XREAL has put HARD dates on the AURA queue. Its US store now tells holders of the $299 Founder Priority Pass to CHOOSE a configuration and PAY the balance by October 17, 2026 to secure a NUMBERED Limited Edition and PRIORITY shipping. A SECOND cutoff, October 31, decides who KEEPS priority at ALL. The terms are spelled out on XREAL’s own AURA product page and were flagged on October 14 by MIXED. With THREE days left on the FIRST deadline, here is what each date ACTUALLY buys.
The Price Is Set; the Order Window Is Not Open to Everyone
XREAL’s October 7 release priced AURA at $1,279 for a PUCK with 12GB of RAM and 256GB of storage, and $1,499 for 16GB and 512GB. Pre-orders OPENED that day ONLY for customers who had placed a PAID reservation before October 7. GENERAL orders, the release says, “will be available at launch.” Shipping is LIMITED to the United States, Canada, Japan and South Korea, with MORE markets in 2027, as we reported at the time.
The US store labels checkout a “full payment pre-order.” Pass holders ENTER a REDEMPTION code sent to the email used for the pass, and must use that SAME email to complete the order. Glasses come in TWO sizes, M for an interpupillary distance of 60 to 66mm and L for 66 to 72mm. For Founder holders, XREAL WARNS that once an order is confirmed, “your size and configuration cannot be changed.” On October 14, EVERY variant read “sold out or unavailable” to a visitor who was NOT signed in.
Three Dates, Three Outcomes
- By October 17: Founder Priority Pass holders who pay in FULL get the Limited Edition “with a unique serial number” and FIRST-tier PRIORITY shipping.
- October 18 to 31: Founder holders who pay in THIS window KEEP priority shipping but LOSE the numbered edition. Holders of the $99 Launch Credit or $199 Priority Deposit also QUALIFY for priority if they pay by October 31, in the SECOND tier.
- After October 31: payments “will not qualify for either benefit.” Those orders ship in the order final payment is completed.
One more date sits much FURTHER out. For every type of pass, XREAL’s FAQ says that if payment is not completed by April 28, 2027, the full price of the pass is AUTOMATICALLY refunded and the pass CANCELLED. Before that, holders can request a FULL refund at any time, provided the pass has NOT been redeemed. Once it is APPLIED to an order, it is no longer SEPARATELY refundable; CANCELLING that pre-order refunds the pass with it, under the store’s terms.
Priority Is a Place in Line, Not a Delivery Date
The FINE print matters MORE than the headline BENEFIT. XREAL DEFINES priority shipping as “the order in which products are dispatched from warehouses in each region,” and states that it “does not guarantee delivery by a specific date.” Within each priority group, orders are FULFILLED by the TIME final payment is completed, so paying EARLY within a tier also MOVES an order up.
The store’s FAQ goes FURTHER on the passes. A $299 pass order is “guaranteed to ship on the official launch day,” while $99 and $199 pass orders are guaranteed to ship “in the second fulfillment wave.” XREAL adds that this “refers to the shipping date, not the delivery date.” The CATCH is that NO launch DAY has been named. The store says AURA is expected to ship “before the holidays” in the FOUR first-wave markets, “subject to production schedules, quality inspections, and logistics conditions.” XREAL’s MAIN AURA page still says ONLY “Fall 2026.”
XREAL has been PROMOTING the FIRST cutoff DIRECTLY. Its October 8 post on X reminds Founder holders that only 2,000 NUMBERED units will exist:
XREAL’s Own Pages Still Disagree
The RESERVATION FAQ on XREAL’s main site has NOT caught up with the store. It still says “final pricing, configurations, and shipping details will be announced closer to launch,” a WEEK after the October 7 release set BOTH prices. MIXED and Choosense both flagged the MISMATCH. That page also PROMISED the base model “will not exceed US$1,500, excluding applicable taxes.” At $1,279, it lands $221 UNDER that ceiling.
The SPEC sheet is now FULLER, too. XREAL’s AURA page lists a Sony micro-OLED display at 1920 x 1200 pixels per eye, up to 1,050 nits of BRIGHTNESS, up to 120Hz, a 4,455mAh (34.84Wh) battery and a 95g weight, alongside the 70-degree FIELD of view, hand tracking and Sound by Bose tuning in the October 7 release. What it still does NOT give is a battery-life RATING in hours, and NO independent review of RETAIL hardware has been published.
What Reservation Holders Should Weigh
For up to 2,000 Founder holders, the October 17 choice is MOSTLY about a SERIAL number. Paying by October 31 still KEEPS a Founder order in the first-tier group, although dispatch WITHIN that group follows payment time, so waiting costs the numbered edition and some place in line, NOT the tier itself. The BIGGER RISK is IRREVERSIBILITY: size and configuration are LOCKED on confirmation, BEFORE any retail reviews exist to show whether the $220 step to 16GB of RAM MATTERS for real apps. For $99 and $199 holders, the date that COUNTS is October 31. Buyers OUTSIDE the four launch markets still have NO regional timing. The next markers are a NAMED launch day, a PUBLISHED battery-life figure, and the first FULL reviews.
Featured image: XREAL AURA glasses, product image from XREAL via its US store.
Sources
- XREAL US Shop – XREAL AURA product page and FAQ (checked Oct 14, 2026)
- XREAL via PR Newswire – XREAL AURA Starts at $1,279 (Oct 7, 2026)
- MIXED – Xreal’s Aura costs $1,279, and its first payment deadline falls on October 17 (Oct 14, 2026)
- Choosense – XREAL AURA starts at $1,279, but preorders are not open to everyone (updated Oct 9, 2026)
- XREAL – AURA product and reservation page (checked Oct 14, 2026)
- XREAL on X – Founder’s Edition reminder (Oct 8, 2026)