When I began covering smart glasses, TCL’s NXTWear S was one of the first models I tested. TCL is still going strong in this field, now as the subsidiary brand RayNeo, with products that range from conservative to bold. On the more adventurous side are the camera-equipped RayNeo X2 ($849.99) AR glasses, which are similar to Google’s Project Astra and still need more time in the oven. On the more conventional side, RayNeo has released the $399.99 Air 2s, the company’s latest iteration of smart video glasses. This simple wearable functions as an external display, using micro-OLED projectors to show the feed from any compatible video source over a DisplayPort-over-USB-C connection. They work very well, with a bright, colorful picture and a comfortable fit, but they require prescription lens inserts if you’re nearsighted. The Viture Pro XR ($459.99) cost more but have built-in diopter adjustments, a brighter picture, and a lens-dimming feature, earning our Editors’ Choice award for smart video glasses.
Since 1982, PCMag has tested and rated thousands of products to help you make better buying decisions. See how we test.
(Credit: Will Greenwald)
Design: Plain, Black, and FlatYou probably won’t mistake the Air 2s for an ordinary pair of sunglasses unless you squint. The black glasses certainly look sunglasses-shaped from the front, but that entire silhouette is a single piece of dark transparent plastic without any sort of frame. It looks like a protective cover that would fit on top of the glasses instead of a permanently attached part of the glasses themselves. This isn’t a huge problem unless you’re very self-conscious. One of our favorite sets of smart glasses, the $439 Rokid Max, looks downright bug-eyed.A set of prisms sits behind the front panel to direct the glasses’ micro-OLED projectors into the wearer’s eyes. A padded nose bridge fits between the prisms, and three pairs of bridges in different sizes are included. Above the prisms, where the glasses touch the brow, is a contoured, matte-black plastic surface with a presence sensor in the middle.
The glasses with prescription lenses (Credit: Will Greenwald)
If you wear glasses, you’ll need to get a prescription lens insert from Lensology to use with the Air 2s. The lens insert costs around $125 and attaches to the brow of the glasses with magnets. The Rokid Max and the Viture Pro feature built-in diopter adjustment dials, so they don’t require prescription lens inserts. It’s unfortunate that the Air 2s doesn’t offer this feature; being able to focus the glasses myself instead of clipping on prescription lenses is more convenient and economical.
At 78 grams, the Air 2s are heavier than competing models, but by only 1 to 6 grams. The difference is negligible, and the Air 2s feel quite light on the face. They are well-balanced, and the temples have spring hinges, which help ensure a comfortable fit. Two rockers sit on the underside of the temples of the Air 2s. The left rocker adjusts volume for the built-in speakers, and the right rocker adjusts brightness. Small slits for the speakers are located behind the rockers, just in front of where the temples curve into ear hooks.Eyes On With the RayNeo Air 2s: A Bright, Colorful PictureThe RayNeo Air 2s smart glasses project a 1,920-by-1,080 picture at 60Hz or 120Hz into each eye, with a 46-degree field of view that gives the impression of a 201-inch screen viewed from 20 feet away. RayNeo claims a max brightness of 600 nits, a contrast ratio of 100,000:1, and a color gamut of 108% of the sRGB color space. These ratings are about as standard as can be for smart glasses. The 46-degree field of view is met by the XReal Air 2 and the Viture Pro, though the Rokid Max is a bit wider at 50 degrees. Peak brightness is also in line with two of the others, the XReal Air 2 (500 nits) and the Rokid Max (600 nits), while the Viture Pro has a claimed peak brightness of 1,000 nits. We’re unable to perform our usual picture quality tests on smart glasses due to how they work, but, eyeballing it, the Viture Pro can indeed get brighter than the others. Still, 600 nits is comfortably bright regardless of where you might wear the glasses, and I’ve yet to find any prism-projection smart glasses that I would call dim.
(Credit: Will Greenwald)
Like all smart video glasses of this type, the Air 2s require a USB-C connection that supports DisplayPort over USB-C. This covers most modern PCs, along with all USB-C equipped iPhones and iPads and many Android phones. However, neither Google Pixel nor Samsung Galaxy phones output video through their USB-C ports, so you’ll have to get the appropriate adapter to use them with the Air 2s. Devices that use HDMI also require an adapter. I used the Air 2s with a Windows 11 laptop and an iPhone 15 Pro. Both immediately detected the glasses and output video directly to them without issue.The display on the Air 2s looks excellent. Though not as bright as the Viture Pro at maximum settings, it puts out more than enough light for comfortable viewing and shows similarly vivid, well-saturated colors. The 1080p picture is sharp (with the prescription lens insert to accommodate my nearsightedness), making it easy to watch videos and read text. The 46-degree field of view is large enough that the display really is comparable to watching a large home theater screen from a comfortable distance. It isn’t sharper or more colorful than its competitors, but the entire category shows pretty strong performance across the board.The speakers sound clear when watching video in a moderately quiet environment like a coffee shop, and better than most audio-only smart glasses. However, I heard a bit of a buzz coming from the left side at higher volumes on the pair I tested, especially with speech. This is likely a minor defect of my particular unit, not a widespread product issue, since audio comes through cleanly on the right side.Verdict: Solid Smart Video GlassesTCL RayNeo’s Air 2s smart video glasses are about as standard as it comes for this category, and they work exactly as designed. They serve as a personal display for any source device that supports DisplayPort over USB-C and show a crisp, colorful picture. Besides one questionable ear speaker on our unit, and a visual design I personally dislike, I found no real flaws with the glasses in testing. I didn’t see anything that makes them stand out, either, and the reliance on prescription lens inserts instead of built-in diopter adjustments is inconvenient. The more expensive Viture Pro XR glasses retain their Editors’ Choice primacy for their built-in focus dials and lens-dimming capabilities, but the Air 2s are a solid budget-minded alternative, especially if you don’t need prescription lenses.
Pros
Bright, colorful display
Comfortable
The Bottom Line
The TCL RayNeo Air 2s are solid-performing, if not particularly exciting, smart video glasses that function as a wearable monitor.
Like What You’re Reading?
Sign up for Lab Report to get the latest reviews and top product advice delivered right to your inbox.
This newsletter may contain advertising, deals, or affiliate links. Subscribing to a newsletter indicates your consent to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. You may unsubscribe from the newsletters at any time.
About Will Greenwald
Lead Analyst, Consumer Electronics
I’ve been PCMag’s home entertainment expert for over 10 years, covering both TVs and everything you might want to connect to them. I’ve reviewed more than a thousand different consumer electronics products including headphones, speakers, TVs, and every major game system and VR headset of the last decade. I’m an ISF-certified TV calibrator and a THX-certified home theater professional, and I’m here to help you understand 4K, HDR, Dolby Vision, Dolby Atmos, and even 8K (and to reassure you that you don’t need to worry about 8K at all for at least a few more years).
Read Will’s full bio
Read the latest from Will Greenwald
