\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n
Likenesses take a slightly different (and probably more user-friendly) approach for the initial face scan; rather than scanning by holding a headset out in front of your face, Google instead released a Likeness (beta) Android app<\/a> to let people scan themselves with their phone instead. Holding your phone in front of your face for a scan is definitely a bit easier than awkwardly holding a whole headset with both hands.<\/p>\n According to Google, the Likeness (beta) app is only compatible with\u00a0Google Pixel 8 or newer, Samsung Galaxy S23 or newer, or Samsung Z Fold5 or newer. Without a compatible device, you can\u2019t create a Likeness avatar, meaning Android XR users with an iPhone (or unsupported Android phone) won\u2019t be able to scan themselves. One benefit of Apple\u2019s approach to scanning with the headset itself is that anyone can use a Persona avatar on Vision Pro regardless of what kind of phone they have.<\/p>\n Like Apple\u2019s approach, Likeness avatars can be used generically as a \u2018virtual webcam\u2019. That makes them widely compatible with most video call apps that expect a front-facing camera, like Google Meet,\u00a0Zoom, Messenger, etc.<\/p>\n And just like Apple, the first \u2018beta\u2019 iteration of Likeness avatars are 2D only. They are presented as a 2D representation with no way to transmit them in a spatial format, or have a \u2018spatial meeting\u2019, like Vision Pro can do with spatial FaceTime calls. However, Google says it\u2019s working on spatial meetings for the future.<\/p>\n My Take<\/p>\n Photorealistic avatars on XR headsets are a great value-add because of the ability to use video call apps naturally. Apple\u2019s Personas are currently the state-of-the-art as far as consumer-available photorealistic avatars, and the company has shown that it\u2019s possible to cross over the uncanny valley with this approach to avatars.<\/p>\n During a recent meeting with Google, I joined a demo video call on Google Meet with one of the participants using a Likeness avatar. From a photorealism standpoint, the results look impressive, and facial movements look convincing too. However, because I didn\u2019t personally know the individual using the Likeness, I was unfamiliar with their actual idiolect, which makes it impossible for me to judge the accuracy of the facial motion. Still, facial motion only needs to be plausibly realistic\u00a0to be passable in many circumstances, and that\u2019s been achieved from what I can see.<\/p>\n While it\u2019s a bummer that there\u2019s no \u2018spatial meeting\u2019 yet for Android XR (allowing users to chat face-to-face with fully spatial Likeness avatars), Google made the right choice in prioritizing virtual webcam usage at the start. It\u2019s less impressive than spatial meetings, but more widely useful and compatible with existing services and apps.<\/p>\n There\u2019s probably no chance we\u2019ll see spatial calls between Likeness avatars and Persona avatars any time soon, but virtual webcam compatibility makes it trivial for both kinds of avatars to chat across headsets.<\/p>\n One thing worth noting is that Likeness avatars probably won\u2019t be compatible with all Android XR devices. Forthcoming \u2018Android XR\u2019 smartglasses (which don\u2019t run anything close to the full-blown version of Android XR) don\u2019t have the power or sensors necessary to render or animate a Likeness avatar. Similarly, devices like XREAL Aura<\/a> (which\u00a0does run full-blown Android XR), might have the power but don\u2019t have the sensors (eye and mouth tracking cameras) to animate a Likeness avatar.<\/p>\n It\u2019s possible that Google could make Likeness avatars compatible with these devices by doing simulated eye movements and audio-based lip-sync. Although those technologies are already widely in use for more cartoonish avatars, they\u2019re likely to fall deep into the uncanny valley when applied to photorealistic face scans. So I doubt Google will take that approach.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/android-xr-likeness-avatar-3-640x360.jpg\"){kind=avatar}
<\/a>Image courtesy Google<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/android-xr-likeness-avatar-1-640x360.jpg\"){kind=avatar}
<\/a>Image courtesy Google<\/p>\n