Google Beam Hands-On: The Most Lifelike 3D Video Calling That Didn’t Totally Blow Me Away

After Android XR smart glasses, I was most excited to try out Google Beam, a shrunken and commercialized version of Project Starline 3D video calling booth that Google has been plugging away at over the past couple of years. Seemingly everyone who has tried Project Starline has told me how mind-blowing it is to video call with someone inside of what’s essentially a glasses-free 3D TV, and feel like they’re really sitting in front of them. I finally got the opportunity to try the technology at Google I/O 2025—it’s impressive, but it’s far from some perfect replication of the person you’re talking with. Let me just repeat myself so there’s no confusion: that Google can replicate a person from a bunch of 2D videos that are then stitched together into 3D using a custom AI neural network is nothing short of wizardry. The 3D person inside of the screen really feels as if they’re sitting across the table. In my demo, which was actually using the older Project Starline setup and not the more ... Read full article.