With a release window in the "coming weeks" the Xreal Aura smart glasses finally have a price, and no, it won't be cheap. The Android XR spectacles are a pair of spatial computing glasses that should rival the recently announced Meta VR Glasses.
The glasses will come in two configurations starting at $1,279, with pre-orders open now.
“By combining lightweight optical see through glasses with Android XR, Gemini, and Snapdragon-powered performance, XREAL AURA gives movie-lovers, gamers, sports fans, desktop workers, developers and the enterprise, a new way to experience computing that's more wearable, open, and connected to the world around them – and they will be able to experience it this year," CEO and co-founder Chi Xu said in a press release.
What are the Xreal Aura?
If you're unfamiliar, the Xreal Aura was developed in a partnership between Google, Qualcomm and Xreal. These glasses feature "split-compute," meaning that the Snapdragon Reality Elite silicon that powers the glasses is in a separate puck.
The glasses weight 95 grams, putting them on the slightly heavier side of AR glasses. They feature a 70-degree field of view, which is pretty generous when similar products often sit closer to 50.
The compute puck enables gesture controls but can also be used as a trackpad for navigation.
Xreal Aura vs Meta VR Glasses
With a price of $1,299, the Xreal Aura glasses are basically the same price as the Meta VR Glasses and, based on our initial hands-on testing, seem to do a lot of the same things.
Both are spatial computing eXtended Reality platforms in a pair of smart glasses that are tethered to a compute puck that holds the battery and CPU.
Xreal's glasses seem to have an advantage, thanks to the Android XR operating system and built-in Google apps, Gemini Live integration, wider connectivity and a more familiar aesthetic. You can just look through the Aura to see the world around you, while the Meta VR Glasses require a camera passthrough.
But I wouldn't sleep on the Meta VR Glasses. Muse is coming on strong as an AI assistant. The 5K micro-OLED displays offer more detail than Xreal's 1200p display, and you get better light blockage. Plus, Meta has a huge content library.
For more details, we've done a deep dive comparing the Meta VR Glasses versus Xreal Aura. Either way, lightweight spatial computing is growing, pointing to an interesting future.
Price and release window
Pre-orders are now open via Xreal.com/aura if you paid a reservation deposit. You should receive an email today if you did.
"Due to high demand and high reservations for AURA, only those who already reserved AURA prior to October 7 will be eligible to pre-order AURA and complete their purchases starting today," the Xreal press release said.
The glasses come in Medium (60-60mm IPD) or Large (66-72mm IPD) versions to start. From there, you can either pick a version with 12GB of RAM and 256GB storage in the compute puck for $1,279 or 16GB RAM and 512GB storage for $1,499.
The glasses will start shipping to the US, Canada, Japan and South Korea, with more markets coming next year. Otherwise, general availability orders will be available at launch, whenever that is.
Xreal is describing the release of the Aura as a phased rollout, and it's not clear how available the specs will be outside of the reservation phase.
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