The AWE 2025 show occurred from June 10-12, 2025, in Long Beach, CA. Over 5,000 people attended this conference to get updates on what was new and hot in AR.

One major shift for the show is how it has evolved its focus from the term ‘Spatial’ to the term ‘XR’ to describe that this show has fully embraced a VR, XR, MR and AR world.

One significant takeaway from this year’s show was the role AI is playing in XR. The underlying theme of this year’s event focused on marrying AI+XR into all of the sessions and exhibitions.

Another major takeaway from this year’s show was the strong focus on smart glasses. With the event’s pivot to XR, smart glasses have emerged as a central theme and will likely continue to shape the show in the near future.

I see the next big computing market will be around face computing, where our faces will affect the way we deliver and work with information. We are now laying the groundwork for the next personal computing battle, in which an OS and a software ecosystem will develop and drive the concept of wearable computing in the future.

Want to learn more about Tim Bajarin’s thoughts on the future of the smart glasses marketplace and the potential impact of the new face computing technology? Click here