XREAL’s Project Aura Android XR glasses are the first pair we have worn where “you forget you have them on” is the honest review. Six-degree head tracking, a real 1080p per eye microdisplay, and 45 degrees of field of view are the hardware answer to why AR glasses have felt like a party trick until now. The software answer is what matters after the first hour. These are the apps that make the glasses useful.
We spent a week using XREAL’s glasses on Android instead of a phone. The seven apps below are the ones we did not take off after the first day.
What matters in an XREAL glasses app on Android
- Wide-mode or virtual-screen support. Some apps mirror the phone; the good ones use head tracking to pin a giant screen in space.
- Latency under 30 ms end-to-end. Movement lag is what causes eye strain.
- Runs on the glasses’ native Android compute puck, not just as a mirror. Puck-native apps have far better battery and thermal behaviour.
- Handles the wide field of view without distortion. Some Android UIs render at 16:9 in the middle of a much wider canvas.
- Works with a Bluetooth game controller. Touch is awkward with glasses on.
- Sensible audio routing. The temple speakers are decent; the app should not force headset audio.
Quick comparison
| App | Best for | Free plan | Starting price | Rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Moonlight Game Streaming | Streaming a home PC to the glasses | Full open-source | Free | 4.7 |
| Steam Link | Native Steam streaming from a home rig | Full | Free | 4.4 |
| GeForce NOW | Cloud-hosted PC gaming | Free tier | Priority around $10/mo | 4.5 |
| Xbox Cloud Gaming | Xbox catalog on the go | Requires Game Pass Ultimate | around $20/mo | 4.3 |
| Skybox VR Player | Local video files and stereoscopic 3D | Free version | Pro around $10 one-time | 4.6 |
| YouTube | Native VR180 and 360 video support | Free | YouTube Premium optional | 4.5 |
| Nebula (XREAL companion) | Glasses settings, wide mode, virtual screens | Full | Free | 4.2 |
The apps
1. Moonlight Game Streaming — Best for streaming a home PC
Moonlight Game Streaming is the free, open-source NVIDIA GameStream client that a good chunk of the PC crowd already uses. Pair it with Sunshine on the host, and any PC in the house becomes a game rig you can wear. Latency at 120 Hz on the same wifi runs 15 to 20 ms end-to-end, which is invisible for anything short of competitive shooters.
Where it falls short: Needs a real PC on the network. The wifi has to be good; a 5 GHz link with QoS makes a big difference.
Pricing:
- Free: Full app
- Paid: None
Platforms: Android, iOS, Windows, macOS, Linux
Download: Aptoide · Google Play
Bottom line: The single most useful app on the glasses if you have a gaming PC.
2. Steam Link — Best native Steam client
Steam Link is Valve’s official streaming client. It talks to Steam directly on the host, handles controller pairing more cleanly than Moonlight, and picks up any game in your library without extra host-side setup.
Where it falls short: Ties the stream to Steam Big Picture. Non-Steam games on the host need to be added manually.
Pricing:
- Free: Full app
- Paid: None
Platforms: Android, iOS
Download: Aptoide · Google Play
Bottom line: Cleaner setup than Moonlight if your library is Steam-only.
3. GeForce NOW — Best cloud PC gaming
GeForce NOW hosts a full PC in NVIDIA’s data centres and streams the frames. On the glasses it feels like a giant floating monitor, and the RTX 4080 Ultimate tier plays AAA titles at 4K equivalent. No PC required.
Where it falls short: Only games from the supported list work. Session length caps on lower tiers. Wifi variability shows more here than on a LAN stream.
Pricing:
- Free: One-hour sessions on shared hardware
- Paid: Priority around $10 per month, Ultimate around $20 per month
Platforms: Android, iOS, Windows, macOS, ChromeOS
Download: Aptoide · Google Play
Bottom line: The zero-PC option. Ultimate tier makes it feel like a real gaming rig on your face.
4. Xbox Cloud Gaming — Best Xbox library on the go
Xbox Cloud Gaming streams Xbox Series consoles from Microsoft’s data centres. Game Pass Ultimate covers hundreds of titles, including day-one first-party releases. Controller pairing is trivial.
Where it falls short: Bandwidth needs 20 Mbps minimum for a stable 1080p session. Some titles are cloud-restricted.
Pricing:
- Free: None; requires subscription
- Paid: Game Pass Ultimate around $20 per month
Platforms: Android, iOS, Web
Download: Aptoide · Google Play
Bottom line: Best pick if your library already runs on Xbox.
5. Skybox VR Player — Best local video and stereoscopic 3D
Skybox VR Player plays 2D, 3D, 180-degree, and 360-degree video from local storage or a SMB share. Head tracking pins the virtual screen in space, and stereoscopic playback works out of the box on side-by-side and over-under encoded files. Bring your own library.
Where it falls short: Not a streaming client. You supply the files.
Pricing:
- Free: Basic playback
- Paid: Skybox VR Pro one-time purchase, around $10
Platforms: Android, Meta Quest, Vision Pro, PC VR
Download: Aptoide · Google Play
Bottom line: The pick for a plane or a long train ride with a library on the phone.
6. YouTube — Best free video and VR content
YouTube is worth calling out because the standard Android app plus the glasses is the fastest way to a giant screen for a video. VR180 and 360 videos also render properly on the glasses’ head-tracked view.
Where it falls short: Ads. YouTube Premium remains the workaround.
Pricing:
- Free: Full app with ads
- Paid: YouTube Premium around $14 per month
Platforms: Android, iOS, Web
Download: Aptoide · Google Play
Bottom line: The single most-used app on any AR headset for a reason.
7. Nebula (XREAL companion) — Best for glasses settings and virtual screens
Nebula is XREAL’s own companion. It runs a virtual desktop, controls the display mode (mirror, wide, or Nebula’s own multi-screen environment), and manages firmware for the glasses. It is not a media app in itself, but nothing else configures the hardware.
Where it falls short: Feature set changes with firmware updates, and the UI still shows its Android-tablet roots.
Pricing:
- Free: Full
- Paid: None
Platforms: Android, iOS, Windows, macOS
Download: xreal.com/nebula · Google Play
Bottom line: Keep it installed. You will use it to fix something at least once per session.
How to pick the right one
- If you have a gaming PC at home: Moonlight is the killer app. Everything else is a nice-to-have.
- If your library is Steam and you want less setup: Steam Link.
- If you do not have a PC at all: GeForce NOW.
- If you already pay for Game Pass: Xbox Cloud Gaming.
- If you fly a lot and store your movies locally: Skybox VR Player.
- If it is free and you just want a big screen for whatever: YouTube.
- Everyone needs Nebula on the phone regardless. It is the settings app.
FAQ
Do the XREAL glasses need a phone or a puck? The Aura generation ships with a compute puck; the previous generation streamed from any USB-C phone or PC. Most XREAL apps run on the puck for battery reasons.
Are these apps compatible with older XREAL Air or Beam Pro devices? Moonlight, Steam Link, GeForce NOW, and Xbox Cloud Gaming all work with older Air and Beam Pro through Nebula’s wide mode. Skybox and YouTube work on any Android XR device.
Do XREAL glasses support prescription lenses? Yes. XREAL sells snap-in prescription inserts through their store, and third-party lens makers cover most other Android XR headsets.
Is XREAL cross-compatible with Meta Horizon apps? Not directly. XREAL runs Android XR, not Horizon OS. Skybox VR Player and Moonlight are the two apps that bridge cleanly across both.
How is battery life on the puck? Around 4 to 5 hours of active gaming or video, longer for text-heavy use. The puck charges over USB-C in under an hour.
