UNITED KINGDOM – EE is stepping into a virtual world, confirming that it will be launching the Nreal Air AR glasses in the UK.
The Nreal Air offer a design similar to a pair of sunglasses, which when paired with the Nreal Nebula smartphone app can then offer AR experiences on the move.
Taking advantage of the latest 5G connectivity from EE, you’ll be able to get a virtual screen up to 201-inches for enjoying content in a totally new way.
Think of the Nreal Air as a portable cinema, something you can slip on to enjoy gaming or movies on a bigger screen, right in your eyeline, rather than watching on your phone. Of course, you’ll need that cable connection to your phone too.
Within the Nreal Air glasses are a pair of OLED displays to put the content right in front of your eyes, while there are two “open ear” speakers. Rather that plugging them into your ears, you’ll listen to the audio coming from the glasses so you’re not totally isolated.
Of course, there’s the option to use other accessories, like a gaming controller, with your phone – so there’s a full range of possibilities available. There are a couple of different modes supported by the Nreal Air – Air Casting lets you mirror your phone screen on a much larger display via the glasses, while the MR Space mode takes things a step further into mixed reality and would allow you, for example, to open multiple large screens in a virtual space so you can watch two things at once.
The Nreal Air will track the movement of your head, support prescription lenses, and incorporate a microphone too.
What these glasses won’t do is accept any visual input from the world around you – there are no cameras, so there’s support for augmented overlays or gesture controls.
EE has said that pricing will be revealed closer to launch “later this spring”.
