Google and Xreal have put their Aura smart glasses on sale at $1,099, a price below the $1,279 Xreal charged for early preorders last month. The 95-gram glasses, paired with a tethered Android XR compute puck, display multiple virtual screens and went on sale today with the launch price available through the end of the year.
Xreal and Google announced the $1,099 price as the Aura went on sale today, with the launch rate holding through the end of the year. Xreal had offered early preorders last month at $1,279.
The Verge, which reported the launch, suggests the price cut reflects the competition the product faces: at $1,279 the Aura would have been going head to head with Meta's VR Glasses, tough competition for Google and Xreal's new entry.
The glasses weigh 95 grams and, according to The Verge, offer one of the widest fields of view. The device projects multiple virtual screens, backed by a tethered Android XR compute puck.
Analysis
Why This Matters
- The launch price places the Aura directly in the same bracket as Meta's VR Glasses, making the end-of-year sales window a direct contest between the two products.
- The 95-gram see-through design with a separate compute puck offers a lighter alternative to head-worn VR headsets, testing whether that format can win buyers.
- The Verge reads the pre-launch price cut as a sign that going head to head with Meta at $1,279 was competition Google and Xreal wanted to avoid.
Background
The Aura is the result of a partnership between Google and Xreal, a maker of augmented reality glasses. It runs on Android XR, Google's platform for head-worn devices, and keeps the glasses at 95 grams by pairing them with a tethered compute puck. Meta's VR Glasses, which The Verge identifies as the Aura's main rival, already sit in the same price territory.
What to Watch
- Whether the $1,099 price is extended past the end of the year, when the launch pricing is currently set to expire, or reverts to the earlier preorder rate.
- How the Aura's wide field of view and multi-screen projection rate against Meta's VR Glasses in early reviews.
- Whether the glasses-and-puck format gains traction during the end-of-year sale window the discounted price covers.
Checked
8 claims in this story checked against 1 source: 7 supported.
Show each claim
- SupportedGoogle and Xreal launched the Aura at $1,099, below the $1,279 Xreal charged for early preorders last month.The Verge: “Xreal and Google have just announced the headset costs $1,099 through the end of the year, down from the $1,279 that Xreal was charging for early preorders last month.”
- SupportedThe Aura glasses weigh 95 grams.The Verge: “the lightweight 95-gram glasses”
- SupportedThe glasses are paired with a tethered Android XR compute puck.The Verge: “the lightweight 95-gram glasses with a tethered Android XR compute puck”
- SupportedThe glasses display multiple virtual screens.The Verge: “and multiple virtual screens”
- SupportedThe Aura went on sale today, with the $1,099 price lasting through the end of the year.The Verge: “that just went on sale today. Xreal and Google have just announced the headset costs $1,099 through the end of the year”
- SupportedThe Verge suggests the lower price reflects competition the Aura would face at $1,279.The Verge: “I expect that's because at $1,279, they were going head to head with Meta's VR Glasses , and that's tough competition for Google and Xreal's new product.”
- SupportedAt $1,279, the Aura would have gone head-to-head with Meta's VR Glasses, which the source describes as tough competition.The Verge: “I expect that's because at $1,279, they were going head to head with Meta's VR Glasses , and that's tough competition for Google and Xreal's new product.”
- Partly supportedThe Aura offers one of the widest fields of view.The Verge: “The Xreal Aura has one of the widest fields of view for transparent …”
