The new Nreal Air AR glasses could be the coolest 2nd screen for your Chromebook ever

First, I need to preface this entire post with the fact that I’ve been wanting something like these glasses since I was a kid. Long road trips for vacations, flights as a young adult, and all sorts of travel in between have beckoned my inner tech nerd to possess something like what I think the Nreal Air is poised to deliver. I don’t have them. Yet. But we’ve ordered a pair and if my understanding of what they do is correct, at the minimum, this could change the way I use my Chromebook both at my desk and when out and about.

What is Nreal Air?

Let’s take a quick step back and unpack what I’m even talking about, here. Nreal is a comapany that’s been working on AR glasses for a few years at this point. Their designs have become increasingly more stylish and the hardware has been better with each release. At least that’s what the internet tells me.

The first year I even realized Nreal was a company at all was well after CES 2020. As you likely know, we’ve not been back out to Vegas for the yearly tech show since then, and I unfortunately didn’t know that they were there that year showing off their latest AR glasses that worked with Android phones, a simple app, and a USB Type C connection.

Since learning of them, I’ve been interested in their concept: a sleek, light set of AR glasses that you could actually wear out in public that deliver a simple, head-tracked overlay on the world. For me, that means a big screen I can keep in my pocket to use as an entertainment tool when wanted and a second screen for my Chromebook when needed. From the looks of this latest release, that is precisely what the Nreal Air delivers.

Will Nreal Air work on a Chromebook?

If you’re interested in all of this, you may be asking a very important question right now: will this work with my Chromebook? The answer to that question is – shall we say – nuanced. Looking at all their support and a few chats around the web, it looks like the Nreal Air will basically report as a DisplayPort monitor as its lowest common denominator, most-basic function.

That means users will likely only be able to use the single, large display when plugged into a Chromebook, and at this point, I’m completely fine with that. The Nebula app that Nreal has for Android and MacOS comes with some extra features for navigation and other perks, but the main reason most of us want something like these glasses is for the promise of a floating, virtual screen that can be called up whenever needed.

While I’d love to use the Nebula app down the road to pull up multiple screens in AR for my Chromebook, one large second display could really change the way I approach my device in a ton of different scenarios, and it appears that the Nreal Air will have no issue plugging and playing with just about any Chromebook out there with a USB Type C port.

And don’t forget that this is AR, not VR that we’re talking about with these glasses. With the Nreal Air, you’ll get the benefit of an overlaid screen and still be seeing the real world around you at the same time. Where devices like the Meta Quest Pro can use cameras to give you this multi-screen work experience, it also separates you from the real world and costs $1500. At $379, the Nreal Air glasses should be a more realistic dive into an AR workflow for most people interested in it.

How I plan to use it when it does arrive

For me, assuming the head tracking is good and the virtual screen is sharp enough for the type of work I do (writing, graphic design, photo edits, etc.), I’d be very interested in trying a workflow that kept my desk basically clean and empty without the need of a physical second display on it. It’s a stretch, sure, but I’d love to sit down, get my Chromebook out of my bag, plug in my Nreal Air glasses, and get to work with my second, virtual-only display emerging from that same backpack.

But there’s more I want to do with it. I would love the freedom to have a second display with me at home or at a coffee shop when I feel like working out and about. I’ve talked a lot over the years of the gift of mobility with work and I find myself not doing it nearly enough because of resource management when away from the comfort of my desk. The Nreal Air could make my desktop setup far more mobile.

And finally, I’m excited to play some games and watch some content with these things. With some earphones, I could have a dedicated movie theater wherever and whenever I want it. I could let my daughter enjoy playing Fortnite on the Switch on a massive screen without needing the bigger living room television. I see myself plugging into a Chromebook, launching GeForce NOW and enjoying APEX Legends on a massive screen. The possibilities feel pretty insane at the moment.

Time for the caveat

The obvious asterisk here is the fact that I don’t actually have this device in my hands right now. Ours should be here next week and only then can I really verify if any of the things I’m hoping for with these AR glasses will actually come to pass. I certainly think they will, but I can’t know until I try them.

With emerging tech like this, there are so many unknowns and so little past experience to compare to. It’s not like we’re talking about a new Chromebook with some cool new features or a new smartphone with some sort of interesting gimmick: this is a completely new thing for most of us and I need time to figure out if it is worth owning at all.

So, if you want to snag one, go for it! There are return policies in place for exactly this sort of thing, and there’s nowhere to go try one in a brick-and-mortar store at the moment. I’d expect we may see the Nreal Air at other retailers soon, but Amazon is it for now. It’s a bit of a risk, sure, but this could be one of those tech moments that really shake up the way we use our devices, and I’m taking the plunge. Obviously, I’ll let you know how it goes soon. And soon.