TL;DR
A pair of glasses that hangs a big, sharp screen in the air in front of the wearer, while the real room stays visible through the lenses, is now something people can order at Best Buy. XREAL's Aura, the first glasses built on Google's Android XR software, went on sale on Oct. 27 from a $1,099 launch price and starts shipping in mid-November. It is not yet the all-day, normal-looking pair science fiction promised: a cable runs to a small computer clipped to a belt. But it offers a view wider than most display glasses and opens a race. Samsung's Android XR glasses are reported for November, Google's are expected by year-end, and lighter full-color pairs are being priced in China.
Below the line, for paid subscribers: The full story: where it stands, how we got here and what's dated next; our Odds board on 5 milestones, starting with "XREAL's Aura glasses reach buyers' hands by 2026"; our labeled speculation on what it adds up to; and every source.