Nreal Light AR glasses offer affordable competition to Microsoft and Magic Leap, but only in South Korea
- While other high-end AR glasses cost thousands of dollars, the Nreal Light is debuting in South Korea for under US$600
- The glasses from Beijing-based Nreal became a major attraction at CES this year
Chinese start-up Nreal is finally ready to release its affordable augmented reality (AR) glasses. But for now, there’s only one place you’ll be able to get them: South Korea.
The company announced on Tuesday that its Nreal Light glasses are now up for pre-order in partnership with carrier LG Uplus. The glasses are being sold under the name U+ Real Glass, and they’ll be available either bundled with a phone and a data plan or separately at a higher price.
Nreal says the glasses are designed to liberate people from their tiny phone screens. Instead of tapping on a 2D display, users wearing the glasses can navigate mobile apps in a 3D interface.
The company has its own 3D system called Nebula. It projects digital images onto the real world when a user looks through the glasses. Nreal is working with LG Uplus to make popular apps like Google Chrome, Facebook, Kakao Talk and Instagram compatible with its system.
The company says the glasses can double as a virtual reality (VR) headset, too, thanks to an included lens shade that covers a user’s field of view. This means users can also watch movies and play games on the Nreal Light.