Skip to main content

These new smart glasses put a 500-nit, 330-inch screen on your eyes

An exploded view shows Xreal Air 2 Pro's electrochromic lenses.
Xreal

Xreal (formerly Nreal) just announced the second generation of its popular smart glasses, the Xreal Air 2. The new model is even lighter and features brighter displays with higher density. The Xreal Air 2 is compatible with a wide variety of laptops, computers, phones, and gaming devices, providing a large virtual screen in a compact and easy-to-carry pair of glasses.

Like many similar smart glasses, the Xreal Air 2 are meant to replicate virtual screens right in your glasses without the need for multiple monitors.

Compared to the Xreal Air, the Air 2’s displays are 25% brighter, with better color fidelity. They should also be more comfortable and look more like normal glasses since Xreal managed to reduce the weight and thickness with the new design.

Virtual screens graphically shown in front of a woman on a couch.
Xreal

The detachable shades that dim ambient light look like regular sunglasses. A new Air 2 Pro model has adjustable electrochromic shades with three background dimming positions, including 99.9% black. There are black and red color options, plus Xreal’s Kaleido Kit offers a choice of six colorful skins to customize the appearance of your Air 2 smart glasses.

At just 72 grams (2.5oz), the Air 2 is 10% lighter than the original model. That might not seem like a big difference, but that weight rests mostly on your nose, with some on your ears, so every little bit helps. The earpieces now flex, which means they should fit more comfortably on various head shapes and sizes. Softer nose pads help relieve any pressure on your nose.

As a monitor and TV replacement, the Xreal Air 2’s screens need to be bright. They supply up to 500 nits of brightness, 25% more than the original Air glasses, while meeting TÜV Rheinland standards for limiting blue light and flickering to protect eye health. The refresh rate can go as high as 120Hz.

Two models lean heads on the other's shoulder to show Xreal Air 2 in black and red.
Xreal

Using the latest Sony micro-OLED technology, color exceeds the SRGB color gamut with a display industry standard gamma of 2.2. The Xreal Air 2’s improved displays should look more like a large HD monitor, with proper contrast and color saturation.

Xreal says the view is equivalent to a 330-inch screen at six meters. That’s a subjective measurement, of course, since you might perceive the virtual screen as closer than someone else. A more accurate metric is the 46-degree field of view. A large HD screen fills your central view when plugged into a device that supports USB-C Alt mode.

Audio is reportedly enhanced to reduce sound leakage and improve spatial separation. Movies should sound better and become more immersive.

You can turn your head to see up to three virtual monitors near your laptop.

Like the Nreal Air, the Xreal Air 2 smart glasses work with Nebula, a virtual AR desktop app for the Mac and PC. With Nebula, you can turn your head to see up to three virtual monitors near your laptop. There’s also a Nebula app for Android phones, but it presents an ultrawide display that appears as you turn to either side.

Most of the smart glasses I’ve tested lack spatial awareness, so the virtual screen locks to the center of your view no matter where you look. That isn’t always bad, but it’s nice to have the option to turn away and interact with others.

In July, Xreal launched an accessory called Beam that makes its Air smart glasses compatible with a wider variety of devices and anchors one virtual screen in place. The Xreal Air 2 works with Beam and other adapters, so you can connect to most computers, phones, and handheld gaming consoles.

The Xreal Air 2 smart glasses are now available to preorder for $399 and should be on Amazon by November and should ship by mid-to-late November. Xreal will also offer an Air 2 Pro model that includes adjustable electrochromic shades and costs $449.

Editors' Recommendations

Alan Truly
Computing Writer
Alan is a Computing Writer living in Nova Scotia, Canada. A tech-enthusiast since his youth, Alan stays current on what is…
Lenovo’s ThinkReality AR glasses can project virtual desktops into your eyes
lenovo thinkreality a3 smart glasses ar ces 2021

Days before CES 2021 officially gets underway, Lenovo has announced a new pair of AR glasses that may have a particularly useful feature for people working from home. The ThinkReality A3 are a new pair of smart glasses that use augmented reality to project up to five virtual desktops right in front of your eyes.

That's a multi-monitor setup like no other. In a day when we're all fighting for proper workspace at home, it could really come in handy.

Read more
This Lenovo gaming laptop with an RTX 4050 is 31% off right now
The Lenovo Slim 5i facing forward.

One of the better gaming laptop deals for the holiday season comes from Lenovo. Today, you can buy the Lenovo Slim 5i Gen 8 gaming laptop for $931 meaning you save $419 off the regular price of $1,350. That's 31% off. Granted, Lenovo's estimated value prices tend to be a little higher than average, so the discount may be slightly smaller if real MSRP is taken into account. Even still, $931 for a gaming laptop with these specs is pretty special. Here’s what else you need to know about it before you buy.

Why you should buy the Lenovo Slim 5i
As one of the best laptop brands, Lenovo has a particular talent for making great gaming laptops. This model has a 13th-generation Intel Core i5 processor along with 16GB of memory and 512GB of SSD storage. It also has an Nvidia GeForce RTX 4050 graphics card which is well paired with its 16-inch WUXGA screen. The screen offers a resolution of 1920 x 1200, 45% NTSC, 300 nits of brightness, and a refresh rate of 144Hz so it’s perfect for this kind of spec.

Read more
This Samsung 32-inch 4K gaming monitor is 30% off for the holidays
The front view of the Samsung Odyssey Neo G7 4K curved gaming monitor.

Is your gaming setup still stuck with an old screen? If you've just upgraded with gaming PC deals, then you should maximize your machine's capabilities by investing in a gaming monitor like the 32-inch Samsung Odyssey Neo G7. Making this curved gaming monitor an even better buy is Samsung's $400 discount that brings its price down to $900 from $1,300. It's still not cheap, but it's the display that you need to fully appreciate the graphics of modern video games. You're going to have to hurry though, as stock may run out quickly for the holiday season.

Why you should buy the 32-inch Samsung Odyssey Neo G7 4K curved gaming monitor
The Samsung Odyssey Neo G7 4K curved gaming monitor delivers exceptional image quality, which is actually something that you'd expect from a screen that's made by one of the best TV brands. With 4K Ultra HD resolution, you'll enjoy lifelike details on the best PC games, and with a refresh rate of up to 165Hz, gameplay will be seamless with smooth movements. The 1000R curvature on the gaming monitor's 32-inch screen mimics the curve of the human eye so it fills your peripheral vision, and its support for AMD's FreeSync Premium Pro will further improve immersion by eliminating screen tearing and stuttering.

Read more