The impressive AR Nreal glasses – the Nreal Air – are headed to the United States with a new adapter that will make the specs match a plethora of new devices.
Starting today, the Nreal Air AR glasses will be available from Amazon for $ 379. These glasses connect to a compatible smartphone via a USB-C cable and then project the screen virtually in front of you. Along with the surround sound provided by the speakers in the earpieces of the glasses, the Nreal Air glasses make you feel like you’re watching one of the best Netflix shows or playing Xbox Game Pass in your own private theater.
What’s more, the newly presented Nreal Air adapter will allow you to connect the glasses to one of the best iPhones or Nintendo Switch for the first time. This $ 59 add-on (paired with the Apple Lightning to Digital AV Adapter) will allow iOS users to finally enjoy the same benefits that Nreal has already provided to many Android users.
The only downside of the adapter is its price. $ 59 is a lot to spend once you’ve paid $ 379 for glasses, and things get worse once you realize you also need an Apple adapter for $ 49 – for a total cost of $ 487. Luckily, those of you hoping to use them with a Nintendo Switch won’t need the extra part – all you need comes with a $ 59 Nreal dongle.
We really liked the Nreal Air AR glasses – this writer called them the best gadget they’ve ever used – but again the price was the main point of dispute. Aiming primarily at travelers, we found that when you buy a pair of the best wireless headphones we reviewed – such as the Sony WH-1000XM4 – you will get a lot more money than these specs.
That said, if you have cash to spare (and? compatible smartphone (opens in a new tab) or console like Steam Deck), you’ll probably love them. And if you’re in the US, you can buy them now on Amazon.com (opens in a new tab).
Nebula appears on Mac computers
In addition to the hardware news, Nreal announced several improvements to its Nebula AR platform.
The most important of these is the Mac version of the Nebula, which will bring the platform to all MacBook Pro and MacBook Air computers equipped with Apple chips. When you connect your Nreal Air glasses to one of Apple’s best MacBooks or Macs, the AR desktop will launch, projecting multiple displays in the air around you, as if you were Tony Stark.
Nreal is also updating the existing Nebula platform with a redesigned AR space that will feature new 3D icons and widgets that will recommend users of AR content. Moreover, the Nebula Spatial viewer now allows you to choose between two different display modes – landscape mode for viewing in multiple windows and portrait mode if you want to see a longer version of one page.
Aside from the cinematic mode we like, we weren’t very impressed with some of the other AR features of the Nreal Nebula platform. However, this update shows that he wants to improve the usability of his platform. While we don’t think these updates go far enough, we’re curious to see what Nreal will come next.
If you want to try a more interactive AR or VR experience, check out our Pico 4 and Oculus Quest 2 comparison guide to determine which headset is best for you.