AR glasses 2026: XREAL One, XREAL Aura and Meta's new glasses
The new AR glasses look like sunglasses and weigh a fraction of a headset. But what they can do varies widely: the XREAL One is mainly a large screen in front of your eyes, the Meta Ray-Ban Display shows notifications on a small display, and only the XREAL Aura places 3D content firmly in the room.
For companies, this raises a question that didn’t come up in the same way with VR headsets: what should the glasses actually show?
As of October 2026.
Cover image: Meta Ray-Ban Display with wristband. Image: Meta
Overview of the devices
| Device | What it shows | Field of view | Price | Availability in Germany |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| XREAL One | virtual screen that follows head rotation | 50° | about €400 to €550 | available |
| XREAL One Pro | virtual screen that follows head rotation | 57° | about €600 to €690 | available |
| XREAL Aura | 3D content in the room, hand tracking, Android XR | about 70° | not yet known, at most $1,500 according to the manufacturer | announced for fall 2026 in selected EU countries |
| Meta Ray-Ban Display | text, images and video on a small display in the right lens | about 20° | €899 including a wristband for control | available since October 13, 2026 |
| Meta VR Glasses | mixed reality and VR as on the Quest 3 | about 70° | $1,299.99 | announced for spring 2027, countries not yet known |
Euro prices are prices in Germany.
XREAL One and One Pro: a screen to take with you
XREAL One Pro. Image: XREAL
XREAL’s glasses connect by cable to a phone, laptop or game console. They then show a large virtual screen that stays in place in the room when you turn your head.
- Strength: Lightweight, inconspicuous, ready to use right away. Good for presentations on the go and for content that used to run on a monitor.
- Limitation: The glasses only detect where you are looking, not where you are standing. If you want to walk around an object, you need the XREAL Eye add-on camera or a different device.
The optics sit behind the lens. Image: XREAL
XREAL Aura: Android XR in the form of glasses
The Aura is the first pair of glasses with Android XR, Google’s operating system that also runs on the Samsung Galaxy XR. The computing power sits in a small unit connected to the glasses by a cable.
- Strength: 3D content in the room, hand controls, access to apps for Android XR. Most applications for the Galaxy XR are expected to run on the Aura as well.
- Limitation: The lenses darken your surroundings. Trade media therefore see the Aura more as a lightweight alternative to a headset than as glasses for all-day wear.
Meta Ray-Ban Display: notifications in view
Meta’s glasses have a small display in the right lens and are controlled with a wristband that detects finger movements.
- Strength: Looks like ordinary glasses. Shows messages, directions, lists and images.
- Limitation: No 3D content in the room. Some features are missing in Europe at launch.
Meta VR Glasses: the lightweight headset
In September 2026, Meta announced a headset in the form of glasses. The glasses themselves weigh about 100 grams, and the technology sits in a compute unit on a cable. They use the same operating system as the Quest 3 and are expected to show the same content.
For companies, this is interesting mainly because applications for the Quest 3 are expected to keep running on them. The field of view, however, is smaller than on the Quest 3.
What can be developed for them?
| Platform | Tools | What is possible |
|---|---|---|
| XREAL One and One Pro | XREAL SDK for Unity | Applications that run on a connected device and follow head rotation |
| XREAL Aura, Samsung Galaxy XR | Android XR with Unity, Unreal, Godot, OpenXR or WebXR | 3D applications in the room with hand tracking |
| Meta Ray-Ban Display | Meta’s Device Access Toolkit | Extending an iPhone or Android app, web applications on the glasses. No 3D engines |
| Meta VR Glasses, Meta Quest 3 | Unity or Unreal with Meta’s tools | Mixed reality and VR |
For us as developers, this means that what we build for the Meta Quest 3, the Apple Vision Pro or the Galaxy XR can be transferred to the Aura and the Meta VR Glasses. The Meta Ray-Ban Display is a world of its own. It is about short notifications, not spatial experiences.
Which glasses suit which task?
| Task | Suitable device |
|---|---|
| Presentations on the go, a large screen without a monitor | XREAL One or One Pro |
| Showing a product in 3D in the room, hands free | XREAL Aura, Meta Quest 3, Apple Vision Pro |
| Notifications and checklists in view while you work | Meta Ray-Ban Display |
| Training with a lot of interaction | Meta Quest 3 or Pico 4 Ultra Enterprise |
How the market is developing
The market for glasses is growing fast, while the market for classic VR headsets has recently declined. The market research firm Counterpoint reports growth of 139 percent for smart glasses in the second half of 2025 and a decline of 14 percent for VR headsets in the first half of 2025. So far, the growth has come mainly from consumer glasses.
Augmented reality has arrived in German companies: according to a Bitkom survey (in German) from 2024, one in five companies uses AR, most often for training and continuing education.
Our assessment
The glasses won’t replace headsets but complement them. If you need to practice a process, you are better off with a headset. If you need a notification while you work or want to show something at a customer’s site, you reach for the glasses.
For your project, this means: don’t plan for a device, plan for a task. We build applications so that they run on several devices and remain usable with the next generation. You can read more on our page about augmented reality.
Sources
Manufacturer information and trade media reports, retrieved in September 2026: XREAL, XREAL SDK, Road to VR on the XREAL Aura, UploadVR on the XREAL Aura, Mixed on the Meta Ray-Ban Display, UploadVR on the Meta VR Glasses, Meta for developers, Android XR for developers.
