Nreal Air Review: Are Smart Glasses Becoming a Reality?
Table of Contents
Imagine seeing the world in front of you come to life with information, graphics and interactive objects, all in real time. So it is! Smart glasses have been piquing people's interest for a long time now, and I am one of the many who are excited about this type of device. Since 2013, when the Google announced Google Glass (including the Google Glass Enterprise Edition 2 has been discontinued by itself) I see news about new devices and I am happy with constant evolution.
O quest 2, Meta, is an example of a device that at a certain point worked, even with the metaverse in constant decline. There are countless applications, for leisure — I myself believe that Quest 2 offers the best way to consume content on the YouTube —, there are uses in education and work, and especially games. Coincidence or not, the Sony vastly improved the VR experience on their consoles after Quest 2 came along.
Solutions appear, others disappear, and a doubt hangs in the air: smart glasses Will they win or not? The answer may have come yesterday, with the launch of apple vision pro during WWDC. A Apple launched a virtual reality headset that integrates numerous functions and utilities that no other device in the same category has been able to do. In the race for smart glasses, Apple got ahead of the technology giants and will it dictate the market and bring the next device to replace the cell phone? Only time will tell. But it's the start of something big.
Another way to help in the popularization of the devices would be the Google launch an area for apps on glasses in the Play Store, in the same way as it does with Android Wear: you see if an app is compatible with the watch Android.
While the giants do not move, other companies try to dive into this market, and the Chinese unreal is one of them (and perhaps the one that is most successful).
We tested the Real Air, one of the brand's devices and you see below our impressions.
First of all, what is Nreal Air?
We are living in a moment of emergence of several new technologies, and the Real Air is one of the products that takes advantage of all the buzz of virtual reality glasses. But where exactly does the device fit in?
First of all, we need to understand what the three types of immersive technologies we have are:
- Virtual reality: is an immersive experience where the user enters completely in a digital environment, leaving the real world behind, through special VR glasses. It is possible to use VR glasses like the Oculus Quest or the Samsung Gear VR, in addition to more accessible options such as the Google Cardboard, which allows you to connect a compatible cell phone.
- Augmented Reality: Augmented reality became popular worldwide with the success of the game Pokémon GO, inserting virtual elements in real environments through smartphones or tablets. Companies like TCL (like TCL RayNeo), Lenovo, ecosystem, Google, Qualcomm and even Apple are developing AR glasses.
- Mixed reality: Allows interaction with 3D holograms in real environments, providing users with an integrated experience that merges the real and the virtual in an immersive way. her own unreal has a mixed reality glasses, the Real Light.
and where the Real Air do you find yourself in the middle of these three technologies? When used via a mobile phone or computer with the Nebula App (we'll talk about below) he is a augmented reality glasses, because it has head tracking (head tracking) and creates an environment around you and as you turn your head, you see content around you. when you connect it as external display, on devices that don't have Nebula, it doesn't fall under either of those.
And then Nreal Air becomes nothing more than a screen built into glasses. He's like his monitor, but in glasses.
The website itself unreal it does not inform on the Nreal Air page what the glasses are, unlike the brother Nreal Light, which in the first lines of text already informs that it is a mixed reality glasses. Through cameras and sensors built into the smart glasses, it allows the user to interact virtually in the real world.
So if you want a mixed reality headset, don't buy Nreal Air, buy Nreal Light.
Brief Unboxing
In the compact box we find everything you need to use it on your cell phone or notebook, a positive point for unreal.
In addition to the glasses, we found a super large rubberized case (much bigger than a common glasses case), the cable, 2 nose pads to adjust the height of the glasses, a prescription lens to fit in Nreal if you wear prescription glasses, a protection/shield so you don't see through the lenses and focus on what's on the screen. If you want to use it on iPhone or Steam Deck you will need to buy an HDMI adapter.
Design
At first glance, it's a classic eyewear, but on closer inspection, you'll notice it's a goggle on steroids. When handling, you realize that it is not an ordinary eyeglasses — not only for the weight, but for the buttons, audio output, USB-C connection and for the prisms that project the screens on your eye.
It is certainly a very well built product, even for the price charged, it couldn't be any different. Among the main highlights of the design, we can mention:
- 3 positions for height adjustment of the rods
- Nose Pads to adjust height according to nose size
- You can open it 40º more, for heads wider than the glasses size.
- It is very light, weighing only 79 grams
- Sound outputs on both sides (yes, we have stereo sound here)
- It works via USB-C
- The USB-C cable is nylon, which is great for not getting tangled up.
There are 3 buttons, one to decrease and increase the screen brightness, and another to turn the glasses on and off. And that's it. It could have a touchpad on the temples, it would give the glasses more autonomy and make it less dependent on the cell phone. I'm testing the headphones SonyXM5 that works via touchpad and it's wonderful not having to pick up the cell phone for basic things.
Nebula App
Where the magic happens. It is through Nebula App that you can extract the complete experience that the glasses are capable of offering you. The app creates an interface that works almost like an operating system for the glasses. Available on the App Store and Play Store, Nebula is an application that adds a menu to the glasses with some options while your cell phone becomes a control. Until the date of this review, in addition to the cell phone, you can download Nebula for MacBook as well.
It's very easy to put to work, just create your registration wait for the updates and that's it. Unfortunately the app is not available on the Play Store in Brazil, so you have to use an account from another country or download the Apk. Another negative point, but this one can be easily circumvented.
When you connect the cell phone to the glasses, a menu appears in the notification bar that gives you 3 options:
- AR Space: It is in this mode that you enter augmented reality and your cell phone becomes a controller.
- Full Screen: You mirror your cell phone's screen across the screen of the glasses.
- side screen: you mirror your cell phone screen on part of the glasses, ideal for walking on the street.
There's not much for you to do there. It's a user-friendly interface without too many activities. Below are screenshots of what's inside Nebula.
It is interesting to mention that although it is possible to access your YouTube, when trying to log in, a notification appears that it is not secure, so I gave up and continued without linking my YouTube account within the browser that comes with Nebula.
You can dare the glasses through other apps. For example, via FarePlay (available for Android) you can view 3D content, including some movies.
If you use mobile Samsung, you may have to disable DeX Mode for Nebula to recognize the headset when connected.
What could be better about Nebula?
Starting with the easiest unreal, when you select the screen mirror option, there could be a button to turn off your cell phone screen while you watch movies or videos, for example. See what happens in practice: the film is being shown on the screen of your glasses and on the screen of your cell phone… for anyone. Your battery is being drained twice unnecessarily.
I have YouTube Premium, when I turn off the screen, I don't see anything on the glasses, but the sound keeps coming out.
apps are missing
There are almost no apps for you to enjoy augmented reality, which is, to say the least, frustrating. Several of the applications that appear in the menu are not even clickable, you have very basic things working, like reading messages, viewing photos, YouTube, and a little animal that moves.
Fabric
It is undoubtedly the best screen you could buy, and that's the best of these glasses. You are literally mesmerized enjoying anything. It looks like cinema, but with more quality. The colors are stunning and the face shield (the protection that blocks vision) makes all the difference. Unfortunately, there is no way to record how beautiful the projected images are, you can only test them to see.
Check it out, these are the specifications of the screens manufactured by Sony:
- 1920×1080 resolution
- 400 nits
- 60Hz
- Micro-OLED type screen
- 201-inch screen experience
Before talking about it, how does the screen of this glasses actually work? On top of the lens there are two tiny screens that project Full HD images onto the prisms in front of your eyes. Perhaps this is the device with the highest pixel density per inch sold today. When you put the faceshield, you can enjoy the maximum quality that the screen can offer you, it really is a very high quality screen.
Different from goal quest 2 which has a 120Hz screen, the Real Air offers only 60Hz and this generates some delays when you move your head, especially if the brightness is at maximum.
I would say it's one of best screens I've ever tested, the images are absurdly defined, the colors are eye-popping. Super positive point. It only leaves something to be desired in situations where there is a gradient, and a well-known screen problem appears: the color banding.
And what can and cannot be done in Nreal Air?
Despite being a screen, not everything is comfortable to be seen on glasses. Below I listed what I couldn't do for a long time in it.
- Watch movies/series: Despite the screen being great, unfortunately the view gets tired after a long time trying to read subtitles, which are at the bottom of the screen. If your plan is to buy content to watch content for a long time, it is likely that you will start to experience pain in your eyes after a while.
- Work/read: If your idea is to have it as a second screen, forget it! First, because the prism where the screen is projected will cover your main screen and you won't be able to see anything. But if you want to use it as your main screen, you'll have the same problem mentioned above: discomfort. You can read contents on his screen, but when they are not in the center of the screen, it's very bad, the eyes get tired quickly. It's a little complicated even to be looking for screens on the keyboard.
If you want to watch content without having to read anything, in which the observed subject is in the center of the screen, you will be able to use it for a longer time. Otherwise, you may experience eye discomfort.
Can you use it walking down the street?
No! As we've already said, even if you're not connected to your cell phone and seeing something, the prisms behind the lens prevent you from seeing what's beyond the lens.
Unlike several prototypes we've seen around, the image is not projected onto the lens so even if there were augmented reality applications to show you directions via GPS, for example, the way the glasses are built prevents you from using them. walking.
It's only for indoors. And that's not a bad thing, it's just a characteristic of him.
Does Nreal Air work on any cell phone?
No! Even if your cell phone or device has a USB-C output, you will not necessarily have an image displayed by the glasses. Unfortunately some cell phone manufacturers do not put the DisplayPort on your devices and Real Air will not work in these cases.
Big manufacturers like Samsung, LG, OnePlus, Oppo, Sony support DisplayPort over the USB-C connection, but devices from the Google, like the Pixel 7, are left out. Yes, the top of the line Google has not had a feature present on cell phones for over 5 years.
You can use it on the iPhone, as long as you use an adapter that is sold separately.
And if you want, on the website of Nreal you can see the complete list of mobiles compatible with Nreal Air.
Does Nreal Air work on Windows?
Yes, but only to mirror the screen and that's it. According to the manufacturer itself, the processors Intel don't have enough features to justify creating an app for Windows. Only macOS users have the possibility to use the Nebula App. Historically we know what happens to those who forget to create versions for popular systems, ClubHouse died before creating the version for Android.
Through your Twitter, unreal informed that he is developing an application for Windows:
Through gambiarras via BlueStack you can even use Nebula on Windows, if you want to take a risk, here there is a teaching video.
DeX Mode and Nreal Air
In every review I do of a device Samsung I speak of DeX mode. be in S20FE, Galaxy Tab S7 ou Galaxy S22, I cite the promising DeX Mode. As Real Air he goes further. When I tested Uperfect's portable monitors (check out the 4K portable monitor review e from the 144Hz Perfect Gamer) I again talked about the possibilities of DeX.
The DeX Mode here opens up many uses that make the glasses a lot more interesting. If you want to use it on a cell phone that doesn't have PC mode, like ready for da Motorola or Xiaomi's PC Mode you will be hostage to using applications in the Nebula's browser.
Via DeX you can use everything that is installed on your mobile. Netflix, Prime Video, Spotify, any application you use on your cell phone and there is no Nebula app you can use on Nreal.
The downside of DeX in Nreal is that you don't have the ability to head tracking (tracking your head), so if you move your head the screen will move too, it won't be "still in the air".
Audio
Yes, in addition to the screen in the lens, there are speakers in the temples of the glasses. They are very pleasant and very useful, can you imagine using your cell phone's sound output to listen to the contents? It wouldn't work out very well, would it? They are positioned quite close to your ear and don't produce a very loud sound, but it is satisfactory in situations with moderate noise. Ah, whoever is close to you will be able to hear a little.
It's a stereo sound and you can listen to music, watch series and movies in a very satisfactory way. Despite not being the objective of the glasses, the sound quality stands out at moderate volume. If you don't want to use the glasses' speakers, you can use a Bluetooth headset.
Battery
Nreal, as it does not have an internal battery, will use the power of the connected device. The cable, in addition to transferring audio and video, provides electricity at 5V and 1 ampere for the unreal.
This is good, because it's one less device for you to carry around, it makes it lighter and smaller, and allows you to use it without worrying on a notebook connected to the socket, for example, but it's bad, because it will drain your battery more quickly cell phone, Nintendo Switch, Steam Deck or whatever.
By the way, we come to another negative point. Your phone only has one charging port, which is what you'll use to connect to Nreal Air. For you to charge your cell phone while using the glasses, it's a great workaround that involves an adapter and a cable. We already wish you good luck.
A long road ahead…
Anyone who is passionate about technology has certainly seen something of the Real Air somewhere on the internet. The company has invested a lot of money to try to popularize the product — and it has worked. But the product is far less interesting than it appears to be. Applications are missing, compatibility with Windows, lack of utilities… basically lack of what to do. Even the image quality is fabulous.
O smart monitor M8 Samsung (we already have a review), in a sense, basically falls into the same category (when the goggle is not connected to a Nebula-compatible device) as the Real Air: a screen, but offers much more. It has several applications and is a very versatile device that allows the user to use it for leisure and work, via computer, cell phone, or independently, something that Nreal Air does not offer.
Among the main negative points, we can list:
- No app store
- Not Windows compatible (yet)
- It is totally dependent on another device (that one is acceptable, go)
Lucky there is a huge community in Reddit of people helping each other and sharing information about eyewear.
The Apple Vision Pro came to shake up the market and bring numerous utilities that, at least in the presentation video, were very, very interesting indeed.
Price
cost much more than it should. For 400 dollars, more than one iPhone input, you can buy it. The company does not officially sell it in Brazil, but it is possible to import it by purchasing it at AliExpress. It is worth it? I don't think so!
Conclusion
It is a simpler device than it appears to be, it takes advantage of all the buzz generated by smart glasses and in the end it's not even one smart glasses (when not connected to a Nebula App compatible device). It's just a screen — super expensive — built into a pair of glasses running a system (Nebula App) on your cell phone and there's not much to do, not even a version for Windows (yet).
The company has invested too much in publicizing the product but has been concerned little, or almost nothing to be honest, with creating utilities for it. It was by far one of the products I was most excited to try, and today it's the product I'm least looking forward to using. It's pretty sad, unfortunately.
Until recently, this type of smart glass was being developed for companies. Google Glass, Microsoft HoloLens, the glasses of Lenovo, are some examples, but companies like unreal are bringing to the general public.
Even with the giant Qualcomm launching specific processors for smart glasses, we still have few models on the market, Xiaomi launched a model that is not yet being sold, TCL too, but little by little they are coming.
maybe if the Google launch your app store for this type of device, they become more useful and more popular. the entrance of Apple e Samsung this market will also increase the popularity of wearable glasses.
For now you have limited uses, few applications. It's interesting, the screen is wonderful, it can be useful if you try hard, but that's it.
Technical specifications
| Cor | Black |
| Special features | TÜV certified eye protection 201-inch Micro-OLED screen 60Hz screen refresh |
| Connectivity | USB-C |
| What's in the Box | Lens prescription frame; Real Air USB-C to USB-C cable 2 nose pads Case cloth to clean |
| Compatible devices | Computers; Tablet Smartphones video game consoles |
| Size | 14.81 x 6 x 5.21 cm |
| Weight | 79 grams |
| Viewing Angle | 46 º |
| Lifetime | 1 year |
| Compatible systems | Android and iOS |
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