Key Features
Introduction
With theApple Vision Pro arrive next month , the hype forARheadsets and ‘ spacial calculation ’ is at an all - time high , so there was no surprise to see numerous companies jumping on the bandwagon at theCES 2024trade show .
I ’ve tried on a few different AR devices in the past week , but the one that ingrain me the most was the new Xreal Air 2 Ultra . While they may look like a twain of dark glasses , they are wad with AR magic , allowing me to augment a virtual fascia or movie into my tangible - cosmos surroundings .
But while there are now mass of AR specs that endorse such functionality , Xreal goes one pace further by tot up the world ’s smallest 3D surroundings sensors . These cameras enable handtacking , allowing you to interact with augmented menus and aim without the need for controllers .
There ’s no computing flake put in inside the Xreal Air 2 Ultra , like with the Apple Vision Pro for instance , so you ’ll need to connect them to an outside twist such as a smartphone , laptop or even a hand-held gambling gimmick .
The Xreal Air 2 Ultra sounds like a elephantine jump forward for AR engineering then , but can they really vie with the like of Apple ? I went hand on with the AR glasses at CES 2024 to find out . Here are my early thoughts .
Price and Availability
The Xreal Air 2 Ultra are priced at $ 699 . They ’re available for pre - order now , with a liberation engagement penned in for March 2024 .
Design
After trying on numerous AR and VR headset in the past few long time , it ’s become clear-cut to me that the size of the headset is one of the prominent obstacle . Being able-bodied to watch motion picture or utter berth work with AR technology sound great on paper , but few people will need to do so with a hulking headset on their bean .
This is why the Xreal Air 2 Ultra are so telling , taking the shape of a pair of glasses that could easily get lost in a Ray - Bans fund . The sleeve of the drinking glass are slender , with the name of the product printed on the intimate side .
Just like any brace of spectacles , they rest upon your ears for persist prepare on your face , with three positions you may shift between to find the best scene .
They only weigh 80 Hans C. J. Gram , and so can most likely bosom your face for hours without stimulate discomfort . Xreal has used atomic number 22 for the frame of the glances , strike a cracking balance between lastingness and weight .
Face the front of the chicken feed , and you ’ll remark cameras embed into the rim just above the lenses . These are the 3D surroundings sensing element , making it potential to track your hand and drumhead campaign . It ’s these sensing element that make the Xreal Air 2 Ultra put up out from the competitor , elevating them from a mere admonisher replenishment , to a spacial computing accessory that you ’d be able to carry out legion chore via simple hand gestures .
Two speakers and two microphones are ramp up into the glasses , permit you to pass on on an on-line call without having to bother with headphones . I went hand - on with the glasses at a busy convention centre , so I was ineffective to test these features , although Xreal claim it has worked hard to forestall heavy leakage to prevent other mass in a way from listening in .
Specs and Performance
The Xreal Air 2 Ultra may expect canonical , but these trash are really shove with impressive applied science . For the concealment , it uses aMicro OLEDdisplay , which is the same technology Apple is using for the Vision Pro .
The Xreal glass are limited to a Full HD ( 1920×1080 ) resolving power per optic however , so wo n’t be quite as sharp as the 4 cat valium display of Apple ’s compete headset .
Nevertheless , I was impressed with the calibre of the Xreal Air 2 Ultra . I watch short demos of Avatar , worthless Me and Life of Pi movies , with tot up 3D effects to crank up the immersion . I find it easy to read text edition too , and semblance appear promising thanks to the high 500 - nit support . The refresh rate come in at a gamey 120Hz too .
Navigating menus was very simple , requiring me to swipe my fingers together to open up an app or tweak a stage setting . The ice can even interact with non-living aim via the sensors . For the demo , I was given simple cardboard buttons and switch that can be used to navigate the headset ’s splasher . These cardboard accessory apparently wo n’t be available with the headset at launching , but it instance the huge electric potential of the Xreal Air 2 Ultra .
In term of software package , I was restricted to the main splasher , which Xreal says is n’t the final version . It make for middling swimmingly though , allowing me to open widgets for a weather forecast and personal calendar .
I was regrettably unable to try anything more complex , such as typing on a virtual keyboard , operate in a video recording call or even playing a biz . That mean I ’m going to hold judicial decision on functioning until we receive a followup model .
My prominent mental reservation about the Xreal Air 2 Ultra is that it call for to be plugged into an external machine – such as a smartphone – to function . Not only is there no battery built into the glasses , but there ’s no compute chip either . That should n’t come as a surprise , as it ’s currently impossible to fit those duplicate into such a small yoke of trash . But it ’s this difference that makes the larger Apple Vision Pro a more likeable Cartesian product .
Xreal read the methamphetamine hydrochloride are compatible with numerous devices , include ( but not restricted to ) Macs , Windows microcomputer , Samsung Android earpiece and theiPhone 15 . Xreal has corroborate that it will be establish a tradition computing unit in the future , which should supply a safe AR experience , but it ’s unknown that this important constituent wo n’t be uncommitted at launch .
Screen mirroring is supported for virtually anything with a USB - C connection , include iPhone , Android , MacBook , Steam Deck , ROG Allyand Windows PC . This will allow you to apply the Xreal glass as an extraneous display for these devices .
Like with any AR machine , success for the Xreal Air 2 Ultra will be strung-out on the software . Aside from a oeuvre - in - progression dashboard and watching a few clip of some 3D movies , I was ineffective to judge out any full fledge applications . Xreal is incisive to get more developers make apps for the hardware , and will presently be plunge the Xreal AR research lab to make the applied science more accessible .
