The Coolest VR Devices and Games I Saw at Augmented World Expo 2025
I’m bored with reality, so last week I visited the Augmented World Expo in Long Beach, California to check out other possibilities like augmented reality (AR), virtual reality (VR), and mixed reality (MR).
The Augmented World Expo has been running since 2010 with a noble goal of “enabling people around the world to learn, connect, and grow in the XR industry.” I don’t know how it all works, but I got to see new devices and apps that could be the future of how we work, play, and connect with each other. Here are some of the highlights from the expo.
SnapDragon AR1+ Gen 1 Chip
The biggest technology news from Augmented World Expo 2025 was Qualcomm’s announcement of the Snapdragon AR1+ Gen 1 chip, the processor that will power most of the next generation of smart glasses.
“I don’t like wearing something huge on my head” and “Wait, do I have to connect it to my phone too?” are two common problems people have with VR/AR, and AR1+ aims to solve both. It enables on-device AI processing and improves camera quality, display quality, and power efficiency. I tried a pair of Snap Spectacle 4 smart glasses powered by the chip, and they’re impressive.
Spatial Browser RP1
I’ll admit, I was a little confused at first about what RP1 was trying to do. The “world’s first Metaverse browser” aims to “connect the world’s population into a single, persistent XR ecosystem, providing on-demand access to unlimited, self-hosted 3D content and services.” But then a helpful rep put it to me like this: “Remember how AOL and Compuserve were completely separate camps? And then the Internet created a common place for everyone? We’re doing that with 3D spaces,” and it all made sense. The idea is to provide a platform for all Immersive XR (extended reality) spaces, so it doesn’t matter what device you use to view them. You can check it out now, by the way .
XREAL eye
I was impressed with the XREAL Air 2 Pro glasses I reviewed last year, and this improvement makes them even better. The XREAL Eye is a small camera that adds 6DoF (i.e. 6 degrees of freedom, so your head and body can move naturally in space: up/down, left/right, forward/back) tracking, making VR content more immersive and natural. I tried it out briefly on the show floor, and it was very impressive. Stay tuned for a full review soon.
Lumus Z-30 Optical Engine
Sometimes at tech conferences, they take you into a back room and show you some clean tech, prototypes that aren’t commercially available yet. Lumus (“a pioneer in developing geometric waveguide technology for augmented reality”) took me into an empty conference room to check out the Z-30 Optical Engine. The device made me go “wow” like I was Keanu Reeves. Check out the picture above: the lightweight thing on the side of the glasses is a tiny projector that projects a 720 x 720 pixel image onto the clear glass of the lenses, and only you can see it. You can use this to add a custom HUD to your life without anyone knowing what a nerd you are, or to secretly watch TikTok while you talk.
Bonfire
The people I know who regularly use VR in the workplace are friends of mine who design sets for stop-motion animation. I know it’s niche, but anyone working in collaborative 3D design should take a close look at Campfire . It lets you look at CAD at 1:1 scale with other people, all sitting in a circle around a virtual 3D object, as if it were a campfire.
Augmented Reality Shoes with FreeAim Support
FreeAim VR shoes aim to solve the problem of “How do you walk in virtual reality?” Their solution: create a power shoe that will return the user to their original position after they take a step. I didn’t have a chance to try them out because I didn’t trust my balance enough, but I’m looking forward to testing a pair in a more controlled environment.
Virtuix Omni One
Another approach to “VR walking” is the Virtuix Omni One , a treadmill that allows you to virtually walk and run without moving, thanks to low-friction technology. In other words, it’s an extremely slippery bowl-shaped floor with harnesses and scaffolding that keep you upright. Let me tell you, it’s very slippery – disconcerting until you trust it – but once you get over that hump, it becomes a viable solution.
Symtrix
I tried out a bunch of AR and VR games at the AWE Expo, and by far the most fun I had was playing with the Simtryx AI medical simulator. The (extremely condescending) Simtryx rep at AWE explained that it wasn’t really a game; it was an XR+AI simulator designed to train medical professionals, but when a VR patient complained of a stomach ache, I was going to play doctor. I tried convincing the AI bot that his appendicitis was psychosomatic, then prescribed a bunch of painkillers. The poor guy died about three minutes later.
Dreampark
The image above looks like some sad inflatables on a concrete floor, but if you put Meta Quest running at Dreampark , it turns into a colorful Mario-style platformer level full of gold coins to collect, lava to avoid, and more. It’s not something you could probably do at home, but it would be perfect for a kid’s birthday party or in the crumbling remains of a once-bustling shopping area, like Santa Monica’s Third Street, where Dreampark takes place every week .
Kinneta
Lifehacker spin-class regular Lindsay Ellefson and I disagree about the “games” that come with Peloton. She loves them; I think they suck. But that’s only because she hasn’t tried Kinneta yet. It pairs your Meta Quest 2, 3, or 3S with any Bluetooth bike to deliver a fully gamified fitness experience on any Bluetooth-enabled treadmill or exercise bike. I tried it and found the experience to be a stunning reflection of Meta’s Supernatural .
Flowborne Spirit VR
There are a lot of VR and AR apps that are designed for relaxation, meditation, and contemplative experiences, and Flowborne Spirit was the best I saw at the show. I love the innovative use of the Meta Quest controller: you place it on your stomach and it responds to your breathing. The game made me feel like I was joining a cult, in the best way possible!