XREAL's affordable AR glasses are finally available in the US for $299

XREAL launched its sub-brand X by XREAL alongside the a01 — its first pair of affordable AR glasses — back in May. At that time, the glasses were only available in China, and the company was expected to launch them in the US in July. Now, that’s finally happening, and with a slight upgrade to boot.

The company has finally opened US sales of its glasses. However, the “a01” glasses have been upgraded to the “a01 Plus”, and there’s a small but useful difference between the two. The a01 Plus AR glasses come with a detachable light shield to block out ambient light from ruining your experience. Other than that, the a01 and the a01 Plus are exactly the same.

The a01 Plus have all the makings of a nice pair of affordable AR glasses. They’re equipped with dual layer Micro OLED displays with a 120Hz refresh rate, are capable of 1,600 nits of peak brightness, support HDR10, and offer real-time SDR to HDR conversion. The virtual display can reach up to 147 inches, and they feature a new anti-shake mode which could result in a better experience while watching videos on the move.

The a01 Plus are also lightweight, coming in at just 62g, and feature interchangeable front frames. The company has used slimmer lenses to make them look more like regular sunglasses, and they come with three different nose pad sizes in the box for a more comfortable fit.

The X by XREAL a01 Plus are priced at $299 and can be purchased from Amazon as well as the XREAL website. They are also available from retailers like Best Buy, B&H, and Micro Center.