Theres been a lot of talk about augmented reality tech lately, especially with the unveiling of Snapchat Spectacles and Meta Orion. Those are both highly expensive and unobtainable to consumers but there is a growing market of affordable glasses, that provide some of the benefits of AR glasses at a much more palatable price tag. The RayNeo Air 2s are one of them, and Ill be providing some of my thoughts.How they feelFirst things first, these are a $399 pair of glasses (though theyre currently on sale for $319) so they definitely feel cheap. The front is a single sheet of plastic and doesnt really look like a pair of glasses, other than the general shape. The frames are definitely very flexible, and its easy to bend them in the other direction.On one hand, that means its a one size fits all product, which is cool because you dont have to worry about sizing while buying them. On the other hand, it means that if it doesnt fit you well, you wont have a great time. It was hard to get them to stay on my face perfectly without needing consistent adjustment. Changing the nose bridge (there are multiple included in the box) helped a little bit but overall Id say it didnt really fit me well. Your mileage will obviously vary there.Though the glasses may feel cheap, the unboxing experience certainly wasnt. RayNeo (a sub-brand of TCL) definitely nailed the packaging. The glasses also come with a quality carrying case, making it easy to throw in a backpack without worry.ExperienceAt this price point, theres no way to pack an on board battery or any compute which means you have to always use them wired with a USB-C port. This is fine, though it does mean youll mostly be using it stationary. Its hard to see through the displays, so I wouldnt recommend trying to use these while in motion, though you can certainly do it.The actual display panels are pretty good. They offer up to 5000 nits of brightness, feature a 120Hz refresh rate, and offer good colors, thanks to Sonys microOLED panels. The displays are 19201080 per eye, which isnt anything incredible, but theyre certainly good enough for reading smaller text. RayNeo says that these offer a 201 display size from 6 meters away, making it similar to a theater experience.Ive found myself mostly using these for lying down in bed and watching a YouTube video or show. Its neat for that, and certainly provides a nicer visual experience than watching on your phone directly. If you have a good TV though, these obviously wont compare.There is one thing that these are missing though, and thats a cover for the displays. Other AR glasses Ive used in the past, such as the Xreal Airs, have offered this. A cover is immensely helpful when you want something more immersive and want to block out any light from passing through. Its just a little piece of plastic that clips over the front of the glasses. Itd be simple to include. The actual glasses are pretty dim, so its not like youre getting blinded by light behind you. It just could be better if there was a cover.Why these make senseI think wired augmented reality glasses make a ton of sense to pursue. You can cut a lot of cost by not needing to include any sort of compute power or an on-board battery. Plus, youre able to use these as a display output with anything that can do USB-C video output, such as a Nintendo Switch, making them super flexible.The main downside here is that you dont have a proper operating system. RayNeo does sell an accessory called the Pocket TV, which allows you to run the Google TV operating system while its plugged in. The accessory also doubles as a remote.Apple is also reportedly exploring a product similar to this, essentially selling a Vision headset that feeds off of your iPhone with the headset really only containing the displays. For the sake of cost, this approach definitely makes some level of sense.My verdictOverall, these are a neat pair of glasses to enhance the media experience on your iPhone, especially if thats your main way of watching content. The displays are very bright, and great to look at. Its speakers are pretty nice too. For $319, theyre certainly not the best in every regard, but if something like this product sounds appealing to you, its an easy buy as long as they fit you well. Plus, unlike a standalone headset, you wont have to worry about them being dead when you finally want to use them.Buy RayNeo Air 2s on Amazon for $319 with on page coupon (normally $399)Buy RayNeo Pocket TV on Amazon for $179Follow Michael:X/Twitter,Bluesky,InstagramAdd 9to5Mac to your Google News feed. FTC: We use income earning auto affiliate links. More.Youre reading 9to5Mac experts who break news about Apple and its surrounding ecosystem, day after day. Be sure to check out our homepage for all the latest news, and follow 9to5Mac on Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn to stay in the loop. Dont know where to start? Check out our exclusive stories, reviews, how-tos, and subscribe to our YouTube channel