AR glasses

What AR glasses are

AR stands for augmented reality: computer graphics added to the world you see. Virtual reality, by contrast, replaces that world with a simulated one.

• See-through lenses: You look at the real room through the lenses; the digital image is reflected or guided into your eyes on top of it.
• Strictly speaking: Glasses count as AR only when they track their own position and can pin content to the world around you.
• A loosely used label: Some glasses sold as AR are virtual monitors; UploadVR described the Nreal Air as a screen with no tracking cameras rather than true AR.
• A kind of smart glasses: Smart glasses are head-worn computers; some have displays, others only cameras, speakers and microphones.
• The XREAL One: A display-glasses example: two Sony Micro-OLED panels fill a 50° view, fed over USB-C by a phone, laptop or handheld console.
• Who makes them: XREAL, VITURE, Rokid and RayNeo make AR glasses; Meta and Snap make models with see-through waveguide lenses.

How they work

Tiny displays in the frame create the picture, and optics fold it into your line of sight. By default the XREAL One shows it as a 147-inch screen about 4 meters away.

• Two small panels: Each eye gets its own display; the XREAL One uses 0.68-inch Sony Micro-OLED panels at 1920 × 1080.
• Birdbath optics: A curved, semi-transparent mirror reflects the image into the eye; usually cheaper and brighter than waveguides, at the cost of bulk.
• Flat prism: XREAL’s One Pro uses an 11 mm flat prism, thinner and lighter than a birdbath, with a wider view.
• Waveguide lenses: Lenses with nanoscale gratings take light in from a tiny projector and send it out toward the eye.
• Head tracking: The screen can stay put in midair as you turn your head; the XREAL One computes this on its own X1 chip, with about 3 ms of delay.
• One cable: Display glasses get both power and video from the host device over a single USB-C cable.
• Built-in speakers: Sound plays through speakers in the frame; the XREAL One’s are tuned by Bose.

Types

• Display glasses: Wired to a phone, laptop or console, they work as a large personal monitor and rely on that device for computing; examples include the XREAL One and VITURE Luma Ultra.
• Standalone AR glasses: They carry their own computer and cameras; Snap’s 2024 Spectacles, sold to developers, run on their own for up to 45 minutes.
• Glasses with a puck: Meta’s Orion prototype hands some work to a wireless compute puck to keep the frames small; it is not sold to consumers.
• Heads-up display glasses: A small screen in one lens shows messages, directions and AI answers; Meta Ray-Ban Display uses a projector and waveguide in the right lens.
• Screenless AI glasses: Ray-Ban Meta glasses have no built-in display, so nothing appears over your view.
• Mixed reality headsets: Apple Vision Pro shows the room through its cameras rather than through clear lenses; it is a headset, not glasses.

What to look for

• Field of view: The diagonal angle the picture fills: 50° on the XREAL One, 57° on the One Pro; IEEE Spectrum calls 30–45° more typical for AR glasses.
• Micro-OLED panels: OLED pixels built on a silicon wafer, about 4,000 per inch; Sony panels of this kind are in the XREAL One and VITURE Luma Ultra.
• 3DoF vs 6DoF: 3DoF tracks head rotation only (pitch, yaw, roll); 6DoF also tracks moving forward, up and sideways. The XREAL One is 3DoF.
• DisplayPort Alt Mode: Lets a USB-C port carry DisplayPort video along with data and power; your device needs it to drive display glasses directly.
• Electrochromic dimming: An electric signal darkens the lenses, the same effect used in the windows of the Boeing 787 Dreamliner; the XREAL One has three levels.
• Vision correction: XREAL sells prescription inserts and says not to wear its glasses over regular ones; Rokid Max and VITURE Luma Ultra adjust for nearsightedness, to −6.00 D and −4.0 D.
• Overall weight: XREAL’s One Pro weighs 87 g; Snap’s standalone 2024 Spectacles weigh 226 g.

On the plane and on the trip

• Check your phone’s port: Apple lists the iPhones that can drive an external display over USB-C, starting with the iPhone 15 models; some later models, such as the 16e, are not on the list.
• Other devices: XREAL says Android phones and laptops plug in directly if their USB-C port outputs DisplayPort video; a Steam Deck connects directly, while a Nintendo Switch needs a hub and a power source.
• Watching video: A connected display mirrors the iPhone, but a video app can send its picture to the glasses as a second screen.
• Power from the host: The glasses draw their power from the phone or laptop; XREAL’s Hub lets you charge while you watch.
• Motion sickness: XREAL warns that use as a passenger in cars, buses, airplanes, trains or boats can bring on or worsen motion-sickness symptoms; it advises a 10–15 minute break every 45 minutes.
• Security screening: TSA requires power banks in carry-on bags, never checked; devices with lithium batteries of 100 Wh or less are allowed in carry-on bags.
• A private screen: Meta calls its Ray-Ban Display screen private, with 2% light leakage; XREAL says the One Pro reduces the image reflection sometimes seen on the front of the lenses.

Limits and care

• Tied to a cable: Display glasses such as XREAL’s stay tethered to the phone or computer; IEEE Spectrum says that makes them a poor fit for use out and about.
• A dimmer view: Display expert Karl Guttag, cited by IEEE Spectrum, says the One Pro blocks about 78% of outside light, “like dark sunglasses.”
• Rainbows and halos: Room light reflecting off a waveguide can create colored streaks; Meta says Orion’s silicon carbide lenses avoid them.
• Heat warnings: XREAL says its glasses can get hot, warns on screen above 43 °C (109.4 °F) and may shut them down automatically.
• Session limits: XREAL recommends no more than 2 hours per session and says its glasses are not meant for anyone under 16.
• Not while moving: XREAL says not to wear them while driving, cycling, running or walking near traffic.
• Cleaning and storage: Wipe with a microfiber cloth or lens wipe dampened with a mild cleaner; store in the case, dry and out of direct sun, ideally at 0–35 °C (32–95 °F).

A short history

Ivan Sutherland and his students built the first see-through head-mounted display in 1968. Nicknamed the Sword of Damocles for the ceiling arm that held it, it showed simple wireframe rooms. The term augmented reality is credited to Boeing researcher Thomas P. Caudell in 1990.

• April 2013: Google ships the Glass Explorer Edition, with a small prism display; it halts sales in January 2015.
• CES 2019: Nreal, founded in 2017 and renamed XREAL in 2023, shows its Nreal Light glasses.
• February 2024: Apple Vision Pro goes on sale in the U.S., with micro-OLED screens and camera passthrough.
• September 2024: Meta unveils Orion, a prototype with a field of view of about 70°, which Meta calls the widest yet in glasses this small.
• December 2024: XREAL launches the One, which tracks head rotation on its own X1 chip.
• September 2025: Meta Ray-Ban Display, with a small screen in the right lens, goes on sale in the U.S.
• June 2026: Snap opens preorders for Specs, standalone AR glasses for consumers due in the fall.