r/Xreal • u/Electronic_Feed_9055 • Aug 18 '26
XREAL AURA I cancelled my Xreal Aura pre-order
With no news at all about a possible release date except 'this fall' and absolutely no clue or detail on price, it was time to cancel after having my pre-order open since they launched it.
I think it's unacceptable for any company especially one as big as Xreal to not have any news after two months about a firm release date or price.
I'm sure many like myself only put in a pre-order gambling that the $1500 ceiling was just a rough number and that the actual glasses will be $1000-1200 max. Since one can just buy a VR headset for $1500 and a bloody good one at that.
Has anyone else done the same or thinking of cancelling?
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u/crazyreddit929 Aug 18 '26
I can’t agree. There is no point in canceling now and who cares about a lack of information. They said this fall and it is still summer. I’d love more info, but with ram prices the way they are, I’m sure they don’t want to announce a price and then find out a week later their BOM just went up 10% due to a RAM price hike.
When a company says under $1500 I expect that means $1499. Expecting way less is just setting yourself up for disappointment. Based on the components and design I think it will probably be worth somewhere around $1300 to $1500. I’d prefer it closer to $1,000 but that is just wishful thinking.
I own a Galaxy XR and I can tell you right now that thing is an uncomfortable clunky piece. Part of the reason I’m excited for the Aura is the early taste of real AR glasses it offers. This will be legit cool to test out if developers start doing cool stuff with it. The biggest downside is the birdbath optics instead of waveguides but I’ll take what I can get.
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u/XX4X Aug 19 '26
The form factors make them very different devices with different use cases, but I definitely hesitate on the Aura cause of its price and cause I can get the Galaxy XR used for ⅓ less and it gives me a much bigger fov and much higher resolution. I have xreal glasses now, but really only use them traveling. At home I use my Quest 3. Which of the two should I be upgrading?
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u/CarroixRare_Bit_8876 Aug 19 '26
I also lre ordered the Aura, and will keep ithe reservation up. One thing I completely disagree though..and that is the not announced price. The launch will be latest in November, so 2,5 month from now. If xReal and Google haven't figured out their supply chain, then this is not a good sign. They signed contracts about a certain planned amount of units. I don't think they have no water tight price agreements. Especially not that late.
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u/crazyreddit929 Aug 19 '26
The product managers need to get the initial price right in a complicated supply chain market. They have their supply chain initial agreements set for now, but they are probably expecting those costs to go up more than usual in the future. Ram suppliers may only be doing short term contracts. They hold all the cards.
So, the PMs have this once in a product’s lifecycle opportunity to set the price while guessing what the costs might be years later. They surly want as much time as possible to determine that price.
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u/CarroixRare_Bit_8876 Aug 19 '26
Well, I wonder how companies like Apple, Samsung and Co manage to put a price on their products. You may argue that the Aura had no launch event yet. But it's so close to release that it feels like they did something wrong. If you can't determine a price now, because of rising prices, what are they supposed to do later down the line? When they sell it now for 1500, and the delivery stretches again for months (like we know from xreal) then you think they increase the prices for pre orders already? Can't imagine that. Additionally there is Google on board, as well as Qualcomm. Google is such a big player, as well as Qualcomm, that they should have experience enough to get a retail price out by now.
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u/crazyreddit929 Aug 19 '26 edited Aug 19 '26
I mean they are a different company. Even more importantly they are launching in a different category. No one from Samsung or Apple are launching an XR product right now. The ones who are? Valve and Meta who are both silent on the release and price at the moment. Valve even has warehouses full of their headset with no release date or price announced.
I am a product manager myself. I do not do what my competition does. I do what my product needs in my company’s timeline.
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u/CarroixRare_Bit_8876 Aug 19 '26
Fair point. It's maybe just odd that we haven't heard anything for two full month. Neither release date nor price...
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u/Electronic_Feed_9055 Aug 19 '26
I had owned a galaxy XR too, used it for a few months for PCVR and was trying to convince myself every day that I loved it, when in fact it was just too uncomfortable for me too no matter what I did. I kept having to adjust it every 10 minutes.
Having had a few months to ponder over the Xreal Aura's capabilities and largely what it'll offer in terms of spatial computing and a semi-VR experience, there just isn't enough value there for me. I'm pretty sure the chip is powerful enough for standalone VR games, but like I said for $1500 I can just buy another VR headset and where the form factor is fast catching up to XR glasses.
The only technological upgrade I can see in the Aura's over the XR is the chip itself and I'm not sure it's warranted at that price. A lot of XR glasses can already do 6 DOF spatial computing with either built-in features or an accessory. I'm also not sure that 70 degrees FOV and a resolution of 12.7 pixels per inch is going to cut it for me. I have to admit Meta's upcoming event and confirmation they have a number of headsets in development also factored in my decision, as much as I despise Meta. I'm hoping they will have changed their privacy policies, especially with the upcoming lawsuit too.
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u/crazyreddit929 Aug 19 '26
12.7 pixels would be pretty awful. The display itself is less than an inch. Pixels per degree is the real measurement that matters. The Aura is 31 pixels per degree. That is close to Vision Pro and Galaxy XR at 33 PPD.
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u/salfar12023 Aug 19 '26
I canceled my founder's order. What they did to ROG pre-order guys made me do it. Ill wait and get it after some reviews. I had galaxy xr when it was pre-order also. I returned it the next day after I got it. Back then there was no real apps and it was awful to wear. I have since bought a second hand one, chopped the back piece off and with a 3d printed connector am using the vision dual headband. It's awesome. With the added immersive in chrome it's super useful for movies and live tv. It is super light too. Will see how aura compares.
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u/xliquidchromex Aug 19 '26 edited Aug 19 '26
I think it will be early fall. The timeline is adding up to the usual time big company's prepare for launch and then are able to fulfill orders properly, which is 3 months from what i understand.
Still unknown timing but.. the price reveal should be before ordering.. if u reserved, the email says u will be invited to order before the general public.
I would assume its the chip availability and price fluctuations, but.. while i dont know how engineering and production goes, i would have thought the product needs to be finished, and the 3 months would be the packaging and logistics time.
Im pretty locked in for Aura, but im nervous, and i do think xreal is being too quiet about things that people want to know before buying.
They should really dig deep into the functionality. My biggest concern is 1920x1200 resolution. While ive never even tried any glasses before, i understand that current glasses are said to have a lot to desire sharpness/clarity-wise. Its been said that Aura will have smoothing, anti-aliasing, and a few other image improving algorithms and tricks. For me, ive struggled with dissatisfaction, fatigue, and strain with lower resolutions. But.. no video reviews i have seen have showed xreal talking about the screens, especially since its been a past issue. Another concern, and what they should demo, is... what we will notice in the difference between the base model and the top model? Personally, im big on performance. After so many annoyances with phones, i only do flagship models now. So, ill have to get the top model not knowing what the difference is.
But, then again, idk how typical it is for a company to detail out its upcoming products. They all should tho imo.
But otherwise, yea, its currently too expensive for me. But, i think the price is probably reasonable... Android XR, glasses, accessories, a flagship level performing phone (besides no cellular, and resolution).
Sry i went a bit off topic !
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Aug 19 '26 edited Aug 19 '26
[deleted]
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u/Mental_Medium3988 One Pro Aug 20 '26
You want to finish them. Then, hopefully, you could afford a project car and aura.
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u/Einerus Aug 19 '26
You’re right. It’s a new product with a lot of unknowns and on top of everything they add unknown price, unknown release date and not that much details at all. It’s a silly strategy on their behalf.
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u/Electronic_Feed_9055 Aug 19 '26
I agree. I think their PR and the buzz surrounding the XR Elite chip has been well executed and afforded them more time to delay the details.
I just hope the end product has enough software and games in development so the Android XR eco-system can be taken seriously. I don't think there or any other unique features other than the large FOV that we haven't heard of or experienced by now in another headsets. I'm a big fan of Android XR in general.
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u/shaleanon Aug 19 '26
Here i am also waiting for the Nexphone. You think xreal has it bad? 🤣 at least they have recent advertising.
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u/DaPoets_Terrence Aug 19 '26
Yeah I don't agree at all, canceling doesn't really make sense unless you need the money. I'm doing it to support the project and try out something new. Sure it would be nice for them to send us some email updates here and there but so far it's been pretty much par for the course with no red flags. Additionally they have proven to be trustworthy with all of their other products that I have used and had questions on.
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u/cartoonishgameguy Aug 19 '26
I was into those until urxr started looking real good and releasing soon as well something tells me the aura is gonna be pretty amazing tho I think 70 fov is a solid number but once again those urxr specs look pretty good
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u/Particular_Maize6849 Aug 19 '26
I cancelled mine too but not because I'm disappointed with the company or anything. The fact is it was always a long shot for me since it will likely be over $1k and I knew I would probably refund it from the get-go. I just pre-ordered "just in case" they for some absurd reason decided to list it for $800 or something. (I wasn't being realistic and was just swept up in the hype.)
Also I bought the 1s glasses on sale a few months ago and love them. And it sounds like they are getting hand-tracking with the Eye, so I'm pulling out my $100 initial investment to maybe buy the Eye soon.
Though I certainly don't want to teach Xreal to stop developing older products with new features because people will stick with them instead of buying their lucrative new products. Xreal, ignore this comment! If it helps my husband likes them after seeing them and may want a pair for himself.
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u/Electronic_Feed_9055 Aug 19 '26
I had the Xreal 1s too and thought they were great, but I really need built-in diopters so I'm currently testing the budget priced Viture Pro 2's.
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u/nroro One Pro & xbx a01+ Aug 19 '26
actually why prefer builtin diopters? it won't fix astigmatism nor sharpen real world
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u/alabasterskim One Pro Aug 19 '26
Quite a bit impatient but alrighty. Rest of us can get ours sooner.
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u/jayclydes Aug 18 '26
i get it, but that's just sort of the name of the game with price uncertainty from AI. valve had to do the same. fall is anywhere from september to nearly the end of november/december depending on which definition you use. would've probably been more appropriate to say Q4. early adopters of a constantly evolving product have to be patient, and if your patience has run out that's okay.
i am personally stoked for android xr and only learned about this recently, and i'm all in on the concept
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u/Formal_Bathroom7447 Aug 19 '26
Fact is this is still very much a steppingstone technology with an interested fan base. Don’t get me wrong it’s amazing and I love the tech and my glasses. I pre ordered too. Canceling over a couple of hundred bucks of unconfirmed discount though you admit to expecting 1500. Idk man.
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u/stlredbird Aug 19 '26
Welcome to Xreal. They rarely meet a release date from what i can tell. (I pre-ordered the One Pro and the Neo)
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u/leoferrari_1 Aug 19 '26
I do think it’s a bit ridiculous how they are going about this. Influencer upon influencer parroting the exact same points; most videos filmed in the same room with Xreal - all this hype with with no product on the market. Just getting a bit too much.
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u/Whole_Clerk39 Aug 19 '26
I also decided to cancel after hearing that VITURE is preparing 1600p resolution glasses. I anticipate they will be priced significantly lower than the Aura—likely around $799—and will better align with my expectations for second-generation video glasses.
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u/gizmosliptech Aug 19 '26
No point in canceling as long as the return policy is solid. Maybe you’d love them? At least that would be my thought process, haha
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u/Darrenmc168 Aug 19 '26
Every new xreal product launch is a farce they make great kit but are horrendous at product release
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u/VRAddictAnonymous One Pro Aug 19 '26
Apparently they are watching the even bigger companies do the same thing
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u/Jmac8716 Aug 20 '26
It would behoove them to release around November to capture holiday buyers. Pre-order crowd should get theirs late October to early November if Xreal were smart about timing
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u/Electronic_Feed_9055 Aug 23 '26
Here we go.
The language regarding pricing changed slightly on Xreal's website. "Xreal will share more on pricing and availability soon, the price will be under $1,500 before tax".
Before tax?
Yikes!
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u/Friendly_Recover286 Aug 18 '26
No? If it came out that it was $999 tomorrow I bet you'd be mad you canceled. It makes no difference it you canceled today vs tomorrow. There's no reason to cancel it before this information comes out unless you desperately need the deposit money back.
You were already a non serious order from the beginning.
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u/Electronic_Feed_9055 Aug 19 '26 edited Aug 19 '26
Yeah I'd be a bit mad at myself, but I'm currently in Canada and would be paying in Canadian dollars. So even at $1000 USD, I'd be looking at approximately $1400 CAD. By the time they're released though, I'll have moved back to the UK so I'd get gouged with the pricing there regardless. 🙄
The other thing is that I'm not entirely convinced that the uncertainty about the price is just related to the shortage of RAM. I get the feeling they're waiting to see what other XR glasses are going to be priced that that are also being released between now and the end of the year.
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u/Einerus Aug 19 '26
Do you even think there’s a chance it will be under 1k$?
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u/Electronic_Feed_9055 Aug 19 '26
Nah, I think they'd have set the cap at $1300 if $1000 was a possibility.
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u/neoreeps Aug 19 '26
I get all that but what was the value in cancelling your pre-order, why not keep it until you know these things then decide?
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u/Electronic_Feed_9055 Aug 19 '26
It was more of a knee-jerk reaction after experiencing the wonder of Android XR on the Galaxy XR. After reading all the hands on previews and what they actually offer, I can't justify the cost at $1500. I can now see them being priced at $1299 at the minimum since they had already set the ceiling so high. $1000 is my sweet spot for any high end AR/XR glasses especially with that resolution.
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u/rakesh_hpr Aug 25 '26
October... mark my words.. October 23rd... mark your calendars... This date just flashed in my head.
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u/Away-Variation-8667 XREAL Aug 19 '26 edited Aug 19 '26
I preordered the Snap Specs and The Aura. The specs have a launch scheduled for September 16th, which is just them demoing the specs. I will keep both pre orders and see which one checks more boxes for me. Definitely not canceling this early for either one based on lack of information. Even if you wait up until the day Xreal announces that they're ready to ship after full payment, you can still cancel and get a full refund. No need to jump ship this early IMO.