Google’s smartglass partner Xreal thinks it’s finally mastered this notoriously tricky industry.

The smart glasses industry has long been a miserable dream in Silicon Valley. The premise is compelling enough. What if people didn’t have to stare at their phones all day to enjoy the benefits of mobile computing, but could instead wear a lightweight computing device on their face? Science fiction fans (a demographic strong in the tech industry) can see this vision perfectly.

But the industry has been something of a financial black hole over the past decade, with massive investments sucked in and little to no returns.

“Everyone is losing money,” said Chi Xu, founder and CEO of smart glasses company Xreal, a longtime Google partner. I met Xu last week at the Google I/O conference in Mountain View, where he was promoting Xreal’s Project Aura. It’s the latest effort to create a set of functional XR glasses that people will actually want to use.

“The reason is that what we are doing is very difficult,” he said.

For most industries, the problems with smart glasses seemed rather obvious. It’s a bulky, awkward, and socially awkward form factor paired with negligibly informative software. But now industry insiders, including Xu, feel their business has reached a turning point and an inflection point.

The supposed inflection point concerns Meta, which in 2023 launched one of the first model lines to actually sell many units through a partnership with Ray-Ban. (It’s worth noting, however, that Reality Labs, the division responsible for the glasses, is still operating at huge losses.)

Now, with form factors shrinking and software improving, Xu thinks Xreal could finally become a leader in the field. “All the key elements need to be ready. The hardware needs to be ready, the operating system needs to be ready, and you need a good user interface,” Xu said.

Xreal’s latest model, Aura, are wired smart glasses with a built-in OLED display that lets you watch high-resolution video within the frame itself. Somewhat awkwardly, the Aura is tied to a “puck,” which is essentially a phone-shaped mini computer that enhances the experience behind the glasses. When you use it, you can ostensibly just slip it into your pocket.

But instead of the awkwardness of the puck, users can get a wider range of fun experiences using the glasses, including an immersive Google Maps app, VR YouTube videos, and a “painting app” that uses hand tracking to create holographic images that only you can see. It will also reportedly feature (re)playable games and basic web surfing capabilities via hand tracking.

“Whether you’re following a floating recipe while cooking, setting up a personal workspace at a coffee shop or on an airplane, or watching a movie on a virtual big screen at home, the experience is seamless,” the company promises.

Xu also says he envisions the device being used by professionals as well as ordinary consumers. “Not only can you watch an NBA game in holographic format, but you can also go to a coffee shop and do some work,” he said.

Currently, the glasses are only available to developers, but they are planned to be commercially available later this year. Xreal is also working on an IPO, which is expected to happen before the end of 2026, but Xu declined to comment much on this.

In the meantime, the company is working on an overall monetization effort. Xu notes that his company is increasing gross margins while lowering marketing and sales costs. “Next year is the year we can actually break even,” he says.