RayNeo Air 3S Review: The “Budget King” of Smart Glasses?

Everyone wants a 200-inch screen in their pocket, but nobody wants to pay premium prices for it.

For a long time, XReal has dominated the conversation around “XR glasses.” But while everyone was watching them, RayNeo has been quietly building something dangerous. They are building glasses that offer nearly identical specs for a price that feels almost like a mistake.

I have been testing the RayNeo Air 3S, and I have one question to answer. Is this the “Budget King” that finally makes personal cinema glasses worth buying?

Here is my honest review.

Clarification: Unlike the Ray-Ban Meta glasses I recently reviewed, these do not have cameras. These are Display Glasses. Think of them as a portable monitor that you wear on your face.

The Display: Where the Money Went

Let’s be real. You are buying these for one reason, and that is the screen.

The RayNeo Air 3S uses Sony Micro OLED panels, and frankly, they are stunning.

We are talking about a sharp 1080p image per eye with deep, inky blacks and vibrant colors. Because it is OLED, the contrast is perfect. When you watch a movie in a dark room (or on a dim airplane), the black bars disappear completely, leaving you with just a floating cinema screen.

I tested this with everything from Avatar to Madden, and the image quality punches way above its price tag. The text is crisp enough to read emails, and the edges of the screen are clear, which is something cheaper glasses often struggle with.

Comfort & Adjustability

If you are going to watch a two-hour movie, these things need to be comfortable.

RayNeo nailed the weight distribution here. They feel surprisingly light on the nose. They also include adjustable nose pads and flexible temples, which allowed me to dial in the fit so the screen sat directly in my line of sight without sliding down.

I wore these for a pretty heavy session: 3 races in Grid Legends, a full YouTube video, and half of Spider-Man: No Way Home before feeling any fatigue. That is a massive improvement over the “nose pinch” headache older XR glasses used to give me.

The “Whisper Mode” & Audio

One feature I didn’t expect to care about was the audio privacy.

RayNeo calls it “Whisper Mode 2.0.” Essentially, the speakers are designed to fire sound directly into your ears while canceling out sound leakage to the people around you.

I tested this next to my fiancée while she was reading. At 50% volume, I could hear the dialogue perfectly, and she couldn’t hear a thing. If you plan to use these in bed or on a public train, this is a massive win.

Real Life Use Cases

So, who is this actually for?

1. The Handheld Gamer

If you own a Steam Deck or ROG Ally, this is the killer accessory. You plug the glasses directly into the USB-C port of your handheld, and suddenly you aren’t looking down at a 7-inch screen anymore. You are playing Cyberpunk 2077 on a massive virtual TV while lying flat on your back in bed. It completely changes the handheld gaming experience.

2. The Frequent Flyer

I hate staring at a phone screen on a tray table. With these, you can lean back in your seat, put on a movie, and block out the entire cabin. It is the closest you can get to a business class experience in economy. Plus, since Apple finally switched to USB-C, these plug directly into the iPhone 15 and 16, no adapters needed!

The “Honest” Limitations

I want to be clear about what these are not.

These are not “Spatial Computers” like the Apple Vision Pro or the Meta Quest 3.

• No 6DoF: The screen is locked to your head. If you turn your head left, the screen moves left.
• Not for walking around: These block your vision with a giant screen. Do not try to walk down the street wearing these. You will trip.

Pros & Cons

Verdict: The New Standard for Value?

The RayNeo Air 3S proves that you don’t need to spend $400+ to get a premium visual experience.

They cut the “fluff” features that most people don’t use and poured the entire budget into the screen quality and comfort. If you are a gamer looking for the ultimate handheld accessory, or a traveler who wants a private cinema, this is currently the best bang for your buck on the market.

It isn’t a VR headset. It’s a 200-inch TV that fits in your pocket. And for the price, that is an incredible deal.