Before the Meta VR glasses arrive next spring, Google and Xreal will debut a new device that also has VR-like experiences on a pair of display glasses connected to a processor puck: Xreal Aura will arrive in mid-November, with pre-orders opening today.
The device, previously announced to cost $1,279, will cost less for now. It is now down to $1,099 for early orders for the version with 256GB storage and 12GB RAM, or $1,299 for the one with 512GB / 16GB (previous price: $1,500) until the end of this year.
I was impressed by the Xreal Aura during early demos last year. It runs a version of Android called AndroidXR, handles any Android app in either 2D or 3D VR-like modes, and can even run all the apps from the more expensive Samsung Galaxy XR released last year. It has hand tracking and can also pair with keyboards and game controllers.
Also, like the Meta VR glasses, the Xreal Aura can plug into your phone, laptop or any USB-C video-out device to show it on the glasses, either as a floating display in the Xreal Aura’s desktop or just with the glasses cut off from the processor puck.
Chi Xu, Xreal founder and CEO, has been working on the idea of AR glasses for years. I saw the company’s nReal Light glasses all the way back in 2019. But Aura finally looks like the idea that Chi dreamed of.
Project Aura comes with its own travel case. The processor puck it uses is about the size of a phone.
Scott Stein/CNET
“Ultimately, we think this can be a tablet or laptop replacement,” Chi tells me about devices like the Xreal Aura, which stick to the processing of pucks and work like ultra-portable VR headsets, unlike wireless smart glasses like those that Meta, Google and others also make. He also thinks that the portable nature of the Aura’s running camera and display-connected Gemini will allow for some ideas that no one has seen before.
“We hope that Aura can be a pivotal step for this entire industry, easily and easily integrated with AI,” he said.
The Aura also intrigues me because, while it may feel like VR when I wear the glasses with their 70-degree field of view MicroOLED display, they actually float their display on top of transparent lenses that have varying degrees of electrochromic dimming. They can be more easily worn outside, in places where VR headsets are not meant to go. And while they aren’t true standalone AR glasses, they could potentially be used to test outdoor experiences with AR and AI via Gemini in ways that Snap Specs aims to do later this year as well.
Chi’s confidence in portable glasses computers like Xreal Aura as tablet or even laptop alternatives intrigues me. The Aura has a folding keyboard accessory, and its processor puck doubles as a trackpad. This type of on-the-go work use is exactly what I’m interested in putting to the test, along with much more, when I review the Aura.
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