INMO Air2
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| INMO Air2 | |
|---|---|
| |
| Basic Info | |
| VR/AR | Augmented Reality |
| Type | AR Glasses |
| Subtype | Standalone AR, AI Glasses |
| Platform | IMOS 2.0 (Android-based) |
| Creator | INMO |
| Developer | INMO |
| Manufacturer | INMO |
| Announcement Date | 28 October 2022 (China, online launch event) |
| Release Date | 20 April 2023 (China); Kickstarter campaign 27 June to 31 July 2023 |
| Price | 3,999 yuan with INMO Ring (China, at launch); US$599 Kickstarter early-bird price; US$899 with Ring (INMO online store, January 2025) |
| Website | https://www.inmo.com/ |
| Versions | Clear-lens and sunglasses versions |
| Requires | Standalone; smartphone app needed for screen mirroring and navigation |
| Predecessor | INMO Air |
| System | |
| Operating System | IMOS 2.0 (Android-based) |
| Chipset | UNISOC W517 (Ziguang Zhanrui) |
| CPU | Quad-core, 1.8 GHz (INMO figure) |
| GPU | IMG8300 (integrated in the W517) |
| Storage | |
| Storage | 32 GB |
| Memory | 2 GB RAM |
| Display | |
| Display | Dual full-color Micro-OLED |
| Resolution | 640 x 400 per eye |
| Image | |
| Field of View | 26 degrees (binocular) |
| Optics | |
| Optics | Reflective array waveguide, up to 85% transmittance (INMO figure) |
| Ocularity | Binocular |
| Passthrough | Optical see-through |
| Tracking | |
| Tracking | Lightweight SLAM spatial positioning |
| Audio | |
| Audio | Two built-in speakers |
| Microphone | Two microphones |
| Camera | 8-megapixel camera (1080p at 30 fps video); global-exposure camera |
| Connectivity | |
| Connectivity | Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 5.0, GPS and BeiDou |
| Ports | Proprietary pogo-pin charging connector |
| WiFi | Yes |
| Bluetooth | 5.0 |
| Power | Built-in rechargeable batteries |
| Battery Capacity | 500 mAh (dual battery) |
| Battery Life | Up to 5.5 hours continuous use (INMO claim); 75 to 120 minutes in SlashGear's testing |
| Device | |
| Dimensions | About 170.12 x 157.49 x 54.29 mm |
| Weight | 99 g (without myopia lenses) |
| Material | PC+ABS shell, glass lenses |
| Color | Black |
| Sensors | Accelerometer, gyroscope, geomagnetic sensor, global-exposure camera |
| Input | Temple touchpads, buttons, INMO Ring, voice |
The INMO Air2 is a pair of standalone augmented reality glasses made by the Chinese company INMO (Yingmu Technology). It runs its own Android-based operating system, IMOS 2.0, on a UNISOC W517 wearable chip with 2 GB of RAM and 32 GB of storage, so it can be used without a tethered phone or PC.[1][2][3] Two full-color Micro-OLED displays feed a reflective array waveguide in front of both eyes, giving a binocular image with a 26-degree field of view, and a lightweight SLAM algorithm provides spatial positioning.[4][5]
INMO unveiled the Air2 together with the INMO Ring controller at an online launch in China on 28 October 2022, at 3,999 yuan for the glasses and ring.[5] Sales in China began on 20 April 2023, after mass production started at a BYD electronics factory in Shenzhen.[1] The international version was crowdfunded on Kickstarter from 27 June to 31 July 2023 with early-bird pledges from US$599.[3][6] Reviewers praised the engineering and the waveguide display but criticized the 640 x 400 resolution, the short battery life in real use and the thin app selection.[3][7]
The Air2 is the successor to the INMO Air, INMO's first glasses, which the company unveiled on 26 July 2021.[8] By October 2026 the Air2 no longer appeared on the homepage of INMO's international website, which centered on its GO3 glasses.[9]
Announcement and release
China launch
INMO presented the Air2 and the INMO Ring in an online livestream from Shenzhen on 28 October 2022, under the theme "Go Explore" (去探索). 36Kr reported that the glasses came in sunglasses and clear-lens versions, that the frame was about 30% smaller than the first-generation Air, and that the temples had been thinned to 6 mm. The official price was 3,999 yuan including the ring, with pre-sales planned for November 2022 in China and abroad.[5] A 52audio report credited to UNISOC, which supplies the processor, gave the same price and pre-sale plan.[2] Nikkei Asia reported in December 2022 that INMO had started taking orders for the glasses unveiled in October.[10]
According to 36Kr, INMO planned to begin stocking the glasses in retail channels in 2023 and had signed strategic partnerships with Shenzhen Unicom, Shanghai Xintiandi and the eyewear retailer LOHO.[5] On 30 April 2023 IT Home reported that mass production of the Air2 had begun at the first factory of the ninth division of BYD's electronics business group, in Kuiyong, Shenzhen. The same report said the glasses had gone on sale on 20 April at 3,999 yuan for the clear-lens or sunglasses version with the ring, and that the first batch of 1,000 units sold out within three hours.[1]
Kickstarter and international sales
On 27 June 2023 INMO announced from Hong Kong that the Air2 was coming to Kickstarter, describing it as "next-generation wireless AR glasses" with a ChatGPT-based assistant, built-in speakers, dual front-facing cameras and pre-installed YouTube and TikTok apps.[11] The project was listed as based in Hong Kong, set an all-or-nothing goal of HK$39,149 and was scheduled to close on 31 July 2023.[12] The crowdfunding tracker Kicktraq recorded HK$1,764,328 pledged by 385 backers when it ended.[6]
SlashGear reported early-bird pricing of US$599 for the first 1,000 orders and US$649 for the next 1,000, with no retail price announced at the time.[3] Digital Trends gave a retail price of US$699, while Yanko Design showed the US$599 offer against an original price of US$799.[7][13] Notebookcheck reported that shipping to backers was planned for August 2023.[14] In January 2025 INMO's own online store listed the "INMO Air2 + Ring (Plano)" bundle at US$899, marked as sold out.[15]
| Date | Event | Price |
|---|---|---|
| 28 October 2022 | Online launch in China with the INMO Ring[5] | 3,999 yuan (glasses and ring) |
| November 2022 | Planned start of pre-sales in China and overseas[5] | 3,999 yuan |
| 20 April 2023 | Sales begin in China; mass production at BYD reported on 30 April[1] | 3,999 yuan (clear or sunglasses version with ring) |
| 27 June to 31 July 2023 | Kickstarter campaign[6][12] | From US$599 (early bird), then US$649[3] |
| August 2023 | Planned shipping to backers[14] | US$699 retail price reported by Digital Trends[7] |
| January 2025 | Listed on INMO's online store[15] | US$899 with Ring (sold out) |
Later products
At IFA 2025 in Berlin INMO unveiled a later standalone model, the INMO Air3, with a 1080p Sony micro-OLED panel, a 36-degree field of view and an eight-core Snapdragon XR processor. INMO planned a Kickstarter launch in September 2025 at an early-bird price of US$799.[16]
Design and hardware
Display and optics
The Air2 has two full-color Micro-OLED microdisplays, one per eye, and a reflective waveguide that INMO rated at up to 85% light transmittance.[4] Chinese launch coverage described the optics as a binocular full-color array optical waveguide that can switch between one-eye and two-eye display modes depending on the surroundings.[5][2] SlashGear called it a translucent vertical array optical waveguide.[3] IT Home described the binocular full-color display as an upgrade over the first-generation model.[1]
INMO gave the binocular field of view as 26 degrees.[4] Press coverage reported a resolution of 640 x 400 pixels.[3][14] INMO's launch release claimed 100% sRGB color gamut coverage, and its store listing gave a contrast ratio of 20,000:1.[11][15] Because the display is an optical see-through waveguide, the real world stays visible behind the image. Digital Trends found the screen bright enough indoors but used clip-on shades outdoors to make it easier to see.[7]
Processor and memory
The glasses use UNISOC's W517 wearable platform. UNISOC said the W517 handled spatial computing that earlier glasses had offloaded to a phone, and that its dynamic frequency scaling and the IMOS 2.0 system reduced power use.[2] UNISOC lists the W517 as a 12 nm chip with one Cortex-A75 core at 2.0 GHz, three Cortex-A55 cores at 1.8 GHz and an IMG8300 GPU at 800 MHz.[17] INMO describes the processor as a four-core 1.8 GHz "Ziguang Zhanrui AI Chip" (Ziguang Zhanrui is the Chinese name of UNISOC).[4] The glasses have 2 GB of RAM and 32 GB of storage.[3][13] IT Home reported a twofold performance gain over the previous model.[1]
Cameras, sensors and tracking
The Air2 positions itself with a lightweight SLAM algorithm. At launch, 36Kr reported that the spatial positioning runs on a single black-and-white camera.[5] INMO's product page describes two front cameras used for capture and scene recognition, which also record first-person photos and video.[4] The store listing gives an 8-megapixel camera with a 78-degree field of view that records 1080p video at 30 frames per second, and lists an accelerometer, gyroscope, geomagnetic sensor and a global-exposure (global shutter) camera.[15] SlashGear rated the photo quality as similar to a low-budget phone.[3]
INMO used the positioning for INMOVERSE, a "metaverse" app in which virtual characters appear on real streets, which 36Kr compared to Pokémon Go.[5][10]
Audio, input and connectivity
The glasses have two built-in speakers that fire sound downward toward the ears; SlashGear noted that at high volume they are less private than earbuds.[3][14] Notebookcheck listed two microphones.[14]
The glasses are controlled with capacitive touch areas on both temples and two buttons on the lower part of the arms, by voice, or with the INMO Ring.[3][1] The ring is a Bluetooth controller with a nine-axis motion sensor and three-degree-of-freedom input, used for scrolling videos and documents and switching apps.[5] It charges separately over USB-C.[3] Digital Trends preferred the temple touchpads to the ring.[7]
Wireless connections are Wi-Fi and Bluetooth 5.0, with GPS and BeiDou satellite positioning and no cellular modem.[3][15] Away from Wi-Fi, the glasses can connect through a phone hotspot.[7]
Battery and charging
The Air2 has two batteries with a combined capacity of 500 mAh.[15] It charges through a proprietary pogo-pin cable; SlashGear measured about 115 minutes for a full charge and about 45 minutes to reach 50%.[3] At the Chinese launch, INMO quoted up to 10 days of standby and 2.5 hours of continuous video playback.[5] For the international launch it claimed up to 5.5 hours of continuous use. SlashGear's unit lasted about 75 to 120 minutes per charge, while Digital Trends found the 5.5-hour estimate reasonable from its shorter sessions.[3][7]
Frame, fit and lenses
INMO gives the weight as 99 g without myopia lenses and the size as about 170.12 x 157.49 x 54.29 mm. The shell is PC+ABS plastic with glass lenses; the glasses are rated IP56 and the ring IP54.[15] SlashGear described the build as plastic and aluminum.[3]
According to INMO's product page, the box contained the glasses, a charging cable, a wipe, two adjustable nose pads, a clip-on tinted lens (with the clear-lens version), an item listed as prescription lenses and a user guide.[4] Prescription lenses attach magnetically.[4] SlashGear found the default nose pad uncomfortable and noted that it can be swapped with a small screw.[3] Digital Trends found the glasses comfortable for several hours with the three included nosepieces.[7]
| Component | Specification |
|---|---|
| Display | Two full-color Micro-OLED panels[4] |
| Resolution | 640 x 400 per eye[3][14] |
| Optics | Reflective array waveguide, up to 85% transmittance[4] |
| Field of view | 26 degrees, binocular[4] |
| Contrast | 20,000:1[15] |
| Processor | UNISOC W517, four cores (INMO: 1.8 GHz)[2][4] |
| Memory and storage | 2 GB RAM, 32 GB storage[13] |
| Operating system | IMOS 2.0 (Android-based)[4][15] |
| Camera | 8 MP, 78-degree field of view, 1080p at 30 fps[15] |
| Sensors | Accelerometer, gyroscope, geomagnetic sensor, global-exposure camera[15] |
| Connectivity | Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 5.0, GPS and BeiDou[15] |
| Battery | Dual battery, 500 mAh[15] |
| Water resistance | IP56 (glasses), IP54 (ring)[15] |
| Weight | 99 g without myopia lenses[15] |
| Dimensions | About 170.12 x 157.49 x 54.29 mm[15] |
Software and features
The glasses run IMOS 2.0, INMO's standalone operating system. INMO's store listing gives the operating system as Android, and SlashGear described IMOS as appearing to be a customized version of Android, with an Android-style home screen and app drawer.[4][15][3] Digital Trends counted twelve pre-installed apps, including YouTube and TikTok TV, a camera, meetings, a gallery, screencasting, translation and turn-by-turn navigation; the screencasting and navigation apps need a connected phone.[7] INMO markets the glasses for watching video on a large virtual screen, mirroring an iOS or Android phone, live translation, navigation, notifications and calls, video meetings and a teleprompter mode.[4] Navigation runs through INMO's INMOLens phone app, which projects maps onto the glasses.[3]
The INMO GPT app connects to OpenAI's GPT model.[4] SlashGear reported that it used GPT-3 and that voice detection was poor, and Digital Trends described it as a ChatGPT wrapper that answers spoken questions on screen. Digital Trends cited the Kickstarter campaign as saying the service would cost about US$6 per 1,000 interactions.[3][7] In August 2023 the translation app supported English, Spanish, French, German, Italian, Russian, Chinese, Japanese, Cantonese and Korean.[7]
At the time of the 2023 reviews INMO's app store was empty or not yet active.[3][7] INMO publishes instructions for enabling a developer mode on the Air2 so that Android APK files can be installed over ADB from a computer, and warns that devices with ADB enabled lose its seven-day no-questions-asked return policy.[18]
Reception
SlashGear's Palash Volvoikar scored the Air2 6 out of 10 in June 2023. He called it "an impressive piece of hardware" and praised the engineering, price and weight, but found the resolution too low for reading text, the default nose pad uncomfortable and the software "not yet as market-ready as one would hope". He recommended it mainly for watching YouTube and TikTok.[3]
In an August 2023 comparison with the Engo 2 and the Xreal Air, Alan Truly of Digital Trends called the Air2 the most advanced smart glasses he had tested. He found the waveguide nearly invisible from the front and the image sharp with good color accuracy, but said the display was less bright and smaller than the Xreal Air's, estimating it as equivalent to a 50-inch monitor, and used clip-on shades outdoors.[7]
Yanko Design said the display felt like a floating projector screen that suited video better than reading, called the build quality nice, and described the camera as low-resolution.[13] Notebookcheck called the 640 x 400 resolution relatively coarse and warned that bright daylight could make the display hard to read.[14]
See also
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 泽泷 (2023-04-30). "比亚迪电子事业群第九事业部 AR 眼镜 INMO Air2 量产下线" (in zh). IT之家 (IT Home). https://www.ithome.com/0/690/063.htm. Retrieved 2026-10-12.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 Alan (2022-11-04). "影目发布INMO Air2 AR眼镜，搭载紫光展锐旗舰穿戴芯片W517" (in zh). 52audio. https://52audio.com/archives/136483.html. Retrieved 2026-10-12.
- ↑ 3.00 3.01 3.02 3.03 3.04 3.05 3.06 3.07 3.08 3.09 3.10 3.11 3.12 3.13 3.14 3.15 3.16 3.17 3.18 3.19 3.20 3.21 3.22 Palash Volvoikar (2023-06-27). "Inmo Air2 Review: An Affordable Entry Into AR, But Far From Perfect". SlashGear. https://www.slashgear.com/1323632/inmo-air2-review-affordable-ar-glasses/. Retrieved 2026-10-12.
- ↑ 4.00 4.01 4.02 4.03 4.04 4.05 4.06 4.07 4.08 4.09 4.10 4.11 4.12 4.13 4.14 "INMO Air2 AR Glasses". INMO (archived copy of 15 January 2025). https://web.archive.org/web/20250115132407/https://www.inmoxr.com/pages/inmo-air2. Retrieved 2026-10-12.
- ↑ 5.00 5.01 5.02 5.03 5.04 5.05 5.06 5.07 5.08 5.09 5.10 韦雯 (Wei Wen) (2022-10-28). "最前线 - 将SLAM空间定位技术应用于无线轻量级AR眼镜,AR眼镜品牌「影目科技」发布新品INMO Air2" (in zh). 36Kr. https://www.36kr.com/p/1976091055563136. Retrieved 2026-10-12.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 "INMO Air2: The Next-Gen All-in-One Wireless AR Glasses". Kicktraq. https://www.kicktraq.com/projects/600385286/inmo-air2-the-next-gen-all-in-one-wireless-ar-glasses/. Retrieved 2026-10-12.
- ↑ 7.00 7.01 7.02 7.03 7.04 7.05 7.06 7.07 7.08 7.09 7.10 7.11 7.12 Alan Truly (2023-08-05). "Are AR glasses still a pipedream? I tested 3 of the newest to find out". Digital Trends. https://www.digitaltrends.com/computing/three-exciting-smart-glasses-path-to-ar/. Retrieved 2026-10-12.
- ↑ "INMO Debuts its New Generation Consumer-grade AR Smart Glasses". PR Newswire. INMO. 2021-07-29. https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/inmo-debuts-its-new-generation-consumer-grade-ar-smart-glasses-301344257.html. Retrieved 2026-10-12.
- ↑ "INMO". INMO. https://www.inmo.com/. Retrieved 2026-10-12.
- ↑ 10.0 10.1 Wei Wen (2022-12-15). "Chinese startup debuts wireless AR glasses". Nikkei Asia. https://asia.nikkei.com/Business/36Kr-KrASIA/Chinese-startup-debuts-wireless-AR-glasses. Retrieved 2026-10-12.
- ↑ 11.0 11.1 "INMO Announces Launch of Air2". Newswire. INMO. 2023-06-27. https://www.newswire.com/news/inmo-announces-launch-of-air2-22069862. Retrieved 2026-10-12.
- ↑ 12.0 12.1 "INMO Air2: The Next-Gen All-in-One Wireless AR Glasses". Kickstarter (archived copy of 21 July 2023). https://web.archive.org/web/20230721082456/https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/600385286/inmo-air2-the-next-gen-all-in-one-wireless-ar-glasses. Retrieved 2026-10-12.
- ↑ 13.0 13.1 13.2 13.3 Gaurav Sood (2023-07-29). "INMO Air2 smart AR wireless glasses are posed as the Apple Vision Pro's affordable option". Yanko Design. https://www.yankodesign.com/2023/07/29/inmo-air2-smart-ar-wireless-glasses-are-posed-as-the-apple-vision-pros-affordable-option/. Retrieved 2026-10-12.
- ↑ 14.0 14.1 14.2 14.3 14.4 14.5 14.6 Silvio Werner (2023-06-29). "Immo Air2: Smarte AR-Brille mit Micro-OLED und ChatGPT-Support startet zum Vorzugspreis" (in de). Notebookcheck. https://www.notebookcheck.com/Immo-Air2-Smarte-AR-Brille-mit-Micro-OLED-und-ChatGPT-Support-startet-zum-Vorzugspreis.728734.0.html. Retrieved 2026-10-12.
- ↑ 15.00 15.01 15.02 15.03 15.04 15.05 15.06 15.07 15.08 15.09 15.10 15.11 15.12 15.13 15.14 15.15 15.16 "INMO Air2 Smart AR Glasses". INMO store (archived copy of 24 January 2025). https://web.archive.org/web/20250124163547/https://www.inmoxr.com/products/inmo-air2-ar-glasses. Retrieved 2026-10-12.
- ↑ "INMO announces the debut of INMO Air3, the world's first 1080P full color optical waveguide all-in-one AR glasses". Kyodo News PR Wire. INMO Technology. 2025-09-06. https://kyodonewsprwire.jp/release/202509064707. Retrieved 2026-10-12.
- ↑ "W517 - 4G AI Smartwear Platform". UNISOC. https://www.unisoc.com/en/product/SmartWearablesUS/W517. Retrieved 2026-10-12.
- ↑ "How to Enable Developer Mode on INMO Air2". INMO support FAQ (archived copy). https://web.archive.org/web/2025/https://www.inmoxr.com/blogs/faqs/how-to-enable-developer-mode-on-inmo-air2. Retrieved 2026-10-12.