Author’s note: This review is based on over a year of personal use after purchasing the RayNeo Air3 with my own money. All impressions come from real, everyday usage scenarios.

Introduction

Before I knew it, it’s been over a year since I bought the RayNeo Air3. My original goal was very clear: to solve the problem of watching movies in a shared dorm environment. I wanted a more immersive viewing experience in the dorm, and paired with noise-canceling headphones, it could block out most of the noise and ambient light, letting me enjoy quiet, uninterrupted personal time.

However, over the past year, I’ve had several moments where I considered listing it second-hand on Xianyu. But every time I took it out again to watch a few movies, I ended up feeling glad that I didn’t sell it.

First Impressions: Strong Highlights, Equally Noticeable Drawbacks

Rewinding to March 2025, the day the RayNeo Air3 arrived, I immediately connected it to my computer to try out the viewing experience. At the time, I jotted down this first impression: although the specs say it’s just a 1080P OLED display, the actual visual quality exceeded expectations. In low-light environments, the immersion is very strong. Fortunately, I didn’t remove the black protective film on the lenses. Since the glasses don’t come with a light-blocking cover and don’t support electrochromic dimming, the factory-applied black film actually helps reduce light leakage to some extent. The moment the display lights up, it truly feels like having a private cinema screen all to yourself—though this is something a phone camera simply cannot capture.

In addition, the audio quality from the built-in speakers in the temples is better than expected for this size, offering a decent sense of spatial depth, and the sound leakage prevention algorithm works quite well.

However, the drawbacks are also very apparent:

The heat from the right temple doesn’t sit directly against the face, but after wearing it for just a few minutes, the warmth becomes noticeable. Without air conditioning in summer, this would likely feel even more uncomfortable;

The display performs well for video, but when switching to text-based work, the text appears slightly blurry. No matter how I adjusted the fit or screen position, the edges of the display remained somewhat unclear;

Although the official spec claims a virtual viewing distance of three meters, after wearing it for 20–30 minutes, my eyes would feel slightly strained. The Air3 also doesn’t support 6DoF or even 3DoF—though at this price point, that’s perhaps expected. Still, even slight head movements cause the image to shift, which can easily lead to dizziness;

Because it uses a Birdbath optical design, and with prescription lenses attached, reflections of the surrounding environment are quite noticeable in brighter conditions or when wearing light-colored clothing. The only ways to reduce this are by adjusting head angle and posture, but the most effective solution is simply to turn off the lights and minimize ambient brightness.

A Year of Long-Term Use: A Shift in Both Mindset and Experience

Over the past year, my usage of the RayNeo Air3 hasn’t been particularly consistent. During winter and summer breaks, when I’m back home, I have a 27-inch 2K monitor as my primary setup. Sometimes, I wouldn’t even open the glasses’ case for an entire month—and it’s precisely during those times that the urge to sell them second-hand becomes the strongest.

But whenever I come across a horror movie I want to watch, or films and series with lots of dark scenes, I instinctively plug the glasses into my computer via the Type-C cable. After all, it’s an OLED display—its ability to render true blacks is irreplaceable. Dark scenes are truly dark, and bright areas pop as they should. More importantly, once you put on the glasses, the entire image fills your field of view, delivering full immersion without interruptions from phone notifications or sudden screen light-ups. Honestly, watching horror movies with it is incredible—I’ve been genuinely startled by jump scares more than once.

And after more than a year of use, perhaps my brain has gradually adapted to the slight image drift. The dizziness I initially felt has significantly decreased. My single-session usage time has extended from the original 20–30 minutes to over an hour, and sometimes I can wear it continuously for two to three hours.

I also have to praise the weight distribution and the “air nose pad” design. Even though the glasses themselves weigh only 76 grams—and I’ve added prescription lenses—there’s still little to no discomfort on the bridge of my nose after long periods of wear. This genuinely exceeded my expectations.

Rethinking Whether to Keep It: As Scenarios Change, So Does Its Value

Now that I’m in the second semester of my second year of graduate school, all my courses are finished, and I’m spending less and less time in the dorm. It might really be time to say goodbye to these glasses.

After graduation, I’ll most likely no longer be sharing a living space. With my own private room, achieving immersion becomes simple—just close the curtains, turn off the lights, and I’ll have a completely undisturbed environment. At that point, the core advantage of these glasses won’t feel as significant anymore.

Final Buying Advice: No Hype, Just Who It’s For

I’ve seen quite a few influencers online promoting AR glasses like these, highlighting use cases such as “working on a large screen anywhere” or “enjoying entertainment anytime, anywhere.” For the former, I personally do not recommend it at all. For text-based work, the display already has issues with slightly blurry edges, and since it’s a 0DoF device, the screen moves with your head. When dealing with small text, you can’t lean in to see more clearly—you either strain your eyes or manually zoom in, both of which hurt productivity. Of course, devices with 3DoF or 6DoF might perform differently, but I haven’t personally tested them, so I won’t comment further.

As for entertainment, if you’re looking for a portable large screen to enjoy immersive movies on your own—without disturbing others or being disturbed—then this type of device is indeed a solid choice.

But if you already have a private space with a reasonably sized monitor, and you just want to relax with a movie occasionally, simply turning off the lights, closing the curtains, and putting on headphones or using speakers can offer an experience not far off from what the RayNeo Air3 provides. And the money you save could easily get you dozens of tickets to an IMAX theater.