Google and Xreal have lowered the price of their Aura glasses before the product has even reached customers. The headset, which went on sale on 2026-10-28, will cost $1,099 through the end of the year. That is $180 less than the $1,279 Xreal was charging for preorders last month.
The Aura weighs 95 grams and pairs transparent glasses with a tethered Android XR compute puck. It supports multiple virtual screens. Its field of view measures 70 degrees diagonal, among the widest yet for transparent glasses, though The Verge notes that this is still not large and that such glasses carry other tradeoffs.
The Verge suggests the price cut may reflect competition. At $1,279, the Aura would have been going head to head with Meta's VR Glasses, a tough rival for a new product from Google and Xreal.
Buying has also become simpler. Shoppers no longer have to work through reservations, preorders and Founder's Editions, provided they live in a launch country. In the US, Canada and South Korea, the model with 12GB of RAM and 256GB of storage costs $1,099. A version with 16GB of RAM and 512GB of storage is available at a discounted $1,299. Units are expected to begin shipping in mid-November. Japan gets sales starting November 2nd, and broader availability is planned for next year.
Customers who already preorder at the higher price will not have to chase a refund. Xreal general manager and spokesperson Ralph Jodice told The Verge that the company will automatically and instantly refund the difference.
The glasses will launch with more than 150 "made-for-XR experiences," according to Xreal and Google. Among the new immersive films are Andy Serkis' Nevatars and Galapagos: the Last Eden. Users can connect a computer or handheld game console to the USB-C compute puck to mirror its display to the glasses alongside their virtual windows. They can also ask Google's Gemini AI about what they are looking at.
Google Photos is also receiving an XR update. Google says a new spatial gallery will wrap a user's library around them this year. In its words, "You can pan from an entire year down to a single day with your hands, then open a favorite memory in 3D."
Xreal is also working with GameSir on a wireless gamepad that includes a dedicated Gemini key, a charging dock and swappable D-pads. The company also announced a folding portable wireless keyboard. Pricing, release dates and other details for both accessories have not been shared.
