June #XR in a #nutshell
- In June 2026, artificial intelligence continues to dominate technology news, ahead of augmented reality.
- MIT has developed an AR ultrasound system that converts 2D scans into 3D images in real time to improve diagnoses.
- Meta has provided 130,000 pairs of smart glasses to visually impaired veterans, a move that has drawn criticism regarding data collection and the devices’ autonomy.
- Apple is developing consumer-grade smart glasses that work with the iPhone, with a target price between $200 and $500.
- Snap and Samsung are opening pre-orders for their extended reality (XR) devices at high prices—$2,195 and 1,699 pounds, respectively.
- Rokid has partnered with Krys to distribute its translation and visual search glasses in France for 699 euros.
- Industry collaborations are on the rise, such as EssilorLuxottica’s partnership with Applied Materials and Distance Technologies’ collaboration with the military.
- Security vulnerabilities in China allow users of connected glasses to be filmed without their knowledge, prompting Rokid to design blocking systems.
- Unseen Reality launched the 93-gram URXR One glasses, and Qualcomm developed a Snapdragon processor that improves performance by 60%.
- Applications are diversifying, with Samsung using the technology to reduce stress during blood drives, the FDA approving a surgical guide, and an artistic world record set in Mexico.
- The U.S. military canceled its IVAS military project after a fruitless investment of $1.8 billion.
Get full access to my XR intelligence (complete sources, weekly insights) and a 30-minute advisory session to secure your XR decisions: Subscribe to the paid version on Substack => https://augmentedrealitygregorymaubon.substack.com
Jobs
- [Apprenticeship] XR/Unity Developer Apprentice – Augmented Reality and Immersive Experiences (M/F) – Toulon – 29-05-2026
- [Apprenticeship] Research and Development & Virtual Reality Engineer – Graphitech – Lyon – 03-05-2026
Future events
- XR Creator Con 2026 Finals & Conference – June 30th to July 3rd – Berlin
- SIGGRAPH 2026 – 19–23 July 2026 – Los Angeles
- ICVR 2026 – July 28th to 30th – Cardiff
- Meta Connect – September 23-24, 2026 – Menlo Park
- jf•XR 2026 from October 14 to 16, 2026 – Orsay
- Second Workshop on Enhancing Security, Privacy, and Trust in Extended Reality (XR) Systems – October 30 – Austin
- International Conference on Virtual Reality in Medicine and Healthcare ICVRMH – October 26-27 – Paris
- XR DAYS 2026 – October 13 and 14 – Vénissieux
- IHM’26 – October 2026 – Villeneuve d’Ascq
- EuroXR 2026 – November 3rd to 6th – Valencia
- Immersive X 2025 – November 10 to 12 – Virtual
Augmented Times – Monthly Augmented Reality News is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

