Key takeaways
- Xreal is selling the 12GB Aura for $1,099 and the 16GB model for $1,299 through December, down from $1,279 and $1,499.
- Orders opened October 28 in the US, Canada, Japan and South Korea at Xreal.com and Best Buy, with shipping planned for mid November.
- The 95 gram glasses use Sony micro OLED displays at 1200p and 120Hz and connect by cable to a separate compute puck.
In this story 5 sections
The number most early buyers will care about is $1,099. That is what the Xreal Aura costs through December, $180 below the list price Xreal set earlier this month, after the company opened orders for its wired Android XR glasses on October 28 at the Android Developer Summit.
According to TechCrunch and 9to5Google, orders are live in the US, Canada, Japan and South Korea, through Xreal.com and Best Buy, with shipping planned for mid November. Here is the launch in figures, and what each one says about who these glasses are for.
Xreal Aura launch figures at a glance
- $1,279: list price for the 12GB memory, 256GB storage model, first announced on October 7.
- $1,099: the same model through December, a $180 saving.
- $1,499: list price for the 16GB, 512GB model.
- $1,299: that higher model through December, a $200 saving.
- 95 grams: the weight of the glasses, versus 69 grams for Meta's glasses, according to TechCrunch.
- 1200p at 120Hz: resolution and refresh rate of the Sony micro OLED displays.
- About 150: XR experiences available at launch, per 9to5Google.
- 4: countries in the first wave, with a broader rollout planned for 2027.
Why the December discount changes the math
At $1,279, the Aura sat in an awkward spot. It cost more than many flagship phones while asking buyers to bet on a platform, Android XR, that is still young. Dropping to $1,099 for the holiday window does not make it cheap, but it pulls the base model closer to the price of a high end laptop rather than a pro workstation.
The timing is deliberate. Shipping starts in mid November, so the discount covers the whole holiday season. Anyone who wants the launch price has to decide before the end of December, before most reviews have had time to settle.
Earlier this month, 9to5Google reported that buyers could reserve a spot with a $199 priority deposit credited toward the glasses. The October 28 coverage does not say how that deposit interacts with the new launch pricing, so reservation holders should check their order page directly.
What 95 grams and a wired puck mean on your face
The Aura is not a pair of everyday camera glasses. It is tethered to a separate compute puck by a cable, which is how Xreal fits a Snapdragon processor and its own X1S chip into the system without loading all of that onto your nose.
That design explains the weight. At 95 grams, the Aura is roughly 26 grams heavier than Meta's glasses, a gap you will feel over a long movie or a work session. The tradeoff is display quality: micro OLED panels at 1200p and 120Hz are aimed at watching video, gaming and running full Android apps in a virtual screen, not at quick glances at notifications.
Audio is tuned by Bose, and Google's Gemini assistant is built in for questions about what you are looking at, according to TechCrunch.
150 apps on day one, and the ones that stand out
Content is where new headsets usually stumble. Xreal and Google are trying to avoid that with roughly 150 XR experiences at launch. TechCrunch named the NBA App for Android XR, Fallout: Factions and a NASCAR XR app among them, a clear signal that sports and gaming are the first pitch.
Accessories point the same way. 9to5Google reports a GameSir controller with a dedicated Gemini button, plus a wireless keyboard that Xreal says is coming. If you already follow the M6 MacBook Pro and iMac preorders, the keyboard hints that Xreal also wants a slice of the portable work screen crowd.
Who should actually preorder
The Aura makes the most sense for people who already watch a lot of video on planes or trains, or who game on Android and want a large private screen. It is a harder sell for anyone hoping for lightweight smart glasses they can wear all day. For that style of device, the Amazon Bee wearables and the ongoing Oura and Ultrahuman ring dispute show how crowded and contested the always worn category has become.
One practical tip: through December, the 12GB model costs $200 less than the discounted 16GB version. Unless you plan to store a lot of downloaded video on the glasses themselves, the cheaper model is the one to start with. More launches like this one, including Amazon's new Echo Show 16, are collected on our gadgets page.
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