What’s happening with the new Xreal glasses?
By Alex Perry on May 20, 2026
Xreal is enhancing the smart glasses industry. Google’s annual I/O event, although emphasizing AI, unveiled notable advancements in XR glasses. Specifically, Xreal showcased Project Aura, a novel XR glasses set that debuted in December. These glasses offer a significant 70-degree field of view, the largest of its kind from Xreal, and boast impressive XR features. Media previews, like Ray Wong’s for Gizmodo, provided insight into what to anticipate when these glasses launch later this year.
Compared to the Meta Ray-Ban glasses popular for quite some time, Project Aura offers a more advanced visual display rather than solely relying on audio cues from an AI assistant. It occupies a middle ground between Ray-Bans and Apple’s Vision Pro headset, integrating a small computing puck connected via a wire. You can wear the puck using an included lanyard, according to Gizmodo.
Previously, Xreal concentrated on augmented reality glasses projecting virtual displays into the environment. Now, Project Aura marks its venture into the Android XR platform.
Like Vision Pro, Project Aura utilizes hand tracking to engage with augmented reality elements. However, it lacks eye tracking, a trade-off compared to a full headset. Yet, Gizmodo reported satisfactory hand tracking, and the wide field of view accommodates up to three app windows, potentially five, according to Xreal.
Additionally, users can play games like Demeo, a virtual tabletop role-playing game, or connect the glasses to a laptop as an external monitor. Overall, initial media feedback on Project Aura is optimistic. If Xreal can deliver a Vision Pro-like experience in a more convenient, less bulky design, it could be revolutionary.
Just as long as it doesn’t carry a $3,500 price tag.
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Alex Perry is a tech reporter at Mashable focusing on video games and consumer tech. Over the last decade, he has reviewed games, smartphones, headphones, and laptops. He is a Pisces, a cat lover, and a Kansas City sports enthusiast. Connect with him on Bluesky at yelix.bsky.social.