XREAL's Project Aura XR Glasses Launch Soon with Price Under $1,500

XREAL's Project Aura glasses have been generating hype for some time now. After trying them out, I'm more excited than expected about their potential. The company is aiming to launch these Android XR glasses before the end of this year, with a price tag of under $1,500.

The biggest challenge in developing XR technology has not been demonstrating its capabilities, but making it feel natural and intuitive enough for regular use. XREAL's Aura seems to be getting surprisingly close to achieving this. The Android experience is brought into the space around you, allowing apps, screens, and digital objects to appear on a screen suspended in your surroundings.

The interaction with Aura feels natural, not alien. I was able to learn basic hand gestures within 10 minutes of trying it out, and after that, I didn't have to think about the controls much anymore. The interface is built around an ecosystem you already understand if you've spent years using an Android phone.

The hardware behind Aura is more complex than its appearance suggests. It's a result of collaboration between XREAL, Google, and Qualcomm, with Google providing the Android XR platform, Qualcomm supplying the Snapdragon computing platform, and XREAL contributing its experience in AR glasses, optics, and spatial computing. The main platform is Snapdragon Reality Elite, while XREAL has developed its own X1S Spatial Coprocessor.

The Aura glasses pack Sony Micro OLED displays with a resolution of 1,920 x 1,200 pixels per eye, up to a 120Hz refresh rate, and a 70-degree field of view. They use an X Prism optical system to fit these displays into a traditional eyewear form factor. Whether or not the design looks like normal glasses will depend on your face and how you feel about slightly chunky frames.

XREAL has considered people who need prescription lenses, though. The Aura will come with support for prescription inserts, so you don't have to wear another pair of glasses underneath them.