nights, or anything that requires full immersion.
Outdated-school industrial gloves don’t reduce it. They’re large, stiff, and put on out too quick. Plus, they value lots and wish particular setups. UDEXREAL’s glove breaks by all that. It sells for $699 on the official web site, however early birds can seize one for $539 to $599 till July 31.
The UDCon controller equipment seems like a sensible combo. It blends joystick management with hand gestures, which might open up extra pure motion in VR. In video games like Rogue Ascent VR, that setup might maintain arms and shoulders in fixed movement.
5. VTouch WIZPR RING
Over the previous few weeks, I’ve needed to hop on buses and trains as a substitute of driving my bike. It’s wild how many individuals really feel okay watching movies or listening to music out loud. Some even speak to ChatGPT utilizing audio, and truthfully, not everybody wants to listen to your inquiries to an AI. Good factor VTouch got here up with one thing cool.
The WIZPR RING helps you to whisper instructions quietly to AI helpers like ChatGPT, Gemini, or Alexa. It retains what you say personal and away from anybody close by. Simply deliver the ring near your mouth and converse your command. No extra typing on tiny keyboards when you possibly can speak straight into your ring.
Say your child’s asleep and the lights are nonetheless on. Ask the ring to close them off. As quickly because the mic will get near your lips, it prompts and listens. The second you end speaking, it takes care of the remainder. Quiet. Fast. Simply the way it must be.
6. Microdisplay merchandise: Samsung Show
Samsung Show rolled into AWE USA with some severe warmth. Proper on the heart of the motion stood its 1.4-inch RGB OLEDoS panel. This tiny display screen packs a wild punch—5,000 pixels per inch crammed into one thing the dimensions of a watch face. You get crisp, clear visuals that beat out even a 4K TV. And yeah, it even leaves the Meta Quest 3 within the mud.
OLEDoS microdisplays energy every thing from AR and VR headsets to sensible glasses and wearables. They’re the sort of tech that makes digital worlds really feel sharp and actual.
Samsung didn’t cease there. They pulled out a 1.3-inch model with 4,200 PPI and a peak brightness of 20,000 nits. That one options Micro Lens Array tech. Through the use of convex lens shapes, it boosts the picture and widens the view. So whether or not you’re trying straight forward or from an angle, the image stays sharp.
AWE USA 2025 highlights: Remaining ideas
Augmented World Expo USA 2025 highlights how shut digital actuality is to altering on a regular basis life. Snap’s AR glasses and Freeaim’s VR footwear aren’t simply fancy devices—they make you rethink what’s doable proper now. The WIZPR Ring, letting you whisper instructions, affords a glimpse right into a quieter, smoother future. It’s wild how shortly these improvements are transferring from “possibly sometime” to “proper now.”