Extended reality, or XR, is an umbrella term for technologies and experiences commonly described as augmented reality, virtual reality and mixed reality.
An umbrella, not a single product
AR adds digital content to a view of the real world. VR presents a virtual environment. Mixed reality is used in several ways, often for digital content with a spatial relationship to the physical surroundings. XR groups these overlapping fields without fixing every boundary.
Why exhibitions use the term
A museum programme may include a phone-based artwork, a headset installation and a virtual reconstruction. XR is a convenient description of the programme as a whole, but each encounter still needs its own visitor instructions and technical plan.
What the label does not tell you
XR does not specify camera access, tracking method, display quality, accessibility or whether a browser can run the experience. A device advertised as XR may not support the particular AR content you want to show.
Describe the experience plainly
For a Painta artwork, an instruction such as “Open the link and point your phone at the painting” is more useful at the point of entry than a technology category alone.