The Xreal Air 2 Professional are the newest augmented actuality (AR) glasses to land on my face. As a second-generation machine, they characteristic a raft of enhancements, together with a brighter digital show with a better refresh fee, enhanced audio, and a few considerate tweaks that make them extra snug and simpler to make use of.
Earlier than we dive in, it’s price noting that Xreal was once generally known as Nreal, however modified the identify after Epic Video games (proprietor of the Unreal Engine) sued for trademark infringement. Changing the Xreal (Nreal) Air are two fashions of latest AR glasses, the Xreal Air 2 and the Xreal Air 2 Professional. The one distinction is that the Professional model options electrochromic dimming and prices an additional $50.
Evolving Design
The Xreal Air 2 glasses may nearly cross for a chunky pair of standard specs. The temples are thick, and you’ll possible have to put on them barely additional out out of your eyes than different glasses to deal with the digital display screen, however they’re comparatively refined as AR glasses go. The USB-C port is on the finish of the left temple. You get a prolonged cable within the field and a tough case to soundly retailer the specs.
At first look, you can simply mistake the Xreal Air 2 Professional glasses for his or her predecessor. They’re barely lighter, down from 79 to 75 grams (the non-Professional model weighs simply 72 grams). The temples are longer, with softer suggestions that curve round your ears. You additionally get three sizes of interchangeable nostril pads, and the temples click on by way of three angled positions. You may clip a prescription lens body inside, although lenses will price you further.
Total, I discovered the Xreal Air 2 Professional a lot roomier and extra snug than the unique Air glasses. You get a snap-on shade attachment that gives a darkish background. Crucially, it additionally blocks gentle beneath your eyes, which is significant if you wish to deal with the digital display screen, particularly in a brilliant room or a busy cafe.
The Air 2 Professional options electrochromic dimming. Press the button on the correct temple to cycle by way of three ranges, making the glasses clear, 35 p.c dimmed to keep watch over the true world, or one hundred pc dimmed to dam gentle. It’s cool, however even at one hundred pc, it doesn’t work in addition to the easy clip on shade, and I don’t assume the gimmick is price the additional $50. The one different bodily management on the Xreal Air 2 glasses is a rocker on the correct temple that adjusts the brightness. Maintain it down for 3 seconds, and it modifications right into a quantity rocker.
Sliding Screens
The XReal Air 2 glasses depend on a pair of 0.55-inch Sony micro-OLED shows with a 1080p decision and a most refresh fee of 120 Hz. Plug the USB-C cable into any smartphone, laptop computer, or gadget that helps DisplayPort (DP) output (USB Sort-C Alt mode), and the Xreal Air 2 glasses mirror your display screen. Don’t assume your machine helps DP, as a result of a number of latest releases don’t. For instance, the iPhone 15 does, however the Pixel 8 and OnePlus 11 don’t.
The digital show emulates a 130-inch display screen a couple of toes away, although the facet ratio relies on the connected machine. Utilizing the Xreal Air 2 Professional with a folding telephone, like my Xiaomi Combine Fold 3 (7/10, WIRED Overview), for instance, mirrored the vast display screen when closed and the bigger sq. show when opened, which minimize off a hefty portion on the backside. It’s difficult to deal with the entire display screen, so the perimeters typically seem blurry or minimize off. You might also have to slip the glasses out additional than you’ll usually put on them, which at all times appears foolish.
Offered you utilize the shade or dimming and have a plain, darkish backdrop, the digital show is sharp, colourful, and brilliant, regardless of some average-sounding specs (100,000:1 distinction ratio and 500 nits most brightness). As a mirrored show, the Xreal Air 2 Professional glasses are stable, and you’ll respect the 120-Hz refresh fee in case you are gaming with a smartphone or handheld, just like the Steam Deck.
