Xreal Aura is a wired Android XR headset priced from $1,099 at launch

[Terminator74]

Google's Android XR platform has a new headset. TechCrunch reports that Xreal, Google's smart glasses partner, has launched the Aura at the Android Dev Summit after first teasing it at Google I/O

The Aura is a pair of glasses wired to a phone sized puck that runs Android XR on Qualcomm's Snapdragon Reality Elite chip. It uses Sony micro OLED displays at 1200p and 120Hz with a 95 degree field of view, better on paper than Meta's Ray-Ban Display glasses

The glasses weigh 95 grams, heavier than Meta's 69 gram model, and include Bose audio. A USB-C input lets them act as a large screen or multiple monitors for a laptop or handheld console, and Gemini is built in. Launch apps include the NBA app, Fallout: Factions and a Project Hail Mary experience, with around 150 XR experiences available

The 12GB and 256GB model costs $1,279, reduced to $1,099 at launch, while the 16GB and 512GB model is $1,499, reduced to $1,299. Launch pricing lasts until December. Orders opened on 28 October in the US, Canada, Japan and South Korea, with shipping by mid November. Xreal's chief executive Chi Xu said in May that everyone is losing money on smart glasses

A 95 degree field of view is a big step up for glasses style headsets, and using them as a portable monitor is a properly useful feature. At over $1,000 they remain a niche product for now. Android XR needs devices like this to build an app ecosystem

Would you use smart glasses as a portable monitor? And is $1,099 a fair price for this kind of device?

Xreal Aura is a new wired headset powered by Android XR | TechCrunchtechcrunch.com