The Coolest VR Gear and Games I Saw at Augmented World Expo 2025

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I'm bored with reality, so last week, I attended the Augmented World Expo in Long Beach, CA, to check out other options, such as Augmented Reality (AR), Virtual Reality (VR), and Mixed Reality (MR).

The Augmented World Expo has been around since 2010, pursuing its lofty goal of "enabling people across the globe to learn, connect and grow within the XR industry." I don't know about all that, but I did get to check out the new devices and applications that might be the future of how we work, relax, and relate to each other. Here are some of the highlights of the show.

SnapDragon AR1+ Gen 1 chip

Credit: Stephen Johnson

The biggest tech news out of Augmented World Expo 2025 was Qualcomm announcing the Snapdragon AR1+ Gen 1 chip, the brain that will power much of the next generation of smart glasses.

"I don't like having a huge thing on my head" and "Wait, I also have to pair it to my phone?" are two common problems people have with VR/AR, and the AR1+ aims to solve both. It allows for on-device AI processing, and improves camera quality, display quality, and energy efficiency. I tried a pair of Snap Spectacle 4 smart glasses powered by this chip, and it's impressive.

RP1's Spatial Browser

Credit: Stephen Johnson/RP1

I admit, I was a little puzzled as to what RP1 is trying to do at first. The "world's first Metaverse browser" aims to "connect the world's population in a single, persistent XR ecosystem, providing on-demand access to unlimited self-hosted 3D content and services." But then a helpful representative put it to me like this: "Remember how AOL and Compuserve were totally separate camps? And then the web made 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're using to view them. You can check it out now, by the way.

XREAL Eye

Credit: Stephen Johnson

I was impressed with the XREAL Air 2 Pro glasses I reviewed last year, and this enhancement makes them 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 virtual content more immersive and natural. I tried it out briefly on the show floor, and it's very impressive. Look for a full review soon.

Lumus Z-30 Optical Engine

Credit: Stephen Johnson

Sometimes at tech conventions, you get taken into a back room and shown some pure tech, prototypes that are not yet available commercially. Lumus ("the pioneering developer of geometric waveguide technology for augmented reality") took me into a bare conference room to check out the Z-30 Optical Engine. The device left me saying "whoa" like I was Keanu Reeves. Check out the picture above; the lightweight thing on the side of the glasses' is tiny projector that throws a 720 x 720 pixel image onto the clear glass of the lenses, and only you can see it. You could use this to add a customized HUD to your life without anyone knowing what a huge nerd you are, or secretly watch TikTok while having a conversation.

Campfire

Credit: Campfire

The people I know who regularly use VR in the workplace are my friends who design sets for stop-motion animation. It's niche, I realize, but anyone working in collaborative 3D design in any way should take a long look at Campfire. It lets you look at CAD at 1:1 scale with other people, everyone in a circle around the virtual 3D object like it's a campfire.

FreeAim Powered AR Shoes

Credit: Stephen Johnson

FreeAim VR Shoes aim to solve the problem of "How do you walk around in virtual reality?" Their solution: Make powered shoes that will return the user to their original position after they take a step. I didn't get a chance to try these out, because I didn't trust my balance enough, but I'm looking forward to checking out a pair in a more controlled environment.

Virtuix Omni One

Credit: Stephen Johnson

Another approach for "walking in VR" comes via the Virtuix Omni One, a treadmill device that lets you virtually walk and run without moving through low-friction technology. In other words, it's an extremely slippery, bowl-shaped floor with a harness and scaffolding that keeps you upright. Let me tell you, it's very slippery—the kind of thing that's disconcerting until you trust it—but once you're over that hump, it's a viable solution.

Simtryx

Credit: Stephen Johnson

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 training device. The (extremely indulgent) Simtryx representative at AWE explained that it's actually not a game; it's a XR+AI simulator designed to train medical professionals, but when a VR patient complains of stomach pain, I'm going to play doctor. I tried to convince the AI bot that his appendicitis was psychosomatic, then prescribed a ton of pain killers. Poor guy was dead in about three minutes.

Dreampark

Credit: Stephen Johnson

The image above looks like some sad inflatables on a concrete floor, but if you slip on a Meta Quest running Dreampark, it becomes a colorful level of a Mario-esque platformer, complete with golden coins to collect, lava to avoid, and more. It's not the kind of thing you could probably do in your house, but it would be perfect at a kid's birthday party space, or at the crumbling remains of a once vibrant retail zone, like Santa Monica's Third Street Promenade, that hosts a Dreampark experience weekly.

Kinneta

Credit: Stephen Johnson

Lifehacker's resident spin class instructor Lindsey Ellefson and I disagree about the "games" that come with a Peloton. She loves them; I think they're ass. But this is just because she hasn't tried Kinneta yet. It pairs your Meta Quest 2, 3 or 3S with any Bluetooth bike to provide fully gamified fitness on any Bluetooth-enabled treadmill or stationary bike. I gave it a shot and found the experience mirrors Meta's own Supernatural in an awesome way.

Flowborne Spirit VR

There are a lot of VR and AR apps that are meant to provide relaxation, meditation, and a contemplative experience and Flowborne Spirit was the best I saw at the show. I like the innovative use of the Meta Quest's controller: You rest it on your belly and it responds to your breath. The game made me feel like I had joined a cult, in the best way possible!