The RayNeo Air 4 Pro are entry-level AR glasses that get it (mostly) right

We’re spoiled for alternative when it involves face-worn devices that beam content material straight into our eyes, from super-premium headsets just like the Apple Imaginative and prescient Pro and Samsung Galaxy XR, to good glasses with embedded shows just like the Meta Ray-Ban Show, to extra reasonably priced choices from corporations like XREAL and VITURE. RayNeo’s Air 4 Pro AR glasses ($299 at Amazon) fall towards the latter finish of that spectrum.

These glasses aren’t good, per se; they don’t run apps or present direct entry to any AI assistants. However they will play video and audio from nearly any system with USB-C, offering a personal viewing expertise that’s simple to toss in a bag for journey. I’ve acquired some points with the Air 4 Pro, however at $299, I believe these wearable shows might be a great choose for the right purchaser.

The RayNeo Air 4 Pro is a pair of glasses with a normal form just like the basic Ray-Ban Wayfarer (no relation). Contained in the glasses is a pair of prisms that mirror two tiny micro-OLED shows, making a 120Hz, 1080p show within the heart of your area of view. For audio, there are Bang & Olufsen-branded audio system within the arms of the glasses, positioned close to your ears.

From a distance, with no cable connected, the RayNeo Air 4 Pro look kind of like common sun shades. You may see by way of them even when the show is energetic, however an included clip-on shade blocks mild from getting into the glasses’ lenses, giving video displayed by way of the Air 4 Pro correct deep black ranges and enabling use in brilliant environments.

You may wire up most any gadget that outputs video over USB-C to play video and audio by way of the Air 4 Pro, which have a USB-C port on the finish of their right leg. They’re utterly plug-and-play, with no setup required on the glasses themselves, and solely as a lot as every other monitor on the supply system. They work with most fashionable telephones, tablets, and laptops, in addition to some common gaming handhelds. I’ve used the RayNeo Air 4 Pro lots with MacBook Pro and Pixel 9 Pro; the glasses typically work effectively with each, although some options aren’t Pixel-compatible.

RayNeo advertises the Air 4 Pro as appropriate with the Nintendo Change and Change 2, however I wasn’t capable of check that performance; connecting these consoles to those glasses requires an $89 accent that’s offered individually. This isn’t apparent from the glasses’ itemizing on RayNeo’s storefront, and I think some Change homeowners can be irritated about that. The Steam Deck, in the meantime, is appropriate with the glasses with none extra {hardware}: simply plug the glasses into the hand-held’s USB-C port.

Along with the $299 base mannequin, RayNeo made two Batman-themed restricted editions, which are what I’ve been testing: a Justice Version that comes with a lens shade that seems like Batman’s cowl, and a Chaos Version with a shade meant to appear like the Joker.

Performance is similar throughout all variations, however they each have Batman’s insignia stamped on the right leg, close to the temple. Each these editions value $20 greater than the standard-issue mannequin, however are sadly presently listed as offered out on RayNeo’s web site.

I’ve loved utilizing the RayNeo Air 4 Pro fairly a bit. As somebody who usually wears prescription glasses, I discover the Air 4 Pro to be nearly as snug as my requirements. At 76g (2.7oz), they’re noticeably bulkier than common glasses, however nonetheless mild sufficient to put on for hours at a time. On the day I used them most, I wore the Air 4 Pro for about six hours, taking them off each hour or two after I needed to step away from my desk. They by no means began feeling heavy, and although I used to be ready for some eye pressure, I didn’t expertise any.

Setup is one other excessive level. Plug the glasses in, full no matter setup circulate your supply system goes by way of when connecting a brand new exterior show, pop the glasses on, and also you’re set. There’s a rocker to manage brightness on the right arm and one for the built-in audio system’ quantity on the left, together with a menu button to regulate another fundamental settings.

There’s no battery contained in the Air 4 Pro; they’re powered by no matter you plug them into. That helps them keep light-weight and means one much less gadget to cost, however utilizing the glasses with my Pixel 9 Pro hammered its battery, draining 20% of its cost in underneath an hour. If you wish to use the glasses together with your telephone for a long-haul flight, RayNeo sells a $35 adapter that permits you to use the Air 4 Pro whereas additionally charging the system supplying the media.

Picture high quality is usually good, with stable distinction (when utilizing the included shade), vibrant colours, and loads of sharpness for me at 1080p. Help for 120Hz refresh charges when displaying SDR video is a pleasant bonus, too, particularly in case you’re taking part in appropriate video games.

The glasses boast assist for HDR10, an inclusion RayNeo says is a primary in glasses of this type, in addition to a setting for SDR video that’s meant to present it an HDR-like look. HDR10 was one among a handful of options that don’t appear to work with my Pixel 9 Pro — even with HDR content material loaded up on my telephone, the glasses flash a message saying it’s not detected, reverting to RayNeo’s SDR-to-HDR conversion filter.

Watching HDR10 video from my MacBook, in the meantime, the distinction in spotlight brightness was simple to see when swapping between HDR and SDR settings. RayNeo’s SDR-to-HDR trick boosts highlights and distinction for an HDR-ish look, no matter whether or not the system you’re hooked as much as truly helps HDR output on the Air 4 Pro. It makes for a brighter and extra dramatic picture, however after I wasn’t viewing actual HDR content material, I usually selected to stay the the SDR setting’s extra correct look.

Help for 3D content material is a enjoyable novelty, although that, too, is a no-go on my Pixel. Utilizing the RayNeo XR app that you may seize from RayNeo’s web site (not the RayNeo AR app that’s obtainable on the Play Retailer), the glasses can add a depth impact to native 2D video recordsdata in your telephone, making a faux-3D impact. I used to be capable of set up the app and boot it up on my Pixel 9 Pro, however as famous on RayNeo’s web site, Pixel telephones don’t technically assist RayNeo XR: operating on a Pixel, content material from the app simply doesn’t present up on the glasses’ show.

The Air 4 Pro also can play again native stereoscopic 3D movies, which yow will discover loads of on YouTube. It really works nice once they’re related to my MacBook — however with the glasses wired to my Pixel 9 Pro, the show merely goes black after I activate the glasses’ 3D mode. I’m not too bothered to overlook out on HDR and 3D when the glasses are paired with my telephone, however these compatibility gaps may matter extra to different Pixel homeowners.

RayNeo says the Air 4 Pro initiatives “an enormous 201-inch digital show,” which sounds way more spectacular than it is. The stationary show space projected contained in the glasses fills about as a lot of my area of view because the 32-inch monitor on my desk does after I’m reclined in my chair. That’s lots of actual property in case you’re crammed into an airline seat, however it’s not precisely the transportable movie show expertise RayNeo implies — for big-screen viewing, the lounge TV would nonetheless be my go-to.

Audio high quality is first rate. Sound out of the Air 4 Pro is greater than adequate for me to take pleasure in listening to podcasts or watching brief movies, however the glasses don’t get very loud, and there’s not sufficient low-end oomph. In the event you’re watching a film or gaming for longer periods on these items, you’ll have a greater expertise in case you pop in an honest pair of earbuds.

Nearsighted customers will want corrective lenses to see the Air 4 Pro’s projected picture clearly, the identical as with every different XR or VR headset. It’s technically attainable to put on RayNeo’s good glasses over prime of standard glasses, however I wouldn’t advocate shopping for the Air 4 Pro with that use case in thoughts. After making an attempt the Air 4 Pro over of my slimmest pair for a few hours, I acquired uninterested in making an attempt to maintain every part lined up simply so and swapped to contacts.

In the event you additionally put on prescription glasses full-time, you’ll need to spring for a pair of prescription inserts, which you’ll should supply from a 3rd occasion. A fast Google search turns up sellers providing inserts for as little as $50, however it’d be good to have the ability to get a set bundled with the Air 4 Pro immediately from RayNeo.

My largest points with the Air 4 Pro come down to suit. As a result of there’s no approach to regulate the scale or place of the picture being projected, my expertise is that a minimum of one fringe of the viewing space is at all times a bit fuzzy, main me to shift the glasses round barely each as soon as in as I take advantage of them. It’s not the most important deal for watching most video, however it’s been grating after I’ve used the Air 4 Pro for work: UI parts like MacOS’s dock and menu bar can seem smeary, or worse, simply out of view.

The glasses include a hard and fast interpupillary distance (IPD), that means solely customers whose IPD falls inside a sure vary will be capable to comfortably use the Air 4 Pro. You’re capable of transfer the glasses nearer to or farther out of your eyes utilizing an adjustable nostril pad, and every arm may be positioned to one among three completely different heights, so there’s some leeway — however the lack of customization when it involves picture place is perhaps a deal-breaker for some.

The RayNeo Air 4 Pro will attraction to a special viewers than lots of different good glasses and headsets. These glasses don’t supply immersive digital actuality experiences the way in which one thing just like the Galaxy XR does, they usually don’t reply in any approach to the world round you — they don’t have cameras to see or microphones to pay attention (a profit, in my e book). These are AR glasses that are very a lot centered on being an extension of your units: a wearable show you may take with you wherever. Nonetheless, not like some rival units with head monitoring capabilities, the picture projected contained in the glasses is even fastened within the heart of your area of view, with no display screen anchoring obtainable.

However the Air 4 Pro’s relative simplicity means they will undercut lots of comparable merchandise. At $299, they’re $100 inexpensive than VITURE’s entry-tier Luma XR Glasses ($399 at Amazon), which have a higher-resolution show, wider area if view, and auto-dimming chromatic lenses (although they’re usually on sale nearer to $359).

RayNeo’s glasses additionally value $150 lower than the XREAL 1S ($448.99 at Amazon), which comes with greater decision, wider FOV, dimming lenses, and the choice to anchor your digital show in bodily area. Match is perhaps a problem for some, but when all you’re after is a super-portable media show and you’ll stay with out higher-end options, there’s loads to love within the RayNeo Air 4 Pro.