Pros & Cons
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- Bright, colorful display
- Useful AI-HDR mode
- Crisp audio
- Multiple image and sound modes
- Affordable
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- Modest field of view
- HDR10 doesn't seem to improve the picture
RayNeo Air 4 Pro AR/XR Smart Glasses (201 HDR10 Display, Bang & Olufsen Audio) Specs
| Connection | Wired |
| Field of View | 47 |
| Glasses Features | Display |
| Glasses Features | Speakers |
| Input Controls | Button |
| Integrated Display Type | Prism |
| Resolution | 1080p |
| Voice Assistant Compatibility | None |
RayNeo's Air 3s Pro has been my top pick for budget-friendly prism display smart glasses since last year, but now its replacement is here with a visual upgrade. The new Air 4 Pro supports high dynamic range (HDR) content via HDR10, a first for the category. It's an intriguing addition, albeit one that has limited real-world impact in testing. Even so, the Air Pro 4 is an excellent pair of smart glasses, offering an impressively bright, vivid picture for an unbeatable $299. If you want a simple, great-looking wearable display, and you don't want to spend a lot of money, the Air 4 Pro is your best bet and our Editors' Choice winner for affordable AR smart glasses.
Design: Like the Air 3s Pro, With Optional Batman Shades
Sometimes called AR glasses, prism display smart glasses are slightly bulky and use microprojectors and prism lenses to project images into your eyes. They don’t run apps or play media; instead, they serve as a screen for any device they're connected to, effectively giving you a big, private monitor to enjoy while seated. Like other prism display models, the Air 4 Pro isn't intended for use while moving (unlike waveguide glasses).
The Air 4 Pro looks and feels almost identical to the Air 3s Pro, with the same one-piece smoke-tinted front lens and matte black plastic temples. Weighing 2.7 ounces, it's light and comfortable, though not exactly stealthy. Like its predecessor, the Air 4 Pro resembles the clunky shades you might wear after an optometrist dilates your pupils. It looks even stranger when you clip on the included opaque matte-black sunshade, though it’s hardly necessary; the heavily tinted front lens already cuts out significant light.
(Credit: Will Greenwald)The left and right rocker buttons located on the undersides of the glasses' temples adjust the audio volume and picture brightness, respectively. An additional button opens the settings menu, which you navigate using the left rocker. This menu lets you choose between three picture modes (Standard, Movie, Eye Comfort), three color range modes (SDR, AI-HDR, HDR10), three audio modes (Standard, Whisper, Surround), and two refresh rates (60Hz, 120Hz).
Besides the standard model, the Air 4 Pro is available in limited Batman-themed Justice and Chaos variants for an additional $20. The alternate glasses are almost identical, save for a small, tasteful Batman logo on the right temple just behind the hinge. The real wackiness comes from the extra accessories.
(Credit: Will Greenwald)In addition to the included standard flat black sunshades, the glasses come with larger sunshades molded in the shape of eye masks. The Justice Air 4 Pro is a black Batman mask with white eyes and pointy ears, and the Chaos Air 4 Pro is a white Joker face with yellow eyes, green eyebrows, and the tips of red lips. They're completely opaque, like regular sunshades, and clip onto the front of the glasses the same way. They look cool (or dorky, depending on your tastes). In a nice touch, the Justice and Chaos Air 4 Pros come with a small plastic stand shaped like the Batman logo that holds the themed shade when you don't want to wear the Batman or Joker face.
A snap-shut case made of thick, stitched, textile-like foam is included with the Air 4 Pro. It's sturdy and can hold both the glasses and the included USB-C cable, with a Velcro loop to keep the cable in place.
If you wear corrective lenses, you'll need a prescription lens insert for the Air 4 Pro. It uses the same type of insert as the Air 2s, Air 3s, and Air 3s Pro, so you can keep your old insert if you're upgrading. Otherwise, an insert frame is included that you can take to your optometrist to get lenses made, or you can order inserts from HonsVR for $79.95.
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Picture: Bright and Colorful, But HDR10 Doesn't Add Much
The Air 4 Pro has the same 1080p resolution as the Air 3s Pro, with a similar 47-degree field of view (listed as 46 degrees for the Air 3s Pro, though RayNeo describes both as the equivalent of a 201-inch screen viewed from 20 feet away). It also has the same stated 1,200-nit peak brightness and color coverage of 145% the sRGB color space. So, in terms of raw specs, the Air 4 Pro isn't radically different.
However, the big change is support for high dynamic range (HDR) video in the HDR10 format. HDR signals can contain both wider and more precise color and light information than standard dynamic range (SDR) signals. You need a connected device that's compatible with HDR10 over DisplayPort to take advantage of the format, which is supported by most recent iPhones, iPads, Macs, and PCs. Note that HDR10 video output is rare on Android phones; in fact, my Google Pixel 8 only outputs SDR.
(Credit: Will Greenwald)That doesn't mean SDR content will necessarily look dull or dim. The Air 4 Pro, like all other prism smart glasses, has no problem displaying non-HDR signals with the full range of their projectors' light and color. I tested the Air 4 Pro by watching the SDR versions of Fallout and One Piece on my Google Pixel 8 and iPad Air, and the shows looked great in AI-HDR mode (which simulates HDR) on both devices. The former's post-apocalyptic cities were nicely sun-scorched and detailed, while the latter's gaudy anime pirates popped with vibrancy. The Air 4 Pro's picture quality is very close to the twice-as-expensive Viture Beast, though its 47-degree field of view means you get a noticeably smaller virtual screen (the Beast has a 58-degree view). It's roughly the difference you'd see between watching a 55-inch and a 65-inch TV from your couch.
The Air 4 Pro's HDR10 support means the glasses can process much greater color granularity, with a signal that can send data for 10.7 billion colors, compared with SDR's 16.8 million. That doesn't add much in viewing on the Air 4 Pro, though. I watched Fallout in HDR10 mode (One Piece lacked a similar mode) on my iPad Air and compared it with the AI-HDR setting; both produced similar video. Whether the HDR10 signal told the glasses directly how bright and colorful to make the feed or the glasses themselves expanded the SDR signal information to fit what the display can show, they were pretty identical. And with the Movie color preset, the images appeared accurate. Switching to HDR10 support also caused the glasses to turn off and back on, triggering a hiccup in their connection with the iPad because they basically appeared to be a different display to the device.
HDR10 support is vital in TVs, where it's standardized across the entire chain, from the source to the HDMI cable to the screen. That said, there's far more variability in mobile devices, mobile apps, DisplayPort-over-USB-C connections, and smart glasses. Maybe HDR10 for these devices will become more consistent, but it’s not a feature that adds much to the viewing experience right now.
(Credit: Will Greenwald)RayNeo has yet to build head-tracking functionality into any of its prism smart glasses, which is unsurprising considering how inexpensive they are compared with competitors. The XReal One Pro, XReal 1S, and the Viture Beast can track your head’s movements, enabling features like a picture-anchoring mode that keeps your virtual screen in a fixed position relative to you and an ultrawide mode that simulates a 3,840-by-1,080 monitor when connected to a PC. Of course, those glasses cost much more money than the Air 4 Pro, starting at $449 for the XReal 1S. Although the Beast has those features, none of Viture's lower-end smart glasses, like the Luma or Luma Pro, do.
Sound: Good Detail, Modest Volume
Audio-wise, the Air 4 Pro's Bang & Olufsen speakers sound clear, but they don’t get very loud. In testing, Fallout's dialogue was easy to hear in a quiet room, and atmospheric music and sound effects came through with good detail. However, the sound was easily drowned out by coffee shop noise, so I used captions to watch episodes. In testing, the Viture Beast was noticeably louder, so coffee shop listening was easier. That said, neither was very effective on the subway, and, like all smart glasses, audio leakage means people next to you can hear what you're watching.
RayNeo includes two pairs of "sound tubes," rubber sleeves that slide over the speakers to better direct the sound into your ears. The tubes might help isolate noise and keep others from hearing what comes through the speakers, but they seem to do very little regarding volume. Strangely, enabling the Sound Tube mode in the Air 4 Pro's menu actually makes the sound even quieter.
Final Thoughts
RayNeo Air 4 Pro
The RayNeo Air 4 Pro smart glasses deliver bright, vibrant visuals and unbeatable value for the price, making them a great budget pick if you just want a simple wearable display.