What Is Extended Reality?
WhatIs, Wednesday, October 1st, 2025
Extended reality (XR) is an umbrella term related to all immersive technologies such as virtual reality (VR), augmented reality (AR) and mixed reality (MR).
These technologies work in the following ways:
- VR. Typically delivered using a VR headset, it places the user in a fully digital environment, shutting out surrounding physical environments.
- AR. Typically delivered using headsets, glasses and heads up displays (HUDs), AR overlays digital information over real-world environments. It's meant to augment the user's physical environment.
- MR. Typically delivered using advanced headsets, MR builds on AR by anchoring digital objects to interact with the user's real environment.
XR also spans any technologies that blend physical and digital environments. It affects the way we navigate both spaces, blending them together in a way that's useful for different industries.