AWE 2026: Live updates from keynotes by Snap CEO Evan Spiegel, Google and Qualcomm at the XR show

Karissa Bell for Engadget

We don't typically go all in on covering Augmented World Expo, which the organizers describe as "the world's largest spatial computing event." But in recent years, more of the companies we report on have attended, presented or made announcements at the event. And today, we expect Snap CEO Evan Spiegel to be making some big announcements at his keynote, which starts at 12:30PM ET. 

Our senior reporter Karissa Bell is live on the scene, and together we will bring you a rundown of all the news from the show as it happens. Spiegel's presentation is expected to last a pretty short 25 minutes, but he will be followed almost immediately by Qualcomm's Ziad Asghar and then Google's Hugo Swart and Juston Payne. Those two companies are scheduled for another 25 minutes each, so we'll liveblog that as well. We'll kick off this liveblog at 9:30AM ET, and share with you everything we expect to be announced at AWE 2026, as well as what it's like to be there at the Long Beach Convention and Entertainment Center. 

Most of all, we'll tell you if the event's promise of "You'll Feel Spatial. We Promise" is nonsensical. (What does it mean to feel spatial? I take up quite a lot of space, am I spatial?) We look forward to spending time with you, dear readers, so stay tuned!

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• Karissa what does the place look like. It certainly seems a bit.. dreary-convention-like from that picture. 

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  Good morning from Long Beach! I've arrived at the convention center and collected my badge. The place is starting to fill up and I've already seen more than a few pairs of smartglasses.

• I know Karissa is making her way over to the convention center as we speak, and we should get more details on what it's like over there soon. I will tell you that I certainly wasn't expecting a lot of people to be attending AWE, but some of the pictures I've seen definitely proved me wrong. If they're to be believed, that is.

• Meanwhile, we've got lumivole over here as a Snap user wanting new glasses alongside "the one XR one." I remember waiting in line when Snap (back then known as Snapchat lol) actually had these pop-up sales locations for the original Spectacles! Is that what you're talking about? The video-recording glasses? If so, I'm not sure that's on the agenda today though I do think Snap should really take back the lead there from Meta. All these Ray Ban video-recording glasses have really dominated the (very small) space lately!

• Okay! I see you all! iDubno you're excited to learn more about Android XR and see if we get any Project Aura demos... It sounds like you're an XR enthusiast and I'm curious how much you'd pay for these smart glasses!

• Folks, don't be shy. If you have thoughts, feel free to leave a comment down below! And tell us what you really think about smart glasses, XR, or anything in tech at all. 

• Just last month at Google I/O, there was also plenty of talk about XR. Karissa tried on a pair of concept glasses that Google said were its reference hardware, which demonstrated some Android XR capabilities. She also checked out Xreal's Project Aura smartglasses there, ahead of their official launch, and found them "maximalist." Given Google's XR leads will be making a presentation later today, it's highly likely Android XR is brought up again this afternoon.

• I see we already have a commenter down below saying good morning! GM to you too, dwayno! What are we all expecting or hoping to see today? I am almost certain we will be seeing either updates to smart glasses or actual new hardware.

• Good morning everyone! Welcome to our liveblog of AWE 2026. Or, more specifically, AWE XR 2026 (USA). Or, even more specifically, three keynotes on the agenda for today at AWE XR 2026 (USA). Anyway, our senior reporter is at the event in Long Beach, California and already has some photos to share. I can't wait for you all to see them!