Apple Vision Pro is the target of Xreal’s new AR Glasses

Xreal, a company that specializes in augmented reality, has announced a new addition to its Air 2 Ultra glasses: the $699 Air 2 Ultra. Air 2 Ultra is a new entry in the Airglasses lineup. Developers can preorder them today, and they will be shipped starting in March.

They offer full positional tracking (6DOF), in Xreal’s usual sunglasses-style design. This makes them perfect for watching TV, playing games or flat-screen videos on a projector screen. They can also run immersive AR apps. That’s exactly what Xreal wants developers to do.

They are meant to compete against Meta’s Quest 3 headsets, as well as Apple’s Vision Pro headsets. The Air 2 Ultra glasses are more feature-rich than the $399 Air 2 that Xreal (formerly Nreal) released late last year.

The Xreal team also talks about the style and fashion credentials of its device. This is funny, as the primary target market for the device is the well-known fashion-forward group: developers. The glasses that cost $699 and include 3D tracking will be available in March.

It brings back spatial tracking with 6DoF and hand tracking. In addition, it has a 52-degree field of view and 42 pixels per degree sharpness in an 80-gram package. The company claims that the specs of the Air 2 Ultra make it a viable alternative to the $3 499 Vision Pro.

Xreal’s device is only usable when tethered to a computer or phone. This makes Qualcomm’s dig on the Vision Pro tethered Battery Pack look like a joke. It’s not a computer, but a spatial display.

The new device, as its name implies, is an updated version of the Xreal Air 2 Pro and Air 2 devices. It’s the same as its predecessors: a pair of augmented reality glasses that can be used to display a Mac, a PC, a games console, or an Android device.

Xreal (formerly Nreal) hosted one of CES’ busiest booths in recent years. It’s not surprising that they’re back with new AR Glasses for CES 2020, especially after the launch of Apple Vision Pro. The Xreal Air 1 Ultra follows the Nreal Light of 2019.

Apple’s $3499 Vision Pro, is rumored to launch in February. Apple has also promised that developers can create spatially immersive experiences alongside projected flat screens. Meta’s Quest 3 ($499), which launched last October combines mixed reality games with full-fledged VR. 

It made sense to remove the mixed reality features of the older Light Glasses to reduce weight and save money. Xreal can now compete directly with Apple and Meta, its two most well-known US rivals. 

Both headsets are using passthrough mixed-reality, which overlays virtual objects on a live video feed rather than direct projection, as Xreal does. Meta is currently working on AR glasses that are more similar to Apple’s Air 2 Ultra.