I’ve reviewed several of Xreal’s augmented reality glasses over the past year, the most recent being the Air 2 . However, the company is back again with a more feature-packed entry: the Air 2 Ultra. While the Air and Air 2 focused primarily on allowing you to enjoy content on a simulated 100+ inch virtual screen while still seeing your environment around you, the Air 2 Ultra adds six degrees of freedom (6DoF) tracking.
Xreal first introduced 6DoF tracking with the Nreal Light , but the Air 2 Ultra puts more powerful hardware into a sleeker and more stylish titanium frame. Despite the lightweight frame, the Air 2 Ultra is a bit heavier at 80 grams compared to 72 grams for the Air 2. The Air 2 Ultra includes two new environmental sensors (cameras) embedded in the glasses-style frame (which Xreal claims are the smallest in the industry), allowing real-time tracking of the user’s position within a 3D space and even enabled hand tracking. This should allow for a more immersive AR experience that offers a mix of virtual content interspersed with real-world environments, which is possible with the Meta Quest 3 .
The rest of the hardware is similar to what we’ve seen with the Air 2, which means you get a Full HD OLED display per eye, offering a maximum refresh rate of 120Hz and maximum brightness of 500 nits. However, you now get a 52-degree field-of-view, up from 46 degrees with the Air 2. When viewing content (such as games or movies) on the glasses, it’s like looking at a 154-inch screen at a distance of 13 feet. Trust me, it’s a trippy experience when you first try it.
Other features include speakers integrated into the frames with directional audio to allow you to listen to music/movies/games without blasting those in your vicinity with unwanted noise. The glasses connect to your smartphone, tablet, or PC with a USB-C cable. That means that the Air 2 Ultra is natively supported by most Android devices and Apple’s most recent iPhone 15 family. Older iPhones can be used with the Air 2 Ultra by purchasing a separate adapter.
The company points out the $499 Quest 3 and Apple’s $3,499 Vision Pro as direct competitors. Both of those devices offer more powerful hardware and higher-resolution displays. They also provide a passthrough digital view of the outside world instead of a direct view of the outside world, as the Air 2 Ultra offers. Another big difference is that the Air 2 Ultra looks more like a regular pair of sunglasses, albeit a bit bulkier. The Vision Pro and Quest 3 quickly draw attention for their unorthodox designs.
Xreal is targeting developers and general consumers with the Air 2 Ultra, and the glasses will be available in March for $699 . However, the company will offer a $100 discount for owners of the Nreal Light who preorder the AR glasses.
