Stream your favorite movies and games on a giant 130-inch virtual display.
Augmented reality (AR) company Nreal today announced that its Nreal Air AR glasses are now available in the United States alongside a new adapter that introduces limited support to iPhone devices. The company also revealed major updates to its Nebula AR operating system as well as new games and apps coming soon to the platform.
Originally announced in September 2021, the fashion-forward gadget offers a more consumer-friendly experience compared to its more powerful counterpart, the Nreal Light. The Air is also 25% lighter, 40% cheaper, and 50% more power-efficient. Mind you, that style comes at a price. The Air features an industry-standard 46-degree field-of-view (FoV) and 3 degrees of freedom (3 DoF) compared to the Light’s 52-degree FOV and 6DoF tracking.
As a light entertainment device, however, the Nreal Air is more than capable. You can project a massive 130-inch virtual display over your real-world environment and stream video content, play your favorite Steam games, and collaborate with coworkers comfortably over extended periods of time. So long as you’re tethered to a compatible smartphone or computer, that is.
The company also announced the Nreal Adapter, an HDMI-to-Lightning dongle that allows you to connect any compatible iPhone device. iOS users can now enjoy the mobile theater experience by streaming content from Netflix, Disney+, TikTok, and various other entertainment platforms. The company has also introduced a Mac version of Nebula for MacBook Pros and MacBook Airs with Apple chips.
Speaking of Nebula, the AR operating system has received a complete redesign. This includes a new user interface for AR Space, a personalized AR portal that greets each user when they first access their device. The interactive menu now features animated icons as well as a new widget that highlights recommended content. Nreal’s Spatial Browser also received some love in the form of two display modes: horizontal for multi-window browsing and vertical for scrolling websites.
The company wrapped up the announcement with the reveal of Teleport, a mixed reality app that allows you to “jump through” 3D models of real-world structures you’ve scanned with your phone. According to Nreal, Teleport is just the first of several new casual games and apps coming to the headset. Of course, you can always connect a gaming device like the Steam Deck, Nintendo Switch, Xbox, or PlayStation and play your favorite AAA games with Nebula’s Miror Mode.
“Teleport represents our focus on including as many people as we can in creating interesting content that can be enjoyed both on mobile phones and AR glasses,” said Peng Jin, co-founder of Nreal. “There is something very special about placing people in a digital replica of a real-life environment where they can freely move around as they would in real life. That sense of familiarity exhibits the beauty of AR.”
The Nreal Air is available for purchase on Amazon for $379 in the United States. The Nreal Adapter will be available for pre-order for $59.
Image Credit: Nreal
