Introduction
RayNeo is likely one of the main gamers within the AR glasses area. The model belongs to the TCL household and its Air 2s glasses we’re taking a look at at this time are an iterative replace over the RayNeo Air 2 with a lot of the identical base specs.
Earlier than we begin we must always most likely clear up some terminology right here and clarify what the RayNeo Air 2s glasses truly do. You may discover them being marketed as XR glasses, which stands for Prolonged Actuality and is definitely an umbrella time period that encompasses all VR (Digital Actuality), AR (Augmented Actuality) and MR (Combined Actuality) merchandise. At their core, the RayNeo Air 2s are roughly a conveyable, wearable show. There isn’t a precise computing on board, however there are some sensors, together with accelerometer, gyroscope, magnetometer and proximity sensor.
The RayNeo Air 2s has a complete set of latest non-obligatory equipment, together with the Pocket TV, which we even have in our assessment equipment. It’s truly a full-fledged Google TV companion gadget that brings much-needed smarts to the RayNeo Air 2s. We shall be going over the Pocket TV as effectively.
RayNeo Air 2s at a look:
- Dimensions: 6.9 x 6.07 x 1.86 in (175 x 154 x 47 mm), 78 grams (with out Sort-C cable connected). 3-position vertical adjustment for gaze angle, 30-degree adjustable angle vary hinges, 3-level nostril pad adjustment.
- Optical parameters: Two Micro-OLED Shows with 1920 x 1080 pixel decision in 2D mode, 3840 x 1080 pixels in 3D mode, 46-degree FoV optics, as much as 120Hz, 8-bit coloration, 108% sRGB, as much as 600 nits perceived brightness (5,000 nits show brightness), 10-level brightness adjustment, efficient display screen measurement: as much as 201-inches, projected 6 meters away.
- Audio: 4 speaker design with two openings on every arm.
- I/O:USB Sort-C port for energy and video over USB Sort-C alt mode Show Port, menu button and quantity rocker on the left aspect, brightness rocker on the fitting aspect.
- Different options:Accelerometer, gyroscope, magnetometer, proximity/put on sensor, 3 DoF head monitoring, myopia attachable body and extra nostril clips within the field.
As talked about, the RayNeo Air 2s and RayNeo Air 2 are very related gadgets. Each appear to nonetheless be promoting from the official retailer concurrently. Function-wise, the 2 are an identical and the RayNeo Air 2 glasses are even a bit lighter at 76 grams. Nevertheless the S model brings a brand new design, specifically a extra snug weight stability, serving to with extended sporting. The brand new weight distribution is 46.7% to 53.3%. The clamping pressure of the arms has been diminished by 15% for enhanced consolation as effectively.
Unboxing
The RayNeo Air 2s glasses are available a wealthy retail bundle. They ship in a fairly large field that’s thick and properly protecting. Past the glasses, the bundle additionally incorporates a pleasant thick USB Sort-C to Sort-C cable, angled on one finish for a extra handy operation.
RayNeo additionally gives a carrying case for the glasses. It’s high-quality and really sturdy, with a zipper and gentle velvet on the within. There’s sufficient area within the field for the glasses and the USB cable, which covers the fundamentals required to run the glasses.
Additionally within the field, we discovered an extra nostril pad, insert templates for prescription lenses and a microfiber cleansing material.
{Hardware}, options and controls
The RayNeo Air 2s glasses have this Ray-ban-reminiscent design, which is definately factor. Nevertheless, the entrance semi-transparent darkened shade just isn’t detachable, however since we by no means discovered a state of affairs the place we might fairly have extra transparency it isn’t a significant omission.
The glasses weigh 78 grams, which isn’t the lightest for XR glasses however is much from heavy. As talked about, one of many main upgrades to the Air 2s is the improved 46.7% to 53.3% weight distribution. In observe, we comfortably wore the glasses for a few hours at a time, sufficient to look at a film. The primary discomfort we felt was to the nostril bridge, which is comprehensible. Nonetheless, the almost good half-and-half weight distribution helps quite a bit, and we’ve to say that the RayNeo Air 2s are a number of the most snug XR glasses we’ve examined. The diminished clamping pressure of the arms helps as effectively.
The 175 x 154 x 47 mm dimensions of the glasses are affordable. Certain, you may by no means fairly look or really feel such as you simply have common glasses on, even chunky ones, however we nonetheless suppose TCL did a terrific job maintaining issues as slim and compact as present tech permits.
The RayNeo Air 2s glasses supply loads of changes. You possibly can alter the place of the nostril pad by pulling it out or pushing it in. There are three positions obtainable. You can too swap the default nostril pad, which is marked as a “medium,” with the included “giant” one if that’s extra snug for you personally. Each nostril pads have loads of padding and air and are effectively designed to deal with the load of the glasses.
Since, like some other XR glasses, the Air 2s depend on angled projection to get the picture in entrance of your eyes, vertical alignment will all the time be considerably of a problem. So as to tackle this, Air 2s glasses supply vertical angle adjustment for the arms. You get three positions to experiment with to suit the picture full in your airplane of view.
The RayNeo Air 2s glasses should all the time be connected to the USB Sort-C cable through the tip of the fitting arm. The glasses themselves haven’t any computing or precise energy, for that matter. All of it comes by the USB port, so you’ll be able to’t realistically anticipate to be very “stealthy” whereas truly utilizing the gadget. The USB Sort-C to Sort-C cable offered within the field is angled on one finish to suit extra snugly on the glasses. You should utilize any first rate cable of your individual, however the offered one is fairly nice. It’s gentle and versatile, but very sturdy, with out being too thick. It by no means will get in your method whereas sporting the glasses.
We admire the Sort-C connector and its strong bodily connection. There’s just about no likelihood of unintentionally yanking the cable out of the glasses. Nevertheless, that additionally signifies that should you occur to get entangled, you’re prone to yank the glasses themselves off of your face. A magnetic connector would most likely be higher on this regard.
As for cable size, we by no means wanted greater than the offered one supplied. It’s lengthy sufficient to be snug whereas sitting in entrance of a tool or holding it in your lap, and it even reaches most pant pockets should you actually really feel like strolling with the glasses on.
RayNeo is especially pleased with the speaker system on the Air 2s glasses. There are 4 audio system in complete on the glasses – two on the left arm and two on the fitting. Output grills are pointing up and down.
TCL says that the audio system deliver a 100% quantity enhance. We discovered the audio system fairly satisfactory, however nothing to cellphone residence about. Mids come by sounding fairly clear, which is necessary for issues like dialogue. Highs often get distorted at increased volumes, and there may be barely any bass.
You most likely will not need to crank the audio system too excessive since they will get uncomfortable listening to and doubtlessly trouble any close by folks. Having mentioned that, the Air 2s glasses have one thing known as Whisper Mode 2.0. It guarantees that there shall be no sound leakage at 20cm distance from the audio system, even at 50% quantity.
You do not get many precise bodily controls on the Air 2s. There isn’t a myopia adjustment or something of the type. The one approach to dial in focus is thru bodily adjusting the glasses in your face. You do nonetheless get a quantity rocker and a multifunctional practical button on one of many arms and a brightness rocker on the opposite.
The rockers and buttons are fairly small however completely practical, clicky, and have properly tactile suggestions. We have now no complaints there.
The one different seen I/O on the glasses is the damage sensor above the nostril pads. It really works fairly effectively, and we’ve no complaints about it constantly.
Modes of operation and options
The RayNeo Air 2s glasses work immediately with virtually each gadget that helps DP output over USB Sort-C Alt mode. There are two non-obligatory adapters for additional connectivity choices. One is known as the “adapter,” receiving and changing wi-fi casting alerts into the glasses. It’s significantly fitted to Apple and different non-DP gadgets. RayNeo additionally gives an “HDMI” adapter. That merely takes in an HDMI sign from one thing like a sport console, converts it, and sends it to the glasses. This one is wired. There’s additionally the RayNeo “JoyDock” that’s particularly meant to work with the Nintendo Swap. It replaces the Swap’s default dock and has an onboard battery to extend gaming classes.
Then there may be the RayNeo “Pocket TV”, which we do have within the workplace alongside the glasses and shall be taking a more in-depth have a look at in a bit. Merely put, it’s a standalone gadget working Google TV that’s meant to hook as much as the glasses.
The RayNeo Air 2s have one “major” mode of operation. You simply hook them to a supply and get a static picture projection in entrance of you (one thing like 130 inches at a perceived distance of round 4 meters). The picture “follows” your head actions, although with none monitoring. It simply stays centered in your line of sight.
Then there may be the RayNeo XR Android app. You will get it on the Google Play Retailer solely in supported areas, however others have the choice to sideload it. The XR app just isn’t a lot to take a look at on the cellphone aspect. It gives a trackpad for enter on the show, alongside a house button and likewise leverages the cellphone’s accelerometer to spawn a spatial pointer controller contained in the Air glasses interface.
RayNeo XR app
The RayNeo XR app spawns one thing known as the “RayNeo XR area”. It gives a 3 DoF head-tracking residence display screen expertise alongside just a few apps. Most notably, a “spatial” net browser and a YouTube participant. The primary UI is effectively laid out, and there are many handy suggestions for 360-degree spatial movies to play from YouTube.
Talking of enjoying again spatial movies, the RayNao XR app handles these considerably oddly. It’s form of exhausting to elucidate, so it’s best to test it out for your self. Nonetheless, as a substitute of inserting you immediately “inside” the video, the participant spawns a flat viewing floor in entrance of you, like a display screen, permitting you to maneuver your head round to attain 3 DoF monitoring inside the video, as anticipated. It’s kind of of a bizarre impact, and we do not significantly prefer it.
Additionally it is value noting that whereas the entire fundamental options like multimedia playback, a browser, and even a video games part are lined, the RayNeo XR app is a bit gentle on further options. Specifically, the factor we’re lacking is the power to stream third-party VR content material to the glasses which is one thing XREAL’s competitor does have. We admit it’s janky at greatest, however it’s nonetheless there and permits enjoying again VR experiences and easy VR video games from a PC to the glasses vastly enhancing their versatility.
One other function we missed is the power to play 180-degree SBS movies on the glasses with correct monitoring. This appears to be absent each with the RayNeo XR app and the non-obligatory Pocket TV accent, which is a disgrace.
Compatibility
All of the glasses actually require to work is a USB Sort-C port with USB alt-mode assist for Show Port output. The glasses themselves usually are not too power-hungry, so most gadgets do not battle to energy them on.
What does that imply in real-world phrases? Let’s begin with laptops since they’re simpler to sum up. You’re able to go in case your laptop computer helps DP alt mode over USB Sort-C. This must be listed on the laptop computer’s specs sheet since these are usually well-detailed. We tried on a Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon Gen 9, an ASUS Zephyrus G14 from 2021, and an M1 MacBook Air efficiently. A bizarre checklist for positive, nevertheless it illustrates the primary level – if in case you have DP over Sort-C, it can work.
Issues are a bit messier on the cellphone aspect. Now that the most recent technology of iPhones has converted to USB Sort-C, the RayNeo Air 2s glasses haven’t any points working with them. So, if in case you have an iPhone 15 – you’re all set. Technically, nonetheless, past that and with no further equipment, the RayNeo Air 2s glasses are an Android-only accent.
Some Android gadgets assist Show Port over USB Sort-C, however there is no such thing as a straightforward approach to know which of them. A superb rule of thumb consists of that it’s usually a flagship function and that you need to have higher odds with gadgets from Samsung, Huawei and OnePlus. As soon as once more, you’ll want to search round to see in case your cellphone has DP over Sort-C. When it comes to telephones, we succeeded with a Samsung Galaxy S24 Extremely.
As talked about, RayNeo gives two totally different adapters that may hook up with different unsupported gadgets. For older Apple tech, there may be the wi-fi Miracast adapter; for wired HDMI connectivity, there may be the “HDMI” adapter, so most bases are lined.
We additionally did some testing on our personal and we discovered the Nintendo Swap doesn’t work attached straight to the glasses. You want the extra JoyDock accent or the HDMI adapter to hook up with the Swap. The Valve Steam Deck, which helps DP over its Sort-C port, simply works by being linked straight to the glasses. The identical goes for the ASUS ROG Ally.
Efficiency and energy consumption
The RayNeo Air 2s glasses have Full HD 1920 x 1080-pixel optical decision with 8-bit colours. You additionally get 46-degree subject of view, which is fairly commonplace and 600 nits of marketed perceived brightness. That is fairly excessive, so far as XR glasses’ brightness goes. TCL says that the Air 2s can do as much as 201 inches of digital show, however we consider that refers back to the 3D mode with head monitoring. Within the common “static” picture mode, you’re getting extra within the ballpark of 130 inches.
Sadly, for the reason that shows on the RayNeo Air 2s usually are not conventional in any method, we will not put particular numbers to their efficiency traits.
We have now to say that the shows look nice in particular person. They will get very brilliant, virtually uncomfortable, and the colours are very good and vivid. The one actual concern we’ve when it comes to optics has to do with show positioning. The projection sits too excessive in our sight view, and we always discover ourselves pushing our glasses all the way down to see the underside fringe of the show.
You additionally need to get used to the truth that you’re always seeing the surface world, a minimum of to some extent. Nonetheless, we might say that the brightness is sufficient to make the glasses usable in just about each setting. Greater brightness ranges may be fatiguing for some folks. In spite of everything, the shows are very near your eyes. The RayNeo Air 2s glasses promote TUV Rheinland certifications for low Blue Gentle emissions and Flicker-free, although.
The RayNeo Air 2s glasses function at 60Hz when in commonplace “direct streaming” 2D mode. When you contain the RayNeo XR app and its 3D mode, you’ll be able to allow 120Hz refresh price, which is nice for sure Android video games. Nevertheless, we want there was a approach to get 120Hz working within the different mode for issues like sport consoles.
Pixel response time is excellent. There’s little enter latency, too. We managed to sport on the RayNeo 2s, enjoying just a few platformers requiring affordable bounce timing precision with no points.
On the subject of picture readability, we must always word that the mage, as we already mentioned, seems very crisp and sharp within the common “direct streaming” 2D mode. Nevertheless, within the 3D mode contained in the RayNeo XR app, issues can get fairly blurry, particularly whereas in movement. The finer textual content is fairly exhausting to learn, as effectively.
Because the RayNeo Air 2s glasses are totally powered through a Sort-C port, one of many few precise exams we managed to run on them was to measure energy consumption. With a reasonably static picture on the display screen, like looking or working, they drew round 1.5W – 1.6W, relying on the brightness setting. Whereas enjoying a video with sound, the glasses used between 1.6W and a couple of.0W. All fairly spectacular numbers.
In additional sensible phrases, watching a two-hour film from Netflix on the Samsung Galaxy S24 Extremely with the RayNeo Air 2s on ate up round 32% of the battery, which is completely affordable.
RayNeo Pocket TV
The RayNeo Pocket TV is an non-obligatory accent for the RayNeo Air 2s glasses that provides extra smarts to the glasses. It’s mainly a self-contained “sensible field”, working Google TV with a fairly large 6,500 mAh battery on board. The Pocket TV is barely smaller than a contemporary smartphone at 130 x 61 x 23mm (5.1″ x 2.4″ x 0.9″) and weighs 205 grams.
Controls on the Pocket TV are laid out like an enormous TV distant. The middle “wheel” just isn’t a wheel however a easy directional pad with a button within the center. It really works fairly effectively for navigating the Google TV UI, however the buttons are a bit mushy and squeaky, which might develop into annoying after some time. That mentioned, you aren’t meant to be clicking all of them that a lot, simply to navigate to your content material of selection. The button with the rocket ship can also be a user-programable shortcut.
RayNeo Pocket TV
The Pocket TV does have a microSD slot for storage enlargement, which is nice to see to enhance the onboard 64GB of eMMC storage. There are two USB Sort-C ports on the underside of the unit. The left one is for charging. Energy Supply is supported, which is welcome. The best port is the gadget’s sole video output. It outputs PD over USB Alt mode. We tried hooking it as much as a daily monitor with a Sort-C port, and it really works. We’re not positive if that’s handy for anybody, although. An everyday HDMI of some kind would have been vastly appreciated since that might have upped versatility a complete lot.
The Pocket TV is not significantly highly effective. In actual fact, under no circumstances. It’s powered by an Amlogic S905Y4 chipset with 4 Cortex-A35 CPU cores and a Mali-G31MP2 GPU. It’s paired with 3GB of RAM, which is first rate for a Google TV gadget. Plus, you get pretty fashionable Wi-Fi 6 connectivity, which can also be nice.
Pocket TV {hardware} data
The Pocket TV and its chipset do a fairly nice job with regards to {hardware} video and audio decoding, which is arguably what counts most on this case. You possibly can see a full checklist of supported codecs under. You will need to word that the Pocket TV does assist HDR10+ and Dolby Imaginative and prescient decoding, plus DTS and Dolby Audio. Nevertheless, the RayNeo Air 2s glasses shouldn’t have HDR assist, which suggests you’ll be able to solely get SDR video handed on to them.
Codec assist
On a extra constructive word, the Pocket TV does have the very best potential Google Widevine L1 DRM certification, permitting apps like Netflix to saturate its FullHD decision with matching stream decision.
Widevine L1
The Pocket TV additionally has loads of image settings to mess around with. You possibly can alter the decision scale for your complete UI and scale down the picture measurement to 80% of the unique, which does assist mitigate the entire concern with the underside of the image often being minimize off due to how the optics are aligned.
Image settings
You possibly can’t explicitly pressure the Pocket TV into 120Hz mode, however you’ll be able to have it match the on-screen refresh price for if you find yourself enjoying excessive refresh price video, as an illustration. And for the reason that Pocket TV would not actually have any energy for gaming, you’re prone to be completely nice with the default 60Hz the remainder of the time.
You will need to word that the Pocket TV can solely function in the usual “static” 2D mode of the glasses. Meaning there is no such thing as a head monitoring of any type, as you’ll get from the RayNeo XR app. Truthfully, we choose it this manner because you get a lot cleaner and sharper textual content and pictures. Nevertheless, do not anticipate to be having fun with any 360-degree or 180-degree SBS movies on the Pocket TV. Simply common “flat” 2D media content material.
The Google TV UI may be very clear and easy. It has many similarities to Android TV however focuses extra on content material, sensible aggregation, and proposals. You continue to get entry to all Android TV/Google TV apps by the Google Play retailer, which is nice. That covers the entire main streaming platforms and all different fundamental use instances, like good native video gamers, file browsers and even some superior apps like HTTP and FTP file servers for simply getting content material to the Pocket TV. You’ll most likely be doing most of your navigation with the buttons, although the Pocket TV has built-in 9-axis IMU sensors, so you might additionally use the air mouse function. There’s an built-in microphone and Google voice assistant, too.
Google TV interface
Lastly, we did an impromptu endurance take a look at on the Pocket TV. The producer claims that it ought to be capable to do 9 days of standby, 7 hours of steady “use”, no matter that refers to and 5.5 hours of video playback. In our testing, we received nearer to 4.5 hours of high-quality video streamed by Plex. By the best way, the four-light array within the high proper nook additionally signifies the battery degree.
Must you get a pair
The RayNeo Air 2s glasses retail for $400 from the official retailer. Presently, that features a free Miracast Transportable Adapter, which is the factor you’ll want to connect older Apple tech or desktops wirelessly to the glasses. You can too get a bundle with the Pocket TV for $540 or one with the JoyDock for the Nintendo Swap for $460. All of these sound honest and aggressive within the present XR glasses panorama.
We positively loved our time with the RayNeo Air 2s glasses. Their picture high quality general, significantly brightness and sharpness, appears to be a neck above rivals we have tried from the likes of XREAL. The Air 2s glasses are additionally fairly snug and well-designed.
When it comes to issues we did not like or felt have been lacking, show vertical alignment appears to be our largest concern. It may be considerably mitigated by crushing and molding the nostril pads aggressively, besides, the picture appears to be projected only a bit too excessive for our style, often slicing out the underside of the image. Additionally, we might have cherished to see a method for gadgets apart from smartphones with the RayNeo XR app and the Pocket TV to entry 120 Hz mode. As an illustration, we cherished the Steam Deck plus glasses combo, however 120 Hz would have made that so a lot better. And talking of superior use instances, we might have cherished to see a approach to stream PC VR content material to the glasses, even when it is janky like what XREAL has. Taking part in again 180-degree SBS video content material can also be a sore omission.
All issues thought of, should you prioritize picture and sound high quality in a pair of XR glasses, then positively take into account the RayNeo Air 2s. Nevertheless, in case you are seeking to tinker and go in deeper with issues like superior playback of 3D content material and even rudimentary VR, then we might most likely nudge you in one other course at a competitor that has barely extra mature software program options in that regard. In case you determine to go for a RayNeo Air 2s pair, do your self a favor and take into account the $140 additional for a Pocket TV. It actually does make utilizing the glasses a complete lot higher and extra handy.