The world's largest mobile exhibition, 'Mobile World Congress (MWC) 2025', which will open on July 3 (local time) in Barcelona, Spain, is expected to showcase various extended reality (XR) technologies, encompassing virtual reality and augmented reality glasses. Participant corporations are set to exhibit products ranging from those capable of sharing the field of vision while receiving remote assistance during complex tasks to products dedicated to 3D gaming. Samsung Electronics and Apple are also increasing expectations as they enter the XR glasses market.
According to industry sources on the 25th, the Japanese mobile carrier NTT Docomo plans to unveil its 'NTT XR Real Support' technology at MWC 2025, which utilizes XR glasses to share vision with others while receiving assistance through voice and other means. When a worker wearing the glasses performs complex electrical wiring tasks, another employee can remotely check the wearer's field of vision and inform them of the appropriate procedures. NTT Docomo explained that this technology would facilitate handover tasks between employees and address safety and personnel issues.
The Japanese display corporation Cellid plans to showcase a prototype of augmented reality (AR) glasses at MWC 2025. When worn, this product is expected to be equipped with features that allow artificial intelligence (AI) to recognize objects in front of the wearer and assist in tasks in suitable ways. Cellid stated that this product could be utilized for sales support through person recognition, safe driving assistance, educational support, and entertainment. To accelerate the development of AR glasses this year, Cellid also attracted an investment of 2 billion yen (approximately 19 billion won) from companies like Kyocera.
Chinese mobile device manufacturer Tecno is set to unveil new AR glasses at MWC 2025. Although specific features have not yet been disclosed, the industry anticipates that the product will be specialized for gaming functionalities. Last year, Tecno introduced the 'Pocket Go AR', AR glasses capable of supporting 3D racing games.
Samsung Electronics plans to reveal a prototype of the XR glasses 'Project Infinite', currently being developed in collaboration with Qualcomm and Google, at MWC 2025. It is expected that users will be able to utilize applications previously executed on the Android operating system (OS) within a virtual reality environment while wearing these products. Apple is reportedly proceeding with the development of its next model after unveiling the XR headset 'Vision Pro' last year.
According to market research firm MarketsandMarkets, the global XR market size, including smart glasses, is expected to grow about threefold from $40.1 billion (57.355 trillion won) in 2023 to $111.5 billion (159.478 trillion won) by 2028. Chae Hyo-geun, executive vice president of the IT Service Industry Association, noted that "the XR glasses are likely to be utilized in various fields, including industry and entertainment in the future," stating that "corporations are demonstrating moves to secure related technologies."