These AR glasses would be my favourite ever gadget if they weren’t so expensive
I am lucky enough to test the Ar Nreal Water Glasses for our review here in Techradar, and they are without doubt it is one of the coolest gadgets I have ever used. Too bad they are very expensive now.
This relatively normal specifications have a hidden USB-C port at the end of one arm, allowing you to plug it directly to a compatible smartphone (opened in a new tab). Do this and the glasses will then project the HD image of your cellphone screen in front of you as if you sit in front of the 130-inch-dan TV thanks to the speakers in the glasses like you have your own personal cinema.
Of course the picture is far from one of the best 4K TVs out there and the audio is slightly sluggish – the problem is quickly resolved by a pair of Bluetooth headphones – but for something really portable, it’s really extraordinary. When combined with a 5G SIM card, Oppo found X5, and a pair of Bose 700 headphones I could launch Netflix and let my old train trip pass in an instant.
I am not the only person who was impressed by them. When traveling with my partner while I have neal airs, we will always fight who can use it; None of us are happy with compromise. Friends and family think they are amazing too, when trying them. Even my complete Technophobe from a grandfather was fascinated by glasses that could let him watch Mr. Bean wherever he is.
However, like all technological demonstrations, one question will always be asked, and in the case of Ar Ar Nreal’s glasses, it will immediately kill Hype. “How much does it cost?”
The right technology, the wrong time
With a price of £ 400 (around $ 480 / AU $ 700), these glasses can almost be cheap. Coupled with the fact that you can only use it with a particular smartphone – all of which are new releases – new that are quite expensive – and the settings become even less obtained. Start adding extra-optional quasi-optional headphones, 5G telephone contracts and Netflix or Xbox Game Pass subscriptions, and the costs can be out of control.
Even worse, outside of their impressive cinema experience, glasses do not do many other things. They do offer other features such as virtual multi-monitor settings and deep peloton-esque cycling experiences, but the experience is too clumsy or too not eager to see it as the main sales point.
A few years ago, in our pre-Pandemic world, I could see the Glasses of Nreal’s air take off like that of Meta Quest 2 in the VR room. AR glasses are very good for traveling.
But with more people than those who have worked from home full time or at least part -time, and the cost of living that is being increased, the sunglasses of Ar Nreal are unfavorable victims.
Hopefully, this will not be another total death in the AR glasses such as Google Glass which is bad. Nreal technology shows me an extraordinary potential eyewear, but this is the right technology case at the wrong time, and maybe the wrong price too.
