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Honor 400 review: a mid-range Android phone with a truly gorgeous display

by admin June 3, 2025

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Honor 400: Two-minute review

In the time that I’ve spent with the Honor 400, part of me is stunned to see just how far the mid-range market has come. Usually, when I test phones at this end of the scale, I anticipate there being one area that significantly holds the phone back from true greatness. This is understandable – there needs to be some reason to upgrade to the best phones like the iPhone 16 Pro or the Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra – but on the Honor 400, this caveat never really applied.

For starters, with an affordable price tag of £399.99 in the UK, the Honor 400 already undercuts a ton of mid-range contenders like the Pixel 9a, the Samsung Galaxy A56 and the Nothing Phone 3a Pro, which will make it a more tempting buy for those who are tied to a strict budget.

Diving into the phone itself, Honor spoils us with a number of features, the highlight being the 6.55-inch AMOLED display, which can reach a peak brightness of 5000 nits. I’ve tested a lot of phones in my time, but Honor just knows how to make a mid-range display that’s instantly eye-catching. It’s colorful, easy to use outdoors, and great for streaming films and TV shows.

Honor 400 review: price and availability

(Image credit: Future)

Starts at £399.99 in the UK
Released in May 2025

Situated as the middle child of the new Honor 400 series, the Honor 400 has a starting price of £399.99 for the 256GB model, but that price leaps up to £449 if you want the larger 512GB storage option.

At the time of writing, only UK pricing and availability have been confirmed, with the phone releasing in May 2025 both as a SIM-free device and from several UK networks.

Even though their naming conventions are easy to understand, the pricing within the Honor 400 range is a little confusing. At present, the Honor 400 Lite costs £249.99, just £150 less than the Honor 400, whereas the Honor 400 Pro asks for an extra £300 with an RRP of £699.99.

I can only hypothesize that the Honor 400’s entry-level price is a strategic move to make it more affordable than some of the established best mid-range phones, which tend to sit around £499.

Honor 400 review: specs

Swipe to scroll horizontallyHeader Cell – Column 0 Header Cell – Column 1

Dimensions:

156.5mm x 74.6mm x 7.3mm

Weight:

184g

Display:

6.55-inch (2736 x 1264) up to 120Hz AMOLED

Chipset:

Snapdragon 7 Gen 3

RAM:

8GB

Storage:

256GB / 512GB

OS:

Android 15

Primary camera:

200MP (f/1.9, 1/1.4”, OIS) sensor

Ultra-wide camera:

12MP (f/2.2, FOV 112°) sensor

Front Camera:

50MP sensor

Battery:

5,330mAh

Charging:

66W wired

Colors:

Midnight Black, Meteor Silver, Desert Gold

Honor 400 review: design

Image 1 of 2

(Image credit: Future)(Image credit: Future)

Honor is definitely nipping at Apple’s heels
The design feels more confident than the Honor 200

The overall design of Honor’s mid-range phones has always felt a little off to my eyes. For example, the Honor 90 from a few years back had a wonderful Emerald Green option that made it stand out, but it was hampered by two distinct camera bumps that felt wildly out of place.

Things weren’t much better with last year’s Honor 200, which featured far too much negative space in its camera module, making the design feel like an afterthought compared to the rest of the device. Thankfully, Honor has finally hit a far more premium, if potentially dull, aesthetic.

As mentioned in the Honor 400 Lite review, it isn’t hard to see where Honor is drawing its inspiration from here. The flat edges around the device, alongside the vertically aligned cameras, give off a whiff of the iPhone 16, which is no bad thing when you consider that the Honor 400 is less than half the price of Apple’s £699/$699 handset.

It does feel premium in the hand, and even with a plastic chassis, I think people would be surprised to learn just how cheap the Honor 400 is at the checkout, based solely on its looks.

I do wish, however, that Honor could have kept some of its signature flair where the colors are concerned. The company has instead opted for safe black, silver and gold variations. Thankfully, there is an official IP rating this time around of IP65, so you won’t have to worry about dust particles or jets of water – always helpful over long-term use.

While it certainly won’t wow anyone, I feel that this is the most confident-looking mid-ranger that Honor has ever put out, and I have to admire it for that.

Honor 400 review: display

(Image credit: Future)

It’s a smaller display at 6.55 inches
The curves have been swapped out for a flat panel

If there’s one area where this company has easily outpaced the mid-range competition, it’s in the quality of its displays, and the Honor 400 is no exception, although there is one tweak that might put off some folks from upgrading.

Starting with the good, this 6.55-inch AMOLED display is just drop-dead gorgeous to look at. It gets impressively bright at up to 5000 nits, and when using it outdoors against direct sunlight, I haven’t found myself squinting to make out what’s on the screen.

The crisp 2736 x 1264 resolution also makes the phone great for catching up on Netflix or whichever streaming service takes your fancy. Using the Honor 400 at the gym, I was quite immersed in a few episodes of Prime Video’s Invincible while on the treadmill, with the phone doing the show’s vivid color palette justice.

If you don’t mind sacrificing a little more battery life, you can toggle Super Dynamic Display alongside Vivid Display, two modes that use AI to analyze what you’re watching and respond with improved colors and realism in real time. I can’t say that I saw an immediate difference, but the screen already looked great, so I can’t really complain.

(Image credit: Future)

While the phone’s refresh rate can be set to 120Hz at all times, by default it’s placed in an adaptive mode that allows it to change depending on the task at hand, saving battery life in the process. Even though this has long been a feature among the best Android phones, it blows my mind that it’s now something we get as standard in the mid-range/budget market.

Making a return is all of Honor’s dimming and eye-health features. That sounds impressive on paper, with ‘3840Hz RiskFree Dimming’, but what does it actually mean? In practice, this tech limits the amount of refreshes that take place at a speed imperceptible to the human eye, reducing the risk of eye fatigue over time.

Of course, something like this is difficult to quantify. However, I will say that out of all the phones I’ve used, the Honor 400 is one of the few that doesn’t leave me with noticeable eye-strain if I do a quick bit of scrolling before bed, particularly if the fantastic ‘eBook mode’ is activated.

All of this amounts to a wonderful display, but if you currently own an Honor 90 or an Honor 200, it’s worth bearing in mind that both of those phones have a larger 6.7-inch display, so you are getting a slight downgrade where size is concerned. Personally, I don’t mind, particularly as it makes the Honor 400 easier to use one-handed, but it’s still something to consider.

Honor 400 review: cameras

(Image credit: Future)

Just like the display, the cameras have also been downgraded/upgraded
The new 200MP main sensor is the star of the show

There’s a definite pattern of give and take with the Honor 400. I’ve already mentioned the differences in the display tech, and unfortunately, it also extends to the new camera setup.

On paper, you’ve got a 200MP (f/1.9, 1/1.4”, OIS) main sensor, flanked by a 12MP (f/2.2, FOV 112°) ultrawide that also serves as a macro lens. That might sound fairly decent given the £399.99 price tag, but eagle-eyed readers might have already noticed that while the main sensor has had a bump from 50MP to 200MP, the phone is missing the additional 50MP telephoto lens from the Honor 200.

While it’s nice to have a dedicated telephoto lens, having the upgraded megapixel count on the main lens does open up more opportunities for cropping and zooming that don’t completely wreck the quality of the photo.

Enjoying the wonderful sights of Surrey’s Box Hill, I was able to snap some fantastic shots that really did the trail justice, helped in large part by the brilliantly sunny weather. When I felt the need to crop in on certain photos for social media after the fact, I didn’t feel hard done by in the final results.

The same can be said for the ultra-wide shots, which, despite that 12MP ceiling, still packed an impressive degree of detail and color. In a pinch, that same ultra-wide lens can be used for macro shots if, like me, you enjoy getting the odd picture of fauna up close (although I can’t imagine using it for much else).

You’ve got 4x digital zoom for picking up subjects in the distance, but for something really far out, you can lean on Honor’s 30x AI Superzoom. Just like it operates on other Honor phones, this feature uses AI to recreate the picture you’ve taken. This means the end result isn’t technically a photo at all, but something AI has constructed from a real photo. As you might imagine, its success rate can be mixed, and there’s a general ‘watercolour’ look that plagues all of these images after the fact.

Speaking of AI, there’s an ‘image to video’ feature that lets you make short AI-driven animations out of shots you’ve taken. I’ll admit, one video it derived from a selfie felt so realistic that I didn’t like the idea of seeing what else it could do. Thankfully, these videos don’t go beyond five seconds, so there isn’t a huge use case for them.

When it comes to more traditional AI features in the phone’s editing suite, like AI cutout or AI outpainting (the latter of which extends the picture with generative AI), it all works rather well.

Last year, Honor made a big splash by partnering with photography studio Harcourt to add more pizazz to the portrait photography of the 200 series; now those signature Harcourt filters are back on the Honor 400, looking better than ever.

If you’re the type of person whose Instagram uploads are filled with model-style shots, you’ll appreciate what’s on offer here. Although there are just three Harcourt filters (Vibrant, Color and Classic), they all look great and pump out truly eye-catching shots.

While the 50MP selfie camera doesn’t utilize Harcourt’s prowess, it still managed to capture self-portraits that I was more than happy to share with the world, which doesn’t often happen. There’s a wonderfully soft bokeh here that pairs well with the camera’s autofocus.

The dedicated night mode also does a respectable job, so you should be in luck with most low-light situations if you do want to take a quick snap.

Honor 400 review: camera samples

Image 1 of 6

(Image credit: Future)(Image credit: Future)(Image credit: Future)(Image credit: Future)(Image credit: Future)(Image credit: Future)

Honor 400 review: performance

(Image credit: Future)

Same chipset as last year
Respectable performance in its price range

The best thing I can say about the Honor 400 from a performance perspective is just how little it’s been on my mind over the course of testing the device. Of course, I’m not saying that it exceeds the best iPhones – far from it – but even though it uses the same Snapdragon 7 Gen 3 chipset as last year, it goes to show how far the mid-range market has come, where you can now expect solid day-to-day performance without breaking the bank.

In the time that I spent with the Honor 400, I didn’t have an app fail to load or crash mid-use, and I could jump from one app to another without any significant delay. Even when using the phone as a hotspot to watch a video on my iPad, I could still scroll through Google Chrome on the Honor 400 without any noticeable slowdown.

When it came to games, the phone handled booting up a race in Asphalt Legends Unite and the game’s frenetic energy with ease. Graphics look bold and exciting on the display, and any visual stuttering was very brief and infrequent.

I found the performance within Call of Duty Mobile to be even better, so if you like to get in a few rounds of Nuketown on your lunch break, you won’t have any issues doing so here.

I will say that for both games (and at times when I was really pushing the device), I felt some heat radiating off the Honor 400. It was never enough to make holding the device uncomfortable, but it did give me pause to make sure that I didn’t overstretch the phone’s limitations.

I do, however, want to give a brief nod to the speakers, which performed surprisingly well in testing. I almost always anticipate a mono-speaker system at this end of the market, but there’s a stereo set-up on the Honor 400, and it can get impressively loud and immersive when you’re diving into a spot of gaming.

Honor 400 review: software

(Image credit: Future)

Honor has gone all in on AI
MagicOS is better, but there’s still room for improvement

Just like almost every other company on the block right now, Honor has gone all-in on AI.

As with AI implementation on other devices, I found the overall experience to be a mixed bag. I don’t think the situation is quite as dire as what I’ve come across using Apple Intelligence on my iPhone 16 Plus, but there are definitely areas where Honor has plenty of room for improvement.

On the better side of that equation is Honor’s Magic Portal, which operates similarly to Google’s Circle to Search (which already exists on the Honor 400), only this time requiring that you highlight an object using your knuckle. I found the feature to be incredibly responsive, and once you’ve selected your desired image or piece of text, you can quickly share it to a list of apps that appear on the side, as chosen by AI. It’s genuinely a great example of AI being used intelligently, and I did find myself using it a few times to save text quickly.

Features like AI Subtitles and AI Translate have their moments, but there’s still work to be done. For the former, it can generate speech to text with decent speed and accuracy, but when I tried to get it to make subtitles from a YouTube video, the whole experience fell apart with nonsensical text. AI Translate fares a bit better with a quick response time for translations, but it doesn’t boast quite as many available languages as Live Translate on Galaxy AI-toting Samsung phones, so you’ll find a more robust experience elsewhere.

At the lower end of the scale, AI Suggestions pretty much does what it says on the tin by offering up quick access to apps it thinks you need at certain times of day, but this is a feature Apple’s had for years so I don’t understand why Honor has drawn so much attention to it here as if it’s something brand new. There’s also AI Deepfake Detection, although this only works with video calls and doesn’t let you know if you’re seeing a video or image online that’s fake, which is really where it should be targeted.

Magic Capsule on the Honor 400 Pro, which also features on the 400 (Image credit: Future)

All of this sits on top of MagicOS 9.0, Honor’s Android 15 overlay, which in itself is something of a head-scratcher. I will say that compared to when I last used MagicOS on the Honor 90, the operating system has come quite a long way, and it feels less cumbersome to use than I remember.

It’s not quite as slick as stock Android, which can be found on the best Pixel phones, but it does have a nice aesthetic. And as someone who mostly uses an iPhone, I did appreciate the nods to iOS, including Honor’s take on the Dynamic Island, which shows music playback at the top of the display, as well as the need to swipe down from different sections to access the notification tray or the control center (even if I did find myself in the latter a few times when it wasn’t my intention).

What holds MagicOS back is the unfortunate amount of bloatware that comes preinstalled on the Honor 400. When setting the phone up, I needed to get rid of several apps, including TikTok and Temu, not to mention Honor’s own-brand apps, which include the company’s Google Play Store competitor, the Honor App Market. It’s not a deal-breaker, by any means, but it doesn’t help the phone against fierce competition.

On a better note, the Honor 400 now comes with a promised six years of updates, providing official support until at least 2031. Compared to the paltry support that Honor provided for previous devices, this is a huge shift that makes the Honor 400 a better option as a phone to last you well into the future.

Honor 400 review: battery life

Slightly larger 5,300mAh cell
Easily gets you through a full day of use comfortably

Despite its smaller stature, the Honor 400 features a slightly increased battery capacity compared to the Honor 200, jumping from 5,200mAh to 5,300mAh. Honor hasn’t been too specific where longevity is concerned, other than claiming an “all-day battery life” for the phone, which, thankfully, is an assessment that’s more on the conservative side.

I put the Honor 400 through a heavy day of use, starting at 8:30am, getting just over four hours of screen time, including 40 minutes of Instagram and 25 minutes of Prime Video, alongside 33 minutes of Spotify in the background and 1 hour and 39 minutes of using the phone as a hotspot for my iPad. With all that in mind, the phone still had 30% left in the tank by 10:30pm, 14 hours later.

For my money, that’s more than enough to alleviate any major battery anxiety. You also toggle one of two power-saving modes, which halt a lot of background processing to extend the longevity as much as possible. On most days, however, I didn’t need to charge the Honor 400 until about halfway through the following day.

When you do need to top up, you won’t have to wait long as the Honor 400 boasts 66W fast charging, although there isn’t a compatible fast charger included in the box. When charging at a slightly slower 60W rate on an adapter I had to hand, it took about 30 minutes to get from 20% to 69%, and a total of 54 minutes to get back to a full tank.

Unfortunately, there’s no wireless charging available, which does feel like a sticking point when that feature is creeping into the mid-range conversation.

Should I buy the Honor 400?

Swipe to scroll horizontallyHonor 400 score card

Attributes

Notes

Rating

Design

It might not turn heads with its colorways but the Honor 400 has a confident look.

4 / 5

Display

The display is the true highlight here, just not for owners of last year’s phone.

4.5 / 5

Performance

Great everyday performance that’s difficult to fault.

4 / 5

Camera

The absent telephoto is missed, but everything else is solid.

4 / 5

Battery

More than enough to get you through an intensive day of use.

4 / 5

Software

MagicOS still has some way to go, as does Honor’s AI suite.

3 / 5

Value

Great cameras, a gorgeous display and tons of storage make this a winner.

5 / 5

Buy it if…

Don’t buy it if…

Honor 400 review: also consider

If you’re not completely sold on the Honor 400’s set of features, then these alternatives might be a better fit.

How I tested the Honor 400

Tested over a single week
Used as the reviewer’s main handset
Battery tested against intensive and typical days of use

For the purposes of this review, I used the Honor 400 as my main handset for a total of seven days as it carried my SIM card. Due to this being a pre-release model, certain features like Google Wallet wouldn’t work with the device, so I relied on a paired TicWatch Pro 5 Enduro smartwatch for payments.

While the phone does feature 66W fast charging, I used a 65W adapter during the charging test, which automatically downgrades to 60W in the process. The phone I used prior to the Honor 400 was the iPhone 16 Plus, which served as a mental reference over the testing period.

First reviewed: May 2025

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June 3, 2025 0 comments

Gaming Gear

Best AirPods Pro Alternatives: AirPods for Android and More

by admin May 27, 2025

The second coming of Beats’ Powerbeats Pro (9/10, WIRED Recommends) is truly a best-of-both-worlds option. You’ll get all the best Apple features like Find My support, iCloud device switching, and one-touch iOS pairing, in a workout-ready design. Unlike the AirPods Pro, the Powerbeats have a dedicated Android app for features like one-touch pairing and customization. The controls are touchy when inserting the buds, but otherwise convenient thanks to both a multi-key and volume rocker.

In true Beats fashion, the sound is brash treble and bassy, but with plenty of nuance, while advanced noise canceling and natural-sounding transparency mode help them adapt to your environment. Some users complain that the heartbeat monitor is inaccurate, but it worked well enough for me, and it’s especially useful for Android devices. Their new hook design is another upgrade, offering supreme comfort and stability to make these among the best workout buds you can buy.

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May 27, 2025 0 comments

GameFi Guides

Why Solana Mobile Is Launching a Token Alongside Its New Android Phone

by admin May 21, 2025

In brief

The Solana Seeker smartphone will begin shipping worldwide on August 4.
The second-gen Android phone comes with new features that build upon the foundation of the original Saga device.
Solana Mobile also introduced a new token, SKR, which will become the primary asset of its decentralized mobile ecosystem.

The second-generation Solana mobile phone, the Solana Seeker, will begin shipping worldwide on August 4, Solana Mobile announced on Wednesday—with plans for a native ecosystem token, SKR.

The more affordable, Android-based Seeker phone will maintain the Solana Saga’s genesis token and hardware seed vault, while adding newer features such as SeekerID, the SeedVault Wallet, and an improved Solana Dapp Store.

“We spent the last few years focused on building what we think is the best possible crypto mobile experience,” Solana Mobile GM Emmett Hollyer told Decrypt. “We focused on usability, we’ve focused on security, we’ve focused on giving developers distribution. What we’re doing with this is we’re extending what’s possible, we’re decentralizing it, and we’re growing it with additional devices from other original equipment manufacturers in the future.”

2/ The Solana Mobile platform is growing — opening the door to more devices & more manufacturers — all powered by a decentralized architecture and economy.

Mobile users everywhere deserve a seamless, secure web3 experience — and we’ll be making it easy for OEMs to come onboard.

— Seeker | Solana Mobile (@solanamobile) May 21, 2025

The future, decentralized Solana Mobile ecosystem will be rooted in SKR, the native ecosystem token that will live on Solana’s layer-1 blockchain. He said that the token is designed to anchor a “future of a decentralized mobile platform” around the crypto phones.

But why not just use the existing Solana (SOL) coin?

“We see an opportunity to coordinate growth and change, and we want to make sure that the decisions that are made there are aligned around something that is fundamental to the mobile ecosystem, something that’s purely aligned with that ecosystem and its outcomes,” Hollyer said, adding that it’s critical that SKR be “solely representative of the Solana Mobile platform—and that’s it.”

Specific details about the token launch and how it will be earned have not yet been shared, but the Solana Mobile website indicates that SKR will go “directly to builders and users for ecosystem participation.”

“The token itself is bigger than any one device,” said Hollyer, noting that both the Saga and Seeker and any future devices brought into the Solana Mobile ecosystem will be able to participate in the economy, incentives, and ownership of the platform.

“We want to make sure that everybody who has joined the ecosystem so far comes along for the ride,” he said.

Aside from the token, the Seeker’s new infrastructure architecture is set to differentiate the device and Solana Mobile from today’s leading mobile device companies, opening its ecosystem and expanding its platform to allow additional hardware manufacturers.

“If you look at the existing mobile platform architectures, they are entirely closed. Whoever runs the platform, they manage everything,” said Hollyer. “Our goal is to build something that accomplishes a lot of the same critical outcomes that existing mobile platforms do well, things like trust, things like security… but we want to do that in a way that is decentralized.”

Therefore Solana Mobile introduced TEEPIN, a three-layer architecture model that allows ecosystem actors to participate in a secure and trustless way.

“TEEPIN represents the next evolution in mobile—a framework where trust isn’t granted by a central authority but verified through cryptography,” said Anatoly Yakovenko, co-founder and CEO of Solana Labs, in a statement. “By leveraging secure hardware that already exists on modern smartphones and governing access on-chain, we’re unlocking open innovation, platform ownership, and a decentralized future for mobile.”

With TEEPIN and Solana Mobile’s future decentralized ecosystem, Hollyer said that means builders don’t need to worry about app store rules and fees—and they can be sure their users are real.

The Seeker, which has earned more than 150,000 pre-orders, is still available for pre-order at $500 plus tax, for a limited time according to the Solana Mobile website. It arrives at half the launch price of the original Saga, but with various updates and apparent improvements over the model released in 2023.

“Our emphasis is on making the best possible crypto experience,” said Hollyer. “We think mobile is the way to do it, and we don’t think anybody’s cracked that code yet.”

Edited by Andrew Hayward

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May 21, 2025 0 comments

Google's Android XR prototype demonstrated at Google I/O 2025

Product Reviews

Hands on: I tried Google’s Android XR prototype and they can’t do much but Meta should still be terrified

by admin May 21, 2025

Why you can trust TechRadar

We spend hours testing every product or service we review, so you can be sure you’re buying the best. Find out more about how we test.

The Google Android XR can’t do very much… yet. At Google I/O 2025, I got to wear the new glasses and try some key features – three features exactly – and then my time was up. These Android XR glasses aren’t the future, but I can certainly see the future through them, and my Meta Ray Ban smart glasses can’t match anything I saw.

The Android XR glasses I tried had a single display, and it did not fill the entire lens. The glasses projected onto a small frame in front of my vision that was invisible unless filled with content.

To start, a tiny digital clock showed me the time and local temperature, information drawn from my phone. It was small and unobtrusive enough that I could imagine letting it stay active at the periphery.

Google Gemini is very responsive on this Android XR prototype

(Image credit: Philip Berne / Future)

The first feature I tried was Google Gemini, which is making its way onto every device Google touches. Gemini on the Android XR prototype glasses is already more advanced than what you might have tried on your smartphone.

I approached a painting on the wall and asked Gemini to tell me about it. It described the pointillist artwork and the artist. I said I wanted to look at the art very closely and I asked for suggestions on interesting aspects to consider. It gave me suggestions about pointillism and the artist’s use of color.

The conversation was very natural. Google’s latest voice models for Gemini sound like a real human. The glasses also did a nice job pausing Gemini when somebody else was speaking to me. There wasn’t a long delay or any frustration. When I asked Gemini to resume, it said ‘no problem’ and started up quickly.

That’s a big deal! The responsiveness of smart glasses is a metric I haven’t considered before, but it matters. My Meta Ray Ban Smart Glasses have an AI agent that can look through the camera, but it works very slowly. It responds slowly at first, and then it takes a long time to answer the question. Google’s Gemini on Android XR was much faster and that made it feel more natural.

Google Maps on Android XR wasn’t like any Google Maps I’ve seen

Celebrities Giannis Antetokounmpo and Dieter Bohn wear Android XR glasses and shake hands with the crowd (Image credit: Philip Berne / Future)

Then I tried Google Maps on the Android XR prototype. I did not get a big map dominating my view. Instead, I got a simple direction sign with an arrow telling me to turn right in a half mile. The coolest part of the whole XR demo was when the sign changed as I moved my head.

If I looked straight down at the ground, I could see a circular map from Google with an arrow showing me where I am and where I should be heading. The map moved smoothly as I turned around in circles to get my bearings. It wasn’t a very large map – about the size of a big cookie (or biscuit for UK friends) in my field of view.

As I lifted my head, the cookie-map moved upward. The Android XR glasses don’t just stick a map in front of my face. The map is an object in space. It is a circle that seems to remain parallel with the floor. If I look straight down, I can see the whole map. As I move my head upward, the map moves up and I see it from a diagonal angle as it lifts higher and higher with my field of view.

By the time I am looking straight ahead, the map has entirely disappeared and has been replaced by the directions and arrow. It’s a very natural way to get an update on my route. Instead of opening and turning on my phone, I just look towards my feet and Android XR shows me where they should be pointing.

Showing off the colorful display with a photograph

(Image credit: Philip Berne / Future)

The final demo I saw was a simple photograph using the camera on the Android XR glasses. After I took the shot, I got a small preview on the display in front of me. It was about 80% transparent, so I could see details clearly, but it didn’t entirely block my view.

Sadly that was all the time Google gave me with the glasses today, and the experience was underwhelming. In fact, my first thought was to wonder if the Google Glass I had in 2014 had the exact same features as today’s Android XR prototype glasses. It was pretty close.

My old Google Glass could take photos and video, but it did not offer a preview on its tiny, head-mounted display. It had Google Maps with turn directions, but it did not have the animation or head-tracking that Android XR offers.

There was obviously no conversational AI like Gemini on Google Glass, and it could not look at what you see and offer information or suggestions. What makes the two similar? They both lack apps and features.

Which comes first, the Android XR software or the smart glasses to run it?

(Image credit: Philip Berne / Future)

Should developers code for a device that doesn’t exist? Or should Google sell smart glasses even though there are no developers yet? Neither. The problem with AR glasses isn’t just a chicken and egg problem of what comes first, the software or the device. That’s because AR hardware isn’t ready to lay eggs. We don’t have a chicken or eggs, so it’s no use debating what comes first.

Google’s Android XR prototype glasses are not the chicken, but they are a fine looking bird. The glasses are incredibly lightweight, considering the display and all the tech inside. They are relatively stylish for now, and Google has great partners lined up in Warby Parker and Gentle Monster.

The display itself is the best smart glasses display I’ve seen, by far. It isn’t huge, but it has a better field of view than the rest; it’s positioned nicely just off-center from your right eye’s field of vision; and the images are bright, colorful (if translucent), and flicker-free.

The author in Ray-Ban Meta Smart Glasses looking dumbfounded (Image credit: Future / Philip Berne)

When I first saw the time and weather, it was a small bit of text and it didn’t block my view. I could imagine keeping a tiny heads-up display on my glasses all the time, just to give me a quick flash of info.

This is just the start, but it’s a very good start. Other smart glasses haven’t felt like they belonged at the starting line, let alone on retail shelves. Eventually, the display will get bigger, and there will be more software. Or any software, because the feature set felt incredibly limited.

Still, with just Gemini’s impressive new multi-modal capabilities and the intuitive (and very fun) Google Maps on XR, I wouldn’t mind being an early adopter if the price isn’t terrible.

My Ray-Ban Meta Smart Glasses are mostly just sunglasses now (Image credit: Future / Philip Berne)

Of course, Meta Ray Ban Smart Glasses lack a display, so they can’t do most of this. The Meta Smart Glasses have a camera, but the images are beamed to your phone. From there, your phone can save them to your gallery, or even use the Smart Glasses to broadcast live directly to Facebook. Just Facebook – this is Meta, after all.

With its Android provenance, I’m hoping whatever Android XR smart glasses we get will be much more open than Meta’s gear. It must be. Android XR runs apps, while Meta’s Smart Glasses are run by an app. Google intends Android XR to be a platform. Meta wants to gather information from cameras and microphones you wear on your head.

I’ve had a lot of fun with the Meta Ray Ban Smart Glasses, but I honestly haven’t turned them on and used the features in months. I was already a Ray Ban Wayfarer fan, so I wear them as my sunglasses, but I never had much luck getting the voice recognition to wake up and respond on command. I liked using them as open ear headphones, but not when I’m in New York City and the street noise overpowers them.

I can’t imagine that I will stick with my Meta glasses once there is a full platform with apps and extensibility – the promise of Android XR. I’m not saying that I saw the future in Google’s smart glasses prototype, but I have a much better view of what I want that smart glasses future to look like.

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May 21, 2025 0 comments

Crypto Trends

Google Unveils Android XR Glasses with Gemini AI Integration

by admin May 21, 2025

In brief

At Google I/O, Google demos Android XR glasses with Gemini AI for translation, navigation, media, and real-time help.
The glasses are in beta testing and Google plans to release them with eyewear brands Gentle Monster, and Warby Parker.
Google is positioning Android XR to rival Meta’s AI glasses.

Google unveiled Android XR, a new extended reality platform designed to integrate its Gemini AI into wearable devices such as smart glasses and headsets.

During its 2025 I/O developer conference on Tuesday, the tech giant showcased the Android XR glasses, the company’s first eyewear set since the ill-fated Google Glass smart glasses in 2023.

During the presentation, Shahram Izadi, Vice President and General Manager at Android XR, highlighted the need for portability and quick access to information without relying on a phone.

“When you’re on the go, you’ll want lightweight glasses that can give you timely information without reaching for your phone,” he said. “We built Android XR together as one team with Samsung and optimized it for Snapdragon with Qualcomm.”

Google first announced Android XR in December 2024. The reveal arrived eight months after Meta released the latest version of its Ray-Ban Meta AI glasses—a sign of growing competition in the wearable AI space.

Glasses with Android XR are lightweight and designed for all-day wear. They work with your phone so you can be hands-free, stay in the moment with friends and complete your to-do list. pic.twitter.com/CLXGxeQPzs

— Google (@Google) May 20, 2025

Like Meta’s AI glasses, the Android XR glasses include a camera, microphones, and speakers and can connect to an Android device.

Google’s flagship AI, Gemini, provides real-time information, language translation, and an optional in-lens display that shows information when needed.

During the presentation, Google also showed off the Android XR glasses live streaming capabilities, as well as their ability to take photos, receive text messages, and display Google Maps.

Google also demonstrated how Gemini can complement exploration and navigation through immersive experiences.

“With Google Maps in XR, you can teleport anywhere in the world simply by asking Gemini to take you there,” Izadi said. “You can talk with your AI assistant about anything you see and have it pull up videos and websites about what you’re exploring.”

While Google did not announce a release date or price, Izadi said the glasses would be available through partnerships with South Korean eyewear brand Gentle Monster and U.S. brand Warby Parker, adding that a developer platform for Android XR is in development.

“We’re creating the software and reference hardware platform to enable the ecosystem to build great glasses alongside us,” Parker said. “Our glasses prototypes are already being used by trusted testers, and you’ll be able to start developing for glasses later this year.”

Edited by Sebastian Sinclair

Generally Intelligent Newsletter

A weekly AI journey narrated by Gen, a generative AI model.

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May 21, 2025 0 comments

Product Reviews

Google IO 2025 live keynote: all the latest on Gemini AI, Android 16 and more

by admin May 20, 2025

Welcome to our Google IO 2025 live blog, where we’re bringing you all the latest from the search giant’s opening keynote at the Shoreline Amphitheater in Mountain View, California.

Google is expected to speak about a whole host of products and services, with Gemini AI likely to be a major focus, with appearances from Android 16, WearOS 6 and Android XR all tipped to happen.

Google IO 2025 keynote live blog

LiveLast updated May 20, 2025 10:32 AM

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May 20, 2025 0 comments

Product Reviews

Live updates on Gemini, Android XR, Android 16 updates and more

by admin May 20, 2025

Ready to see Google’s next big slate of AI announcements? That’s precisely what we expect to be unveiled today at Google I/O 2025, the search giant’s developer conference that kicks off today at 1PM ET / 10AM PT. Engadget will be covering it in real-time right here, via a liveblog and on-the-ground reporting from our very own Karissa Bell.

Ahead of I/O, Google already gave us some substantive details on the updated look and feel of its mobile operating system at The Android Show last week. Google included some Gemini news there as well: Its AI platform is coming to Wear OS, Android Auto and Google TV, too. But with that Android news out of the way, Google can use today’s keynote to stay laser-focused on sharing its advances on the artificial intelligence front. Expect news about how Google is using AI in search to be featured prominently, along with some other surprises, like the possible debut of an AI-powered Pinterest alternative.

The company made it clear during its Android showcase that Android XR, its mixed reality platform, will also be featured during I/O. That could include the mixed reality headset Google and Samsung are collaborating on, or, as teased at the end of The Android Show, smart glasses with Google’s Project Astra built-in.

As usual, there will be a developer-centric keynote following the main presentation (4:30PM ET / 1:30PM PT), and while we’ll be paying attention to make sure we don’t miss out any news there, our liveblog will predominantly focus on the headliner.

You can watch Google’s keynote in the embedded livestream above or on the company’s YouTube channel, and follow our liveblog embedded below starting at 1PM ET today. Note that the company plans to hold breakout sessions through May 21 on a variety of different topics relevant to developers.

Live4 updates

Tue, May 20, 2025 at 7:25 AM PDT
Glad to see Karissa made it. Traffic on I/O day is always dicey. But I’d recognize that dusty parking lot anywhere.
Tue, May 20, 2025 at 7:23 AM PDT
A woman holding up a badge that says “Karissa Bell, Engadget” with a red label above the name saying “Press.” Behind her is a tent in a large parking lot. (Karissa Bell for Engadget)
Karissa has not only arrived safely at Shoreline Amphitheater, but has also acquired her badge! Looks like it’s going to be lovely weather for the show, and probably a good idea to lather on sunscreen if you’re there!
Tue, May 20, 2025 at 7:22 AM PDT
Our senior reporter Karissa Bell will be reporting live from Google I/O, while senior reviewer Sam Rutherford will be leading this liveblog, backed up by AI reporter Igor Bonifacic. I’ll be around for support, logistics, vibes and snacks. The show kicks off at 1pm ET, but as you can see, we couldn’t wait to start. There’s been a lot, honestly.
Tue, May 20, 2025 at 7:00 AM PDT
Hello everyone! Welcome to our liveblog of Google’s annual I/O developer conference. I feel as if our liveblog tool has gotten more than its fair share of use these last two weeks. If it all feels very familiar to you too, that’s likely because we had two liveblogged events just last week, one of which was of the company’s Android showcase

Update, May 20 2025, 9:45AM ET: This story has been updated to include a liveblog of the event.

Update, May 19 2025, 1:01PM ET: This story has been updated to include details on the developer keynote taking place later in the day, as well as tweak wording throughout for accuracy with the new timestamp.

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May 20, 2025 0 comments