Nreal’s impressive AR glasses – the Nreal Air – are headed to the US along with a new adapter that’ll make the specs compatible with a load of new devices.
Launching today, the Nreal Air AR glasses will be available on Amazon for $379. These glasses plug into a compatible smartphone via a USB-C cable and then virtually project a screen in front of you. Along with the surround sound provided by speakers in the glasses’ arms, the Nreal Air glasses make it feel like you watching one of the best Netflix shows or playing an Xbox Game Pass game in your own private cinema.
On top of that, the newly unveiled Nreal Air Adapter will allow you to connect the glasses to one of the best iPhones or a Nintendo Switch for the first time. This $59 add-on (when paired with an Apple lightning to digital AV adapter) will allow iOS users to finally enjoy the same benefits that Nreal was already bringing to many Android users.
The only downside of the adapter is its price. $59 is a lot to spend when you already paid $379 for the glasses, and it only gets worse when you realize that you also need the $49 Apple adapter as well – for a total cost of $487. Thankfully, those of you hoping to use them with the Nintendo Switch won’t need an additional part – everything you need comes with Nreal’s $59 dongle.
A user playing a first-person shooter at home with the Nreal Air glasses (Image credit: Nreal)
We really liked the Nreal Air AR glasses – this writer called them the best gadget they’ve ever used – but again the price was a major sticking point. Aimed primarily at travelers, we felt that you’d get a lot more bang for your buck by buying a pair of the best wireless headphones we’ve reviewed – like the Sony WH-1000XM4 – instead of these specs.
That said, if you have the cash to spare (and a compatible smartphone or console like a Steam Deck) you’ll probably love them. And if you’re in the US you can buy them right now from Amazon.com.
Nebula comes to Macs
Beyond the hardware news, Nreal has announced some improvements to its Nebula AR platform.
Chief among them is a Mac version of Nebula that will bring the platform to all MacBook Pros and MacBook Airs powered by Apple chips. Once you’ve plugged your Nreal Air glasses into one of Apple’s best MacBooks or Macs, an AR desktop will launch, displaying multiple displays in the air around you like you’re Tony Stark.
Nreal’s also updating the existing Nebula platform with a redesigned AR space that’ll feature new 3D icons and widgets that recommend AR content to users. On top of that, the Nebula Spatial Browser will now let you choose between two different display modes – horizontal mode for multi-window browsing and vertical mode if you want to see a longer version of one page.
A recreation of what Nreal’s virtual multimonitor setup looks like (Image credit: Nreal)
Aside from cinema mode, which we like, we weren’t impressed by some of Nreal Nebula platform’s other AR features. However, this update shows that it’s looking to improve its platform’s usability. While we don’t think these updates go quite far enough, we’re interested to see what Nreal comes out with next.
If you’re looking to try a more interactive AR or VR experience then check out our Pico 4 vs Oculus Quest 2 comparison guide to determine which headset is best for you.