Alcon Air Optix Guide: 2026 Monthly Lens Range, Specs & How to Choose
If you wear monthlies in Hong Kong, Air Optix will already be a familiar name. It is Alcon's monthly silicone hydrogel family, with lenses for plain nearsighted or farsighted correction, astigmatism, and presbyopia.
What is less obvious is how much the four lenses in that family differ from one another. Oxygen transmissibility, diameter and prescription coverage are not shared across the range, and picking the wrong one commits you to a month of it. This guide takes each Air Optix lens WateryEyes carries in turn, explains what the two patented technologies actually do, and shows how to choose by what your eyes need. If you want to compare replacement cycles first, start with our daily vs bi-weekly vs monthly guide.
What Air Optix is: Alcon's monthly silicone hydrogel range
Every Air Optix lens is a monthly. You wear it for 30 days from opening, removing, cleaning and storing it each night. All of them are silicone hydrogel, a material that transmits far more oxygen than conventional hydrogel — which matters more in a monthly than anywhere else, because the same lens sits on your cornea for a month rather than a day.
Within the family, each lens answers a different need: a standard lens for nearsighted or farsighted correction, a toric lens for astigmatism, a multifocal for presbyopia, and Night & Day, built around unusually high oxygen transmission. All four are on the Air Optix collection page.
The four Air Optix lenses compared
Specifications below are taken from each product page. Note that base curve and diameter are not consistent across the range — do not assume a lens that fits you in one variant will feel the same in another.
| Lens | For | Dk/t | Water | BC | Diameter | Prescription coverage | Pack |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Air Optix plus HydraGlyde | Nearsighted / farsighted | 110 | 33% | 8.6 | 14.2mm | to -12.00 and +8.00 | 6 lenses |
| Air Optix plus HydraGlyde for Astigmatism | Astigmatism | 110 | 33% | 8.7 | 14.5mm | to -10.00 and +6.00, cylinder -0.75 to -2.25 | 3 lenses |
| Air Optix plus HydraGlyde Multifocal | Presbyopia | 110 | 33% | 8.6 | 14.2mm | to -10.00 and +6.00, reading power low / mid / high | 3 lenses |
| Air Optix Night & Day | Nearsighted / farsighted | 175 | 24% | 8.4 / 8.6 | 13.8mm | to -10.00 and +6.00 | 3 lenses |
Three differences are worth pausing on. First, the standard lens goes deepest — to -12.00, the only one in the family that does, against -10.00 for the toric and multifocal. Second, Night & Day transmits the most oxygen at Dk/t 175, and pays for it with 24% water content, the lowest here. Third, diameters differ meaningfully: 14.5mm for the toric, 14.2mm for the standard and multifocal, and 13.8mm for Night & Day, which is a noticeable change in how much of the eye the lens covers.
What SMARTSHIELD and HYDRAGLYDE actually do
The product pages list two patented technologies, and both address problems specific to wearing one lens for a month.
SMARTSHIELD is about deposits. Over 30 days, proteins and lipids in your tears accumulate on the lens surface, which is what turns a comfortable lens hazy and scratchy by week three. The technology forms a protective layer that reduces how much of that sticks.
HYDRAGLYDE is about moisture retention. It is a hydrophilic polymer that holds water at the lens surface so comfort does not fall away late in the wearing day. All three lenses carrying the plus HydraGlyde name use it, while the Night & Day product page lists SMARTSHIELD only.
Both are surface treatments, not a substitute for a care routine. A monthly still needs daily cleaning and storage in fresh multipurpose solution, and the case still needs replacing regularly.
How to choose: start from what your eyes need
The order of decisions is simple. Fix the variant by your prescription type first, then look at oxygen and diameter.
- Nearsighted or farsighted only — Air Optix plus HydraGlyde. It covers the widest prescription range in the family, to -12.00 and +8.00, and it is the only one in the range sold in a 6-lens pack.
- Astigmatism — Air Optix plus HydraGlyde for Astigmatism, with four cylinder steps from -0.75 to -2.25 and eighteen axis options from 10 to 180 degrees. To compare toric lenses across brands, see our astigmatism lens comparison.
- Presbyopia — Air Optix plus HydraGlyde Multifocal, with low, mid and high reading-power bands. To compare multifocal lenses across brands, see our multifocal buyer's guide.
- Oxygen above all — Night & Day, at Dk/t 175, the highest here. The trade-offs are 24% water content and the smallest diameter in the family, so it feels different on the eye from the other three; have an optometrist assess your eye shape and tear film before switching. Whether it can be worn overnight is a clinical decision for your optometrist, never a self-assessment.
For Alcon's other families, including the Dailies Total 1 and Precision 1 dailies, see the Alcon brand page.
Looking after a monthly lens
The cost advantage of a monthly only holds if the care routine holds. Four habits carry most of it: rub each lens in your palm with multipurpose solution for about ten seconds after removal, then rinse; store in fresh solution rather than topping up yesterday's; replace the case at least every three months, emptying and air-drying it between uses; and replace the lenses 30 days after opening even if they still feel fine.
Never rinse lenses with tap water or saliva, and do not wear them swimming or in a spa. If your eyes become red or painful, produce discharge, or your vision drops suddenly, remove the lenses and see an optometrist or ophthalmologist promptly.
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between Air Optix Aqua and plus HydraGlyde?
Aqua is the earlier name in the Air Optix line. What WateryEyes lists today is the plus HydraGlyde generation, which adds the HYDRAGLYDE moisture matrix, plus Night & Day. If you were previously fitted in Aqua, the parameters may not map across exactly — confirm with your optometrist before switching.
Can Air Optix lenses be slept in?
Not a decision to make on your own. Any overnight wearing schedule has to be assessed by an optometrist against your corneal health, tear film and daily routine, with follow-up checks. The safe default is to remove lenses before sleeping.
Are monthlies always cheaper than dailies?
Per day, usually — but the comparison has to include solution and cases, and it assumes you clean them daily. If you only wear lenses once or twice a week, dailies are both cheaper in practice and more hygienic. Our cycle comparison works through the arithmetic.
If I open a box and barely wear them, do I still discard at 30 days?
Yes. The 30 days runs from opening, not from days worn, because once a lens leaves its sealed blister it is exposed to the environment. Unopened lenses are governed by the expiry date on the packaging.
I wear dailies. What changes if I move to a monthly?
Two things. Your parameters may not transfer, since base curve and diameter differ between families, so you need a fresh fitting. And you take on a daily cleaning routine that dailies do not have. In the first weeks, notice whether late afternoons feel dry; if they clearly do, raise it with your optometrist rather than pushing through.
Does Air Optix suit deeper prescriptions?
The standard plus HydraGlyde lens reaches -12.00, which is deep coverage for a monthly. Past -12.00 the options narrow sharply — contact us and we will tell you what can be ordered.
In short
Air Optix is a clean range to shop: four lenses, all monthly, all silicone hydrogel, differing by the prescription they correct and by how much oxygen they transmit. Nearsighted or farsighted wearers should take plus HydraGlyde for its wider coverage; astigmatism and presbyopia each have a dedicated variant; and Night & Day leads on oxygen while differing enough in water content and diameter to deserve a professional fitting first.
Have your prescription, base curve and diameter ready, then choose on the Air Optix collection page. To weigh it against other monthly lenses or other brands, ask our team.