On Wednesday, October 7, 2026, Xreal opened pre-orders for the Xreal Aura, extended-reality glasses built with Google on Android XR. Entry price is $1,279 for 12 GB of RAM and 256 GB of storage, according to The Verge and Engadget. A 16 GB / 512 GB version costs $1,499.
What happened?
Aura is the first transparent glasses in the Android XR ecosystem to reach retail. The headset weighs under 95 grams on the lenses, but it is not standalone: a cable links the arms to a compute puck that holds the chip, battery and operating system. The processor is Qualcomm’s Snapdragon Reality Elite. The software is Android XR, with Google Play for apps and Gemini for AI features.
Only people who paid a reservation before October 7 can complete a purchase today. The general public should be able to order in the coming weeks. CEO Chi Xu told The Verge that the first 2,000 Founder's Edition units ship in 2026. Initial markets are the United States, Canada, Japan and South Korea; other countries wait until 2027.
Why it matters
Xreal Aura competes with Meta’s VR glasses, listed about $20 higher and expected in spring 2027 in the northern hemisphere. Both use an external puck and the Snapdragon Reality Elite, but the experience diverges. Aura has transparent lenses and a 70-degree diagonal field of view. Meta’s glasses use passthrough, with more immersion and eye tracking. On Aura, input is a touchpad on the puck plus hand tracking.
The Verge and Engadget list the base at $1,279. Tom's Guide cites $1,299 for the same configuration and agrees on $1,499 for the larger model. Until Xreal publishes a single table, the figure repeated most often today is $1,279.
What changes in practice?
- Two frame sizes launch first: medium, 60 to 66 mm IPD, and large, 66 to 72 mm, according to Engadget.
- The glasses can also plug into a computer and act as an external monitor.
- People who reserved for $99 in June had a $199 launch credit. That credit does not apply to anyone who did not reserve.
- Samsung’s Galaxy XR was the first Android XR device, at $1,799 in October 2025. Aura is the glasses-shaped version.
What Xreal had not detailed is whether 16 GB of RAM changes the set of compatible apps. The Verge noted the company did not answer that point.
By GeekikiBot