Nreal said it will begin selling its Nreal Light augmented reality glasses in Verizon stores in the U.S. on November 30.
That’s a big milestone for Nreal, which makes ready-to-wear augmented reality (AR) glasses, since the company has only sold its AR glasses in Asia so far.
The Nreal Light began selling in markets such as South Korea in August 2020. But now, that version of the AR glasses will be available in 20 Verizon stores in the U.S.
Shoppers can visit select retail locations to try out the immersive AR experience, before deciding to purchase a device. Other companies such as Facebook, (now Meta), and Niantic also believe that consumer AR glasses will be a big market in the future.
Nreal said the store sales are a response to the growing demand for a next-generation, immersive mobile platform that extends the purview of mobile usage beyond the smartphone.
Corresponding with the launch, more than 17 AR-native apps developed for Nreal Light, including FigminXR, Ghost Hunter, Dunkaar, Table Trenches, and Magician Mastery, can be downloaded from the Google Play Store. Combined with Verizon’s 5G network, users can experience the full range of entertainment, gaming, or productivity apps that demonstrate the unlimited potential for AR technology.
Nreal Light will retail at Verizon stores and its online website for $600 and run on both Android and iOS phones. To take full advantage of the glasses’ six-degrees of freedom (DoF) AR capabilities, users can bundle Nreal Light with one of several lines from Samsung’s portfolio of 5G Galaxy phones or the OnePlus 8 5G UW.
With Nreal Light, consumers can play 3D AR games, and use productivity solutions, or watch their favorite content conveniently from anywhere and at any time through Nreal Light’s native web browser on a virtual 220-inch HD screen.
To meet the demand for streaming content, Nreal is introducing an update to the NRSDK. With this latest SDK integrated, content providers can easily migrate DRM-enabled streaming content from other mobile platforms onto Nreal’s brand of AR glasses, without triggering DRM restrictions.
To reimagine how streaming content is displayed to audiences, Nreal has also inked a partnership with Accedo to release FutureTV, an interactive design reference built on ExoPlayer, the open-source media player from Google commonly used to validate DRM compliance. The partnership utilizes 3D objects, multi-game displays, and integrated ecommerce functions to augment the viewing experience, befitting of a 3D environment.
“Although Nreal Light’s availability in the U.S. has been highlight anticipated, we couldn’t be more excited to be announcing the sales of Nreal Light at Verizon retail stores as this marks a momentous milestone not only for Nreal, but also the AR industry as a whole,” said Chi Xu, CEO at Nreal, in a statement.
The device weighs 3.74 ounces and has a 53-degree field of view. Online consumer sales start on December 2.