Nreal’s Newest AR Glasses Go One Step Forward, One Step Back

Of all the upstarts seeking to carve out a space in the AR glasses market before heavy hitters like Apple come to town, Nreal stands out. The reason? It’s already shipped one model of AR glasses. Today it announced a second, simpler model, demonstrating that the company is determined to get more people using its glasses before it focuses on advancing the state of the art for the technology.

Amongst enthusiasts and AR developers, there will be some arguing over whether the new Nreal Air constitutes “true” AR glasses or if they’re something lesser. The Air glasses lack the spatial tracking capabilities required for the immersive AR apps that the earlier Nreal Light glasses and headsets like Microsoft’s HoloLens support. Instead, the Air glasses are designed primarily for watching video on a large virtual screen.