Simply Piano XR

Spatial piano learning app for Android XR

I partnered with Simply to bring their popular piano learning app to Android XR. It shipped in January 2026 as one of the first third-party apps on the platform.

The project included both design and implementation. Working alongside Simply's AR team, I built the entire app from the ground up using Unity and the Android XR SDK. The audio engine, lesson content and course structure were ported from Simply's existing apps.

The app is a unique use case for mixed reality technology, allowing users to learn how to play by seeing virtual indications and hints on top of a real piano.

Simply Piano XR ↗ Play Store ↗

Virtual Piano

The virtual piano feature allows learning even without a physical instrument. Using hand tracking information from the device, users can practice in any environment.

Building a keyboard that feels responsive and grounded required close attention to the hand interactions - telling a press from a hover, assigning fingers to keys, filtering false positives, smoothing jitter and more.

Note Rendering

At the heart of the app, musical notation has to stay legible whether it's an arm's length away or across the room. I implemented a custom signed distance field note renderer that draws crisp, antialiased notes at any distance.

Design

The goal was to make Simply's existing visual language feel native to Android XR rather than a flat app floating in space. I kept the brand's look but rebuilt the layouts around depth — layering panels, notation and the keyboard at different distances to create hierarchy and bring the interface to life.

Outcome

Simply Piano XR is free on Google Play for Galaxy XR. It was featured in Google's Project Aura showcase at I/O 2026 and will ship on XREAL's Aura glasses at their launch later this year, moving the same experience from a passthrough headset to optical see-through glasses.