What if you could explore your next travel destination before even booking your flight? Imagine looking around the streets of Tokyo, viewing beautiful landscapes from above, or watching immersive 360° videos of places you’ve always wanted to visit, all without leaving your home.
Recently, we came across something that caught our attention: XREAL AURA. It got us thinking about how spatial computing could open up new possibilities for virtual travel.
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What Is XREAL AURA?
XREAL AURA is a spatial computing experience designed to bring digital content and interactive experiences into your everyday surroundings through lightweight smart glasses.
By combining augmented reality (AR) technology with immersive viewing capabilities, it allows users to explore digital environments, enjoy entertainment, and access visual experiences in a more natural way.
Simply put, it is the first wired XR glasses powered by Android XR.
With features such as Google Immersive View, Street View, and support for immersive 360° and VR180 videos, XREAL AURA offers an interesting glimpse into how spatial computing could change the way we discover and experience the world.
While much of the attention surrounding XR devices focuses on entertainment and productivity, we see something particularly interesting in XREAL AURA from a virtual travel perspective. Its two features that stand out to us are the ability to explore destinations before visiting them and watch immersive 360° and VR180 videos.
Let’s take a closer look.
1. Visit Before You Go: Explore Destinations Before Your Trip
One of the most interesting features of XREAL AURA is called Visit Before You Go. Powered by Google’s mapping experiences, this feature lets users explore destinations through two different perspectives: Immersive View and Street View.
Immersive View
Imagine planning a trip to Paris and wanting to get a better idea of what the surrounding area looks like before arriving.
With Immersive View, you can explore destinations from an aerial perspective, giving you a better sense of the surrounding environment and landmarks.
Instead of relying entirely on traditional maps or photographs, you can get a more visual understanding of the places you intend to visit.
Street View
Want to see what a particular street looks like before walking through it? Street View offers a closer, ground-level perspective of destinations.
You can explore streets, look around the surrounding environment, and get a better feel for an area before visiting it in person.
For travellers, this could be particularly useful when researching accommodation locations, exploring neighbourhoods, or deciding which places to include in an itinerary.
Street View is actually our favourite feature. Before travelling to or visiting a new place, especially overseas destinations, we often use Street View to familiarise ourselves with the surroundings. It gives us a better idea of what to expect when we arrive and helps us feel more confident navigating an unfamiliar place.
Together, Immersive View and Street View offer an interesting way to get to know a destination before making the actual journey.
2. Watch 360° and VR180 Content: Experience Destinations from a Different Perspective
Another feature worth highlighting is XREAL AURA’s support for immersive 360° and VR180 video content.
YouTube already has a vast collection of immersive videos covering destinations, natural landscapes, cultural experiences, and different parts of the world.
With XREAL AURA, users can extend their viewing experience beyond a conventional playback window and explore these videos from a wider perspective.
360° Videos
Unlike conventional videos that show only one fixed viewing angle, 360° videos allow viewers to look around the recorded environment.
For example, imagine watching a 360° video recorded at a beautiful beach in the Maldives. Instead of simply watching the scenery from one direction, you can look around and discover more of the surrounding environment. This creates a more engaging way to experience destinations that you may not have the opportunity to visit in person.
360° videos have always been our favourite format because they make the experience feel more realistic and immersive. When watching them, we sometimes sit on a swivel chair and turn around to look in different directions. This simple experience makes us feel more like we’re actually there, rather than just watching a video on a screen.
VR180 Videos
VR180 videos offer another type of immersive viewing experience. They capture a wide field of view in front of the camera, creating a more immersive perspective than conventional flat videos.
Whether it is exploring a city, visiting a popular tourist attraction, or experiencing a beautiful natural landscape, VR180 content can offer a different way to discover places around the world.
For virtual travel enthusiasts, having access to a wide collection of YouTube immersive videos opens up plenty of possibilities.
3. What This Could Mean for the Future of Virtual Travel
Virtual travel is not necessarily about replacing real-world holidays. Instead, it offers another way to discover destinations, learn about different places, and experience the world when physical travel is not always possible.
Features like Visit Before You Go could make destination research more visual and engaging, while immersive 360° and VR180 videos could bring viewers closer to places they might otherwise only see in photographs.
For people planning their next holiday, these experiences could become useful tools for exploring destinations before deciding where to go.
For those who simply enjoy discovering the world, they offer another opportunity to explore places from the comfort of home.
As spatial computing continues to evolve, it will be interesting to see how these experiences develop and how they might change the way people discover the world. After all, sometimes the journey begins long before you actually leave home.
Final Thoughts
XREAL AURA introduces an interesting direction for spatial computing by bringing virtual experiences closer to everyday life. It also highlights how XR technology could make virtual travel more accessible and engaging.
We’re also excited to try these glasses ourselves and see how they perform in real-world virtual travel experiences. Stay tuned as we’ll be sharing more about XREAL AURA and its potential to change the way we explore the world!
If you would like to know more about this, you can read it at:
- The Official Website of XREAL AURA.
- “XREAL AURA: Wired XR glasses to watch, work, and play” from Google.
If you’re new to virtual travel, check out our Ultimate Beginner’s Guide to Virtual Travel to learn how to get started and discover more ways to explore the world virtually.
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