This Week in XR — February 7, 2026
Android XR is officially taking over the industry conversation, Meta's Ray-Ban Display supply crunch is real, and three startups closed rounds this week. Here's your weekly XR briefing.
XR Pulse
Meta (META): $609.80 — Ray-Ban Display demand validates smart glasses market
Apple (AAPL): $192.40 — Vision Pro enterprise pivot underway
Qualcomm (QCOM): $207.30 — XR silicon roadmap bullish
Enterprise XR training market 2026: $8.4B projected — MarketsandMarkets
VR surgical training study coverage: 340 residents, Stanford Medicine
Hardware News
Meta Ray-Ban Display Supply Squeeze Continues
Meta's Ray-Ban Display glasses remain supply-constrained in the U.S., with the planned international expansion to UK, France, Italy, and Canada still on hold. The company announced additional manufacturing capacity coming online in Q2, with European availability targeted for May 2026.
- Waitlist in the U.S. remains at 3-4 weeks
- Neural band handwriting feature rolling out to Early Access users
- Meta confirmed camera improvements coming in next firmware update
TLDR: Meta has a genuine supply problem — which is a good problem. The Ray-Ban Display demand signal is the strongest the smart glasses category has ever seen. The question is whether they can scale fast enough before Samsung and XREAL close the gap.
XREAL Aura Developer Kits Available
XREAL began shipping Project Aura developer kits to registered developers this week. The first Android XR product from XREAL features the X1S chip, 70° FOV optical see-through display, and tethered split-compute design. Dev kit price: $999.
Software & Apps
Android XR SDK — 90,000+ Developer Registrations
Google confirmed Android XR SDK registrations crossed 90,000 globally this week. The company also published new developer documentation for Gemini on-device integration, spatial audio, and scene understanding. The SDK roadmap includes a major update (1.5) ahead of MWC.
Horizon OS 6.2 Update Ships
Meta shipped Horizon OS 6.2 this week with performance improvements for Quest 3 and Quest 3S, new mixed reality capture tools for creators, and improved spatial audio for the new Air Link 3.0 feature.
Funding & Deals
Immersive Labs Closes $85M Series C
Enterprise XR training platform Immersive Labs closed an $85M Series C led by Andreessen Horowitz, with participation from Khosla Ventures. The company trains corporate teams in cybersecurity and operational skills through immersive simulations.
- Post-money valuation: $420M
- ARR: $48M, up 3.2x YoY
- 200+ enterprise clients including Boeing, Siemens, and NHS
- Funds earmarked for AI-generated training scenario creation
Enterprise
Stanford Medicine VR Training Study Published
A peer-reviewed study from Stanford Medicine (published in Journal of Surgical Education) found that surgical residents who trained with VR simulations performed 23% more accurate procedures in their first year. The study covered 340 residents across 3 years — the largest controlled trial of VR surgical training to date.
Events
AWE USA 2026 — Full Lineup Announced
Augmented World Expo announced the full keynote lineup for AWE USA 2026 (May 19-21, Santa Clara). Confirmed speakers: Meta CTO Andrew Bosworth, Apple VP Mike Rockwell, and Google's Clay Bavor. Early bird tickets are $699 through March 15.
Creator Spotlight
Nathie Crosses 1 Million YouTube Subscribers
Dutch VR creator Nathie crossed 1 million YouTube subscribers on March 4, 2026 — a milestone in the XR creator community. His Meta Quest 4 review drove 2.1M views in its first week. Quote from Nathie: '2026 feels like the year XR stops being for enthusiasts and starts being for everyone.'
Quick Hits
- Meta Ray-Ban Display European launch delayed to May 2026 — supply crunch
- XREAL Aura dev kits shipping at $999 — first Android XR product in developers' hands
- Android XR SDK registrations cross 90K
- Immersive Labs $85M Series C led by a16z at $420M valuation
- Stanford surgical VR study: 23% accuracy improvement — largest trial to date
XR Fact of the Week
XREAL Aura's 70° FOV optical see-through display is nearly double the ~43° FOV of the original Google Glass (2013). The jump in FOV makes the difference between a 'HUD overlay' and a genuinely immersive AR experience — the field of view needs to reach roughly 60°+ to feel natural to most users. Project Aura is the first tethered Android XR product to clear that threshold. (Source: XREAL, February 2026)
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