Nreal Air review: After smartphones, AR glasses may change the world again

The ancients said: "A leaf blocks the view of Mount Tai", which means that a small leaf covering the eyes can also cover the tall Mount Tai in front of us. But now, technology shows us the opposite picture: a small pair of lenses can present a virtual world in front of us.

Smartphones opened the curtain on mobile Internet, while AIoT and the Internet of Everything depict a future filled with smart device screens. AR technology has successfully proved to the world that everyone only needs one (or two) screens to travel around the world.

As AR technology is expected to become the next-generation computing platform and represent the last screen for mankind, it has undoubtedly been sought after by the technology industry.

At present, China has lagged behind foreign countries in the field of AR hardware. Operators in Japan, South Korea, and India are obviously more aggressive in consumer-grade AR devices. For example, SK Telecom, KDDI, NTT DoCoMo, AT&T and other overseas operators have launched AR glasses retail or bundling solutions, which have received good responses.

According to the latest data from Strategy Analytics, the revenue of the consumer AR terminal market has tripled between 2020 and 2021. It is predicted that in five years, the global dedicated AR headset market shipments will be close to 60 million units by 2027. It is no exaggeration to say that AR technology is already a future variable that all technology companies cannot ignore.

However, it must be mentioned that although the domestic AR hardware industry is slightly lagging behind, the AR glasses brand that is very popular abroad and can even be said to be dominating belongs to a Chinese technology company headquartered in Beijing - Nreal.

Nreal is the world's first consumer-grade AR glasses brand and the first manufacturer in the industry to make glasses that do not look like a "helmet". During the years of working hard in overseas markets, Nreal has carried out in-depth cooperation with many leading operators in South Korea, Japan, Europe and North America, and has received high praise from media, institutions and operators such as Forbes, BBC, CES, iF and Vodafone.

In the consumer market, Nreal has become an industry definer and has dominated consumers' perception of AR glasses. According to Strategy Analytics data, Nreal's share of consumer AR terminal market shipments in 2021 was 75%, and it rose to 81% in the first half of 2022.

Google Glass and Microsoft HoloLens once successfully popularized the concept of AR among technology and digital enthusiasts, but domestic players, suffering from the gap in the consumer market, sold the second-hand overseas version of Nreal in the "seafood market" at a price higher than the official price. But their eager anticipation finally paid off on August 23 - the new Nreal AR glasses were officially released in China.

So how do consumer-grade AR glasses perform? In what scenarios can they replace traditional screens? What new application scenarios have they opened up? Let's follow and experience the charm of Nreal Air AR glasses together.

A 130-inch giant screen hidden in a glasses case

First of all, it should be noted that the Nreal Air glasses you received are the beta version, and some functions and stability may differ from the officially released version.

Let’s first look at the packaging. The Nreal Air packaging and size are not large. The overall color combination is purple and black. There is a black glasses silhouette against a purple background on the front, which is simple and technological.

After opening the package, you will find a capsule-shaped glasses storage box fixed in the middle of the box. Compared with ordinary glasses boxes, it is more rounded and three-dimensional, and the hard shell provides better protection.

At the bottom of the box is the Nreal Air instruction manual and warranty card. At the back are two other nose pads of different sizes, a myopia frame, and a sunshade lens.

Because Nreal Air does not support diopter adjustment, users with poor eyesight can use myopia frames to get a better visual experience.

With three different sizes of nose pads and three adjustable angles of the temples, users of almost all face shapes can find a comfortable experience on Nreal Air. In addition, Nreal Air also uses Nreal's self-developed "Jinghong Ruiying" optical engine 2.0, which can efficiently control the dynamic negative feedback closed loop to adjust the pixel offset through algorithms, and accurately adjust the image to an accuracy of <1 pixel, so that each pair of glasses can achieve the best display rendering effect, and it is not easy to cause fatigue, dizziness, headaches and other adverse reactions after long-term use.

In special scenarios, users can also use sunshade lenses to block out external light to create a more immersive viewing, AR, and VR experience.

Open the glasses box, and inside lies the Nreal Air glasses. From the front, the glasses are almost the same as normal sunglasses, and the appearance is also more popular, and not particularly eye-catching.

The secrets of Nreal Air are all hidden on the back. There is a certain protrusion on the upper part of the frame to accommodate the OLED screen, and behind the lens is the lens part for BirdBath imaging.

The temples of Nreal Air are thicker than those of ordinary glasses, and both temples have speaker units, forming a stereo array. The end of the left temple is a Type-C port for connecting the data cable, and the front end of the right temple has a microphone, a display switch, and two brightness adjustment buttons.

Under the partition of the glasses case, there is a CtoC cable made of nylon braided material, which can connect the glasses to the mobile phone, or connect to an adapter and then transfer to other HDMI devices for use.

In addition, because the Nreal Air glasses themselves do not have a built-in battery, the glasses are powered by the Type-C port when connected to mobile phones, PCs and other devices. When connected to other HDMI devices, the adapter itself needs to be powered. Therefore, Nreal's official adapter has a built-in 2640mAh battery.

In terms of actual wearing experience, Nreal Air is not much different from ordinary sunglasses. The weight of 79g and reasonable weight distribution make it not a burden at all.

From the positive point of view, because the front camera is removed, Nreal Air not only avoids some legal risks of privacy infringement, but also looks unobtrusive, and there will be no social pressure when using it on the street. As for the data cable dragging at the back, it will not be particularly troublesome. After all, it has only been a few years since we said goodbye to headphone cables.

Air projection - the future of screens  

The reason why Nreal Air abandoned multiple cameras and 6DoF sensors is because it is more focused on the "display" attribute of AR glasses. At present, "watching movies" may be the most promising scenario for AR glasses on the user side. Therefore, removing the camera required for MR function and using 3DoF sensors can help Nreal Air achieve a suitable experience for C-end consumption in terms of size, energy consumption, heat generation and price.

Any device that supports HDMI, including iPhone, iPad, some Android phones, PC, Mac, set-top boxes, Blu-ray players, and game consoles, can use Nreal Air's aerial projection function to simulate a 130-inch giant screen about 4 meters away from the glasses, meeting users' diverse needs (watching movies, live broadcasts, short videos, office work, games) in a variety of scenarios (home, office, subway, airplane, car, camping).

In terms of display, Nreal Air uses the latest generation of Sony Micro OLED screen, which is built with Micro-lens technology. The principle of Micro OLED screen light emission is to use organic material coating to emit light under the action of electric current. Therefore, it is characterized by self-luminescence and the screen module is more ultra-thin and compact. At the same time, because the Micro OLED screen can freely switch sub-pixel light sources under the control of thin film transistors (TFT), the screen grayscale is almost zero at the darkest time, the color contrast is close to infinity, and the display effect is good. It also has the advantages of low power consumption and wide color gamut.

At the same time, Nreal Air is also the world's first AR glasses to obtain three authoritative certifications from TÜV Rheinland: low blue light, flicker-free, and Eye Comfort. Among them, Eye Comfort is the highest level of display product certification requirement of TÜV Rheinland, Germany, which includes complete display quality, ambient light management, eye protection technology, and user health and comfort. Nreal Air is currently the only XR device in the world to have obtained this certification.

Interestingly, not long ago, CESI Lab, an authority in the display field, conducted a comparative test of AR glasses, laser TVs, projectors, and VR headsets. The test product representing the AR camp was the Nreal AR glasses. It is not difficult to see that the Nreal glasses using the Birdbath-OLED display solution have considerable advantages in terms of brightness, contrast, angular resolution, etc. The field of view is also close to the field of view coverage recommended by IMAX theaters, making them very suitable for watching movies.

In actual experience, Nreal Air provides an excellent burden-free viewing experience due to its comfortable wearing experience and its ability to adapt to various viewing postures.

In terms of actual screen perception, Nreal Air images are clear and sharp, with bright colors and excellent contrast. For the performance of the same picture on Macbook Pro and Nreal Air, it can be seen that the AR glasses through the lens are more colorful, and the actual experience of the glasses is even better, with a stronger visual impact.

By connecting Nreal Air to a game console, you can play in any posture that you feel comfortable with, whether you are lying down or lying on your back. The giant screen in front of you can bring you a strong sense of immersion and presence. When hunting in the world of "Monster Hunter: Dawn", the sense of oppression brought by the huge monsters is completely different from that on the small screen. It is like the shock of playing games on the cinema screen.

Whether it's the graphics performance or the gaming experience, it's hard to go back to the Switch handheld after playing with Nreal Air for a while.

Nreal Air can also be used for office work. It can not only connect to Mac and PC for work, but also connect to mobile phones, tablets and Bluetooth keyboards and mice for temporary office work, saying goodbye to the inconvenience brought by the small screen.

It is more comfortable to watch movies with Nreal Air, because nowadays the streaming media platform is very developed. You only need one wire to project the video content in the mobile phone to the large screen in the glasses, and experience the smooth feeling of home theater. You don’t need a TV, projector, or even a living room. I have no doubt that this will become a new magic weapon for young people renting houses in first-tier cities in the future.

Another trick of Nreal Air is its support for 3D content. Nowadays, 3D movies are produced in large quantities every year, but 3D TVs are basically extinct, leaving a wealth of 3D resources without equipment to play. Nreal Air is an excellent device for watching 3D content anytime and anywhere.

And unlike the red and blue, polarized, time-sharing, grating and other technologies that distribute binocular images on one screen, Nreal Air has two physical screens, which will not cause problems such as image interference and reduced brightness. From this perspective, the experience of watching 3D movies with Nreal Air is even better than that of IMAX theaters.

As someone who has been exposed to head-mounted 3D devices since Sony HMZ-T1 ten years ago, I personally have no reservations about my love for Nreal Air. Although the HMZ series devices also have physical dual screens and were once known as the best 3D viewing medium, the T3 only has a 720P resolution, and it is very inconvenient to install, wear and debug.

Although VR devices also have physical dual screens, their larger field of view affects the effective resolution of the center of the field of view, and the resolution is also a major flaw of the device. In addition, the wearing experience of VR devices is extremely bad. The Meta Quest2 in the picture above has replaced the headband, mask, and nose pads, but the experience is still hard to describe.

It can be said that from the perspective of watching movies, compared with the HMZ series' price of nearly 10,000 yuan, Nreal Air can be called a movie-watching artifact in terms of experience, price, convenience and comfort of wearing.

Nreal Air complete version——AR space  

Of course, although Nreal Air is an excellent display, its AR function is its greatest source of charm.

Based on the self-developed Simultaneous Localization And Mapping (SLAM) spatial positioning intelligent algorithm, Nreal Air can create a three-dimensional panoramic AR space, opening up a 3D panoramic space vision for users.

However, it should be noted that because the connection of Nreal Air requires the smartphone to have a fully functional Type-C interface, this pair of glasses cannot be adapted to all Android phones. The currently compatible models are as follows:

After installing the Nreal app on a compatible mobile phone and connecting the glasses with a CtoC cable, you can experience the "full form" of Nreal Air - AR space.

The AR space is an interface fixed in space. The elements of the interface will not move with the glasses like the projection mode. Users can browse the content in the AR space by turning their heads, including device status, calendar, album, screen brightness, volume, film and television recommendations, application recommendations, novice guidance, etc. The interaction is through the light beam extended from the phone and the touchpad on the phone screen.

In AR space, each window floats and is fixed in the air. Users can easily adjust the window size and distance, and can place multiple windows in one space to achieve multitasking, which is very convenient.

In the Nreal Air reference lab, you can download a variety of practical and interesting AR applications, which can fully demonstrate the charm of AR glasses to users. Below is a brief introduction to several excellent AR applications. The pictures are taken through the glasses, and the black background is the screenshots and recordings inside the application.

iQIYI AR version

iQIYI AR version has created an innovative experience of spatial multi-screen viewing, supporting the free change of screen size, distance and position. It also adds the function of intelligently displaying film information, such as film introduction, actor information, etc., and can intelligently change the size and position of related information panels according to the position of the user's screen, helping users better understand the film.

On the basis of ensuring massive video content and combining the cool viewing experience of AR products, iQIYI AR version provides multiple 3D film resources, such as "Avatar", "Transformers", etc., and the 3D movie viewing experience is extremely outstanding.

Mobile Cloud VR

Mobile Cloud VR is an AR video viewing platform customized by Migu for Nreal. It allows users to experience a panoramic multi-screen viewing experience anytime and anywhere, with a full view of the game situation, backstage footage, player and team data and tactics, all presented on multiple screens. At the same time, users can also interact with fans on all sides by posting bullet comments and giving gifts, cheering and calling together, which is extremely immersive.

Mobile Cloud VR includes a vast amount of content from Migu Video, including more than 70% of the live sports video copyrights, such as CBA, the top five European football leagues, the Chinese Super League, the Asian Champions League, the World Cup, the European Cup, the Olympic Games, the Asian Games, etc., as well as 50,000 hours of 2D film and television resources and more than 100 3D movies.

Migu Quick Tour AR Version

Migu Quick Game AR version can experience more than 222 cloud games, including 67 large console games such as "Chinese Paladin 7".

With the help of Migu Quick Game AR version, Nreal Air can directly experience the cloud gaming experience without downloading or installing on the giant screen after connecting the Bluetooth controller. I briefly experienced "Samurai Shodown". As a fighting game with extremely high latency requirements, Migu Quick Game AR version provides Nreal Air with a smooth experience close to local play.

Of course, through the air projection function, Nreal Air can connect to the handle to play the cloud game APP on the mobile phone. The difference of Migu Quick Game AR version is that it provides a new spatial multi-screen visual presentation, allowing users to play games while watching live broadcasts and guides.

Shuttle Gate

The "Shuttle Gate" application allows everyone to experience space travel. Nreal officials currently provide 3D models of four actual scenes. Users can "enter" these virtual spaces, walk around, browse, and even communicate in them, and they can also doodle as much as they want. However, when testing, the application was still in the internal testing stage and was not able to meet other users.

Nreal officials stated that in the coming months, they will launch their own 3D scanning tools, allowing every user to move their favorite real world into AR.

AR Sports  

In the cycling app, you can choose from 42 scenic routes around the world (4 continents, 10 countries, USA/Switzerland/France/Italy/Spain/Portugal/China/Thailand/India/Australia), experience travel-style real-life cycling, and add fun to spinning/treadmill exercise.

After selecting a route, users can also invite friends to join (up to 8 people, including the initiator). Each person is randomly assigned an animal image. When the ride is paused, the animal stands still; when the ride is in progress, the animal also runs forward.

It is not difficult to see from the above-mentioned applications that Nreal has a deep understanding of AR technology and AR glasses products themselves, and has accumulated a certain amount of applications and content around the AR industry, and can provide rich experience for early adopters.

It is also worth mentioning that during high-intensity use and screen recording, Nreal Air did not experience the common heating phenomenon of other products in the industry, and Nreal officially claimed that the energy consumption of the glasses was only 1.5W. The actual experience does not have much impact on the mobile phone battery. The OnePlus 8T lost 35% of its power after two hours of play, which is still within an acceptable range.

In short, Nreal Air is affordable, has excellent BirdBath-OLED imaging, and its appearance and weight also surpass almost all competitors. It is extremely competitive and is already a very mature consumer-grade AR glasses.

Of course, Nreal Air is not a device without flaws.

First of all, there are fewer compatible devices, and for non-adapted devices, Nreal Air can only be used as a large-screen head-mounted display device, which occupies most of the field of vision in the glasses and cannot be moved or adjusted, which often limits the usage scenarios of this pair of glasses.

Secondly, the principle of BirdBath technology determines that the lenses of glasses are often polluted by light from below. Although Nreal Air has used special coatings to greatly reduce the reflectivity, when the external light is strong, I will inevitably see my belly...

Summarize

On the contrary, at a time when AR applications are still insufficient, Nreal Air seems to have chosen the right track by choosing the "movie-watching" route, subtracting non-essential configurations, weight, and price, and adding wearing experience and AR content. Nreal's attitude of polishing its products overseas and directly providing users with complete products and ecological experience in China is more worthy of recognition.

AR technology not only hides the intelligent answer of "everything on one screen", but also accumulates the kinetic energy of the metaverse technology of Internet dimensionalization and virtual world spatialization. It is gratifying that many of the leaders of this AR field revolution are domestic companies such as Nreal. We might as well wait and see what kind of energy Nreal Air can provide for China's first wave of AR glasses consumerization.

As a winner of Toutiao's Qingyun Plan and Baijiahao's Bai+ Plan, the 2019 Baidu Digital Author of the Year, the Baijiahao's Most Popular Author in the Technology Field, the 2019 Sogou Technology and Culture Author, and the 2021 Baijiahao Quarterly Influential Creator, he has won many awards, including the 2013 Sohu Best Industry Media Person, the 2015 China New Media Entrepreneurship Competition Beijing Third Place, the 2015 Guangmang Experience Award, the 2015 China New Media Entrepreneurship Competition Finals Third Place, and the 2018 Baidu Dynamic Annual Powerful Celebrity.