Review
RayNeo Air 2 XR Smart Glasses + The Joydock
Julia Laurent, SmartGlassesOn
Published 09:47, Tue March 05, 2024
PRO's
- AR experience
- Decent speakers
- Sound options
- Widely adjustable
- Provides a 201" screen
CON's
- No carrying case included
PRO's
- 10000 mA battery
- Enhances gaming
- Doesn't feel bulky
CON's
- Extra cost
RayNeo Air 2: A stylish option, Yet facing tough competition
The RayNeo Air 2 XR smart glasses were introduced in November 2023, they offer a big screen experience that fits right in your pocket, perfect for gaming, watching videos, or working on the go. They project a floating display directly into your view, come with stereo sound, and can connect via USB-C to mirror content from your smartphone, laptop, or other devices. However, while these glasses have some cool features, they also come with some familiar drawbacks.
In a crowded market of mixed reality devices, the RayNeo Air 2 XR digital goggles (there’s no first-gen version) step in to replace Nxtwear S. These glasses are mainly meant for entertainment, offering a large and portable translucent screen (up to 201 inches), but they can also double as augmented reality (AR) glasses if you find the right app. They’re an improvement over previous models and are priced competitively.
What's new
The Ray-Neo Air’2 XR made some significant improvements over it’s predecessor. A larger screen that mimimcs a 201″ display at 6 meters, enhanced visual quality, optimized for outdoor use, higher refresh rate of 120hz, ligther more ergonomic design and improved audio quality.
The RayNeo Air 2 are available for purchase on Amazon for $379. These smart glasses are offered exclusively in black. If your device lacks USB-C Alt mode display capability, you can buy a TCL Portable Adapter for $99, which uses MiraScreen to provide graphical output. However, since this adapter doesn’t support HDCP, it isn’t suitable for users primarily looking to watch Netflix on their smart glasses. Additionally, a JoyDock adapter was released in December 2023, which makes the Air 2 compatible with the Nintendo Switch.
Unboxing
Peeling of the protective sticker you’ll notice that the displays look like mirrored sunglasses. Further in the box you will have more accessiories such as carrying pouch for the glasses, cleaning cloth, lenses and a pair of extra lenses which you can take to an optician and have your own prescription made so you can wear the RayNeo Air 2 smart glasses without having to wear your regular glasses. A user manual and a USB-C to USB-C cable will be included to plug in the smart glasses to your device, as long as your device supports Video Out over USB-C you’re pretty much good to go.
Design and comfort
As far as the fit, there a couple of aspects to these AR glasses that make them relatively comfortable. The glasses offer a 76 gram lightweight design which is a tiny bit more compared to the Xreal Air 2 Pro’s 75 grams. The hinges bend outwards quite a bit and offer lots of flexibility to fit different people, for example if you have a slightly wider head the glasses don’t feel like they’re being stretched, bent or that they’re squeezing you. The temples on the arms of the glasses can be adjusted up and down to fit most faces. The bridge has extra cushy air cushion nose pads that are on a bendable frame so you can get the glasses to sit on your face exactly where they need to be. On the left and right side of the frames there are a couple of buttons, these adjust the brightness of the screen that you’re viewing as well as the sound.
Buttons and 3D mode
There are a couple of buttons on these AR glasses. On the left temple you’ll find the volume control and on the right side you’ll find the button which adjusts the brigthness. With the application you can toggle between 9 brightness levels. If you press both sides at the same time you can toggle between 2D and 3D modes, that’s another thing I love about these smart glasses. It comes with build-in 3D glasses, so if you launch a 3D movie you can watch it in beautiful stereoscopic 3D effortlessly. Additional button shortcuts allows you to switch between refresh rates from 60hz – 120 hz and activate whisper mode and this on gives you slightly more muffled sound but less sound leak so you don’t disturb anyone, this is especially useful in quiet environments.
Video
These smart glasses allow you to view the equivalent of a 200″ with 120hz screen right in front of you. They come with Sony’s micro OLED 1080p displays that reflect of a mirror. The best way I can describe it is it’s like looking at a big projector screen or movie theater screen from about 6 meters away but with the ability to see past it and around it, you’re not completely cut off the outside world and the 120hz screen makes the display look smooth when using it. The OLED displays are positioned at the top of the frame and angled downward towards the clear lens area. This setup enables you to view media content while maintaining visibility of your surroundings.
Unfortunately blurry edges is something that many users have pointed out experiencing with these smart glasses. I have to say I did not have the same experience, I looked this up online and came across a lot of comments mentioning that the blurry edges usually are a result of a bad fit, so if you have the same problem I would recommend you to try adjust the position of the glasses and nosepads to see if this can help. You can connect to almost any device you would use on a regular basis to the glasses and utilize that screen in any way you want, for example you can read and edit documents, watch Youtube videos, play games, scroll through social media, get some work done on the go, anything you’re doing on the connected device will be mirrored and you will be able to see it all on a much larger scale.
Sound
The RayNeo Air 2 glasses have a pair built-in speakers so you can listen to whatever it is you’re watching. The speakers are optimized in a way to deliver solid stereo sound as well as to ensure privacy. The speakers are pretty good, it’s exceptionally loud, louder than similar glasses at max volume. While I haven’t faced issues hearing other smart glasses even in a noisy airplane, having the option to crank up the volume further is nice to have. And if you crave total privacy you can always connect your bluetooth headphones. To use these glasses you need to connect them to another device via the USB-C cable.
Compatibility
Although RayNeo claims to offer compatibility with various Android phones, iPhones, Macs, PCs, and gaming consoles, the actual compatibility differs somewhat. Only Android phones equipped with DisplayPort technology enabled can connect without requiring a separate Miracast adapter. Similarly, only the iPhone 15 is compatible for the same reason. Interestingly, many phone manufacturers, including Google, have yet to activate one of USB-C’s most appealing features by default. Samsung users might find themselves fortunate in this regard, although among Google devices, only the Pixel 8 has DisplayPort enabled out of the box.
According to RayNeo themselves these digital eyewears are compatible with: iPhone 15/15 Pro Max, Switch, Steam Deck, PS4 Slim/PS5, Xbox Series X/S, ROG Ally, MacBook, iPad.
If you don’t own any of the above mentioned devices, here’s a link to Miracast adapters.
Upgrading with The JoyDock
Ray-Neo launched the JoyDock which is a on one hub charging station that was primarily introduced to connect to your Nintendo Switch or Steam Deck but can also be connected to other devices. One main benefit is the built-in 5000 * 2 = 10000 milliamp battery allowing you to play even longer while enjoying the 201″ screen with the AR glasses
Having the oppurtunity to upgrade with the joydock is also quite cool. The additional accessory is convenient and easy to use. Ray-Neo have said that the JoyDock should work with other gaming consoles but I have not tried this. The JoyDock costs about $100 USD and is worth it if you want to have extra charge and connect the device to your glasses. Xreal have their own variant called “the beam” but if you’re a gamer and especially if you use Nintendo Switch then these AR glasses combined with the JoyDock is a must have and thanks to it’s built-in battery and user friendly mounting you can take it with you wherever you go.
Connecting the portable Dock
The best feature by far is the fact that it enables us to play and switch games while using the Ray-Neo Air 2 glasses. The JoyDock is connected with a USB-C cable directly to the gaming device. As far as the configuration and how you use it there is a helpful Quick Start sheet available in the JoyDock box. Pairing the JoyDock does add some weight but it is very much portable and functioning. You will have three outputs on the device:
1- Connecting the Nintendo Switch
2- Connecting your Ray-Neo smart glasses
3- Power/charge and there is a battery level indicator which shows how much charge you’ve got left.
Attaching the JoyDock to your Nintendo Switch is super simple, just snap on the included back clip with the arrow pointing down, then slide the JoyDock into the back clip. Use the USB-C to USB-C cable to connect the JoyDock to your switch and then connect your glasses to the glass port on the JoyDock. Remove Joycon controllers from the switch, sit back relax and enjoy gaming with the switch on the 201″ display wherever you want.
You can also use the glasses with other gaming consoles such as a Playstation 5 or Xbox series consoles, you just need to pick up a USB-C to HDMI adapter.
Gaming, YouTube and streaming services
Gaming with other consoles was excellent, the Sony Micro OLED displays look great and the contrast and clarity of the images were outstanding. Also the motin clarity was excellent while gaming and the lightweight and comfort design of the glasses make them ideal for longer gaming sessions and having the huge 201″ screen provides for a truly immersive gaming experience like your’re playing on a large TV or projector.
You can also use these AR glasses to watch movies, TV shows, YouTube videos, pretty whatever your device can display and it supports both vertical and horizontal orientations providing a surreal experience with the TCL Ray-Neo Air 2’s XR. Imagine diving in the world of vast content on Disney Plus, Netflix, Amazon Prime, or any other streaming service making every moment mesmerizing.
Productivity, Privacy and Applications
If you prefer to work with the Ray-Neo’s they’re also great for productivity. You can use them as an accessory to your laptop by connecting them via the USB-C cable to mirror your screen. It can be really convinient to have a large screen front center, you don’t have to strain your neck looking down at a laptop screen during those longer productivity sessions. You can dim your laptop screen for more privacy and view everything on the glasses in front of you. In one occasion I edited a video on my flight completely in private without the person next to me seeing what I was doing. It felt quite remarkable because it’s tedious for me to edit videos on my smart phone and I prefer doing it on my laptop. I could get most of the job done without having the person next to me asking ” – what are you working on?” You’ll have alot of privacy using these AR glasses.
If you want to level up your productivity you can download the Ray-Neo app available for Android and iOS directly to your smart phone. If you wish to download it to your PC Windows, you can do that by downloading Ray-Neo Mirror Screen Studio to experience multi-windows, it provides a three degrees of freedom experience where you can have multiple windows open at the same time and you can resize and move them around in your environment. With the application you can also adjust the color settings and personalize your viewing experience.
Imagine having the ability to multitask like never before, that’s what the TCL Ray-Neo Air 2’s XR offer. With these glasses you enter a world where browsing, editing and writing comes to life on a large comfortable screen that’s all yours.
Conclusion
The Ray-Neo Air 2 glasses are in a valid price-range and cheaper than it’s main rival the Xreal’s, if you’re curious to try out your first AR glasses then these smart glasses are a valid choice. The Ray-Neo Air 2 smart glasses are more affordable compared to the Xreal Air Pro 2 glasses and they offer a larger screen without the necessity to buy additional accessories to connect to (Ray-Neo Air 2 = 201 inch compared to Xreal Air Pro 2 which offers a 130″ screen without the beam but a 330″ with the beam).
I experienced the sound quality to be better on other AR glasses but it’s not a major difference. Something I personally don’t like about the RayNeo’s is that they don’t have any rims around the glasses which makes them look a bit fragile, but this is my personal oppinion, many might acctually like the futuristic design. These glasses are comfortable and do not feel heavy on the face after longer gaming sessions. Watching movies on streaming services such as Netflix, Amazon Prime and Disney Plus did not feel uncomfortable at all. Having the ability to use three different windows with the Ray-Neo mirror screen application turned out to be more user-friendly than I imagined. I literally felt it to be easier to work with the Ray-Neo’s compared to having three physical screens in front of me.
The RayNeo Air 2 boasts impressive display quality overall, but it is marred by a significant flaw. When I found the optimal position to view the entire vertical span of the virtual screen, the edges were noticeably blurred. This blurring was so pronounced that I had to utilize the 3DoF tracking to move my head in order to read text that wasn’t centered. I’ve tried to illustrate this effect in the image above, where the area outside the central oval becomes progressively blurrier towards the edges.
This issue could be addressed in a future firmware update by either defaulting to a slightly smaller virtual screen or allowing users to adjust the screen size themselves. As it currently stands, the RayNeo Air 2 is challenging to use for spatial computing tasks, such as serving as a secondary screen for a laptop, due to problems with text legibility.
Overall these are good smart glasses and considering the performance status for AR glasses on the market as of today I think these glasses do a pretty decent job in delivering solid AR experience.
PRO's
- AR experience
- Decent speakers
- Sound options
- Widely adjustable
- Provides a 201" screen
CON's
- No carrying case included
PRO's
- 10000 mA battery
- Enhances gaming
- Doesn't feel bulky
CON's
- Extra cost