XREAL Air 2 Ultra

XREAL, formerly Nreal, unveils the XREAL Air 2 Ultra, a new addition to their Air series of augmented reality glasses, at CES 2024. The AR sunglasses have two 3D environment sensors with computer vision built in, which can help turn real-world objects into digital objects that can be used with apps. As a result, users will be able to create their own 3D spaces and applications anywhere, see an augmented reality world materialize before their eyes, incorporate digital objects from their real-world surroundings, and operate everything with hand gestures. The Air 2 Ultra from XREAL is being marketed as a less expensive option to the Apple Vision Pro and Meta Quest 3, which the company claims will begin shipping in March 2024.

We are given an early look at spatial computing with the Xreal Air 2. The Xreal Air 2 Ultra is much lighter and smaller than devices like the Apple Vision Pro and Meta Quest 3, and it is designed to capitalize on this exciting future of UI interaction fully. This premium hardware and the future-proofed possibility of packing full tracking into these with the 3D cameras are why I selected these specs as one of my favorite CES 2024 devices. But is $700 a good investment for a future idea? Should we hold off on purchasing until you see what the developers come up with? Now let’s get started.

Titanium AR GLASSES APP DESIGN FOR 3-D

 The Spatial Life experience, a new method to demonstrate how these AR glasses function, is being unveiled at CES 2024 alongside the release of the XREAL Air 2 Ultra. Through the experience, 2D apps and widgets can be transformed into completely immersive 3D setups and settings that attendees of CES 2024 can experiment with and test out. The apps and widgets that users can see on the AR glasses can be moved and overlaid, much like multiple tabs open in a web browser, because the glasses use 3D sensors to scan their entire environment. The user can work on multiple apps at once and multitask in this way. 

XREAL’S AR GLASSES TRANSFORM PHYSICAL TO DIGITAL OBJECTS

With a maximum brightness of 500 nits and a refresh rate of up to 120 Hz, this version of AR glasses, according to XREAL, can produce images that are clear and vivid under various lighting circumstances. The smart device also includes directional audio technology, which helps reduce sound dispersion so that only the users can hear the sounds and there is minimal disturbance to others, and an audio system akin to that found in movie theaters. Additional capabilities of XREAL’s AR glasses include image tracking, which enables users to create applications that can react to and track images in their natural surroundings, as well as the ability to convert real-world objects into 3D images for the apps. 

Additionally, there is depth meshing to create a 3D representation of the physical environment, plane detection to track viewing angles horizontally and vertically, hand-tracking to enable gesture-based interaction with 3D spaces and apps, and spatial anchor to enable screen sharing amongst users so they can work together on tasks using a single monitor. The cost of XREAL’s Air 2 Ultra AR glasses is 699 USD as of the story’s publication.

Our CES 2024 Technology Champions

“We need to go from this rectangle to everywhere; applications [would] need to go from 2D to 3D,” Xreal’s founder and CEO, Chi Xu, stated, gesturing to a smartphone. “It definitely takes some time.” The Xreal Air 2 Ultra weighs about 0.2 pounds and has an appearance similar to a slightly larger pair of standard glasses. Though I only had a brief opportunity to try them on, they seem light and comfortable to wear. With their support for full motion tracking, or six degrees of freedom, or 6DoF, they are able to detect if you are moving within an area. With a 52-degree field of vision, each eye can support full HD resolution. 

It’s like looking at a 154-inch screen from 13 feet away when watching 2D content. The $3,500 Apple Vision Pro and $1,000 Meta Quest Pro eyewear are significantly more expensive than the $699 Xreal Air 2 Ultra glasses. However, in contrast to those gadgets, Xreal’s new glasses require a connection to another device to function. The advantage is that compared to other headsets, Xreal’s glasses are substantially smaller and more aesthetically pleasing. As was already mentioned, one drawback is that it is not a stand-alone device. In roughly five years, Xu believes it will be feasible to create a wearable computer that is self-contained and resembles a pair of glasses.

SUPER AIR 2 ULTRA: VISUAL & AUDIO

The same vibrant Sony Micro-OLED panels that offer up to a 120Hz refresh rate (90Hz in 3D) and a 1080p picture per eye are also giving the interior visual experience a slight boost. However, the field of view has been improved to 52 degrees from 46. This is a minor adjustment that will have a big impact as spatial computing grows. 

When combined with the electrochromic lenses to filter out light, you can have an experience that is either superimposed on your surroundings or as immersive as you like. Additionally, it appears that the directional audio is slightly louder in real life. Considering that Xreal can only fit tiny tweeters in this space, the listening experience is still somewhat tinny. However, the volume is consistent here, regardless of whether you’re using them to project an image from, say, your laptop or Steam Deck, or you’re doing something more complex when linked to an AR app.

AR Features of the XREAL Air 2 Ultra

The Xreal Air 2 Ultra is available for purchase by consumers, but the company is marketing it as a tool for developers. The hardware, which includes two 3D cameras that allow for six degrees of freedom (6DOF) positional tracking, is evident. The tattoos on my hand appear to be a bit of a challenge for the team to get past, so while the tracking is good overall, it’s not flawless. My hands are almost perfect when held palm up, but when I turn them over, they frequently vanish, and the color of the table can also affect this. The biggest challenge, though, is that to fully utilize it, the software must exist. Although they weren’t flawless, the demos I tried were very impressive. One could move between work and play areas by pressing and holding a variety of switches that the glasses recognized.

OVERVIEW

The Xreal Air 2 gave us a sneak peek at computer vision. However, we now have the hardware to make it happen with Xreal Air 2 Ultra. The software will soon be able to utilize it to its fullest potential. You see, purchasing them now is investing in a future location where the portability of AR and VR headset capabilities will meet — a reasonably safe bet on what is on the horizon from a company that is raking in investments left, right, and center. You won’t be able to do much more than use a regular pair of Air 2 glasses, though, if you’re a general consumer buying them right now. For $700, you will receive a rather high-end set of AR specifications.