What you need to know
- XREAL is an augmented reality glasses company that is at the forefront of miniaturising the tech.
- Up until now, XREAL relied on external computing solutions to add spatial anchors to its insanely sharp hologrammatic screens, but not anymore.
- The XREAL One series (One and One Pro) have a new XR chip baked straight into them, side-stepping the need for apps and external add-ons.
- The XREAL One and One Pro are available now in the United States, United Kingdom, and Europe, starting at $499 USD, £449 GBP, and €549 EUR.
XREAL is back, and this time, they’re even better.
I’m a big fan of XREAL. In my XREAL Air review, I detailed how the subtle lenses do all the things I wish HoloLens would’ve ended up doing, albeit with a key concession: they have no on-board compute. The worst thing about the XREAL glasses previously was underbaked software and integration with Windows and Android, although the app situation has improved immeasurably over time. XREAL even launched its own compute module for their glasses called the XREAL Beam, although it was a bit like carrying an extra phone around in your pocket, and not exactly ideal.
XREAL agreed, which is why their shiny new XREAL One and XREAL One Pro now have on-board computing for the first time, completing the augmented reality circle HoloLens failed to accomplish.
The XREAL One glasses are now available for preorder over on Amazon.
XREAL describes its new One series as the “biggest least forward” for consumer AR, owing to its independently-designed X1 processor platform. Previously, without a connected XREAL Beam, Android app, or Windows app, the XREAL was unable to independently reconfigure its virtual 3D display. You basically got an external monitor in glasses form, which while admittedly a very good external virtual reality monitor, the lack of configuration options was always a bit of a drag. Now, however, the X1 chip and the new XREAL SDK should enable an entire universe of new possibilities without having to rely on additional devices and apps to do the heavy lifting.
“Using XREAL’s brand new, in-house designed X1 independent spatial computing co-processor, XREAL One Series creates a spatial display from nearly any device and for anything the wearer sees, leaping beyond the limits of today’s AR and VR devices by introducing a fully customizable cinematic virtual screen that is for the first time spatially controlled by the glasses themselves.”
The new glasses feature a variety of other tweaks and improvements over their predecessors. We now have speakers by BOSE, alongside official eye health certifications and even an AI-powered optional modular camera for added tracking and spatial awareness features. The new glasses have dynamic interpupillary distance control as well for the first time, which should make for a more comfortable experience and easier positioning. There are also options for prescription lenses as was the case with the previous glasses.
The XREAL glasses are compatible with a huge range of devices, giving them broad applications for all kinds of use-case scenarios. Connect them to a Steam Deck or ASUS ROG Ally for large display gaming. Connect them to a Windows PC as a second virtual monitor. Expand your Samsung S24 with Samsung DeX, and so on.
XREAL is what HoloLens could’ve been
The XREAL One glasses have boosted 57-degree field of view, incredibly sharp 1080p visuals, clocking in at 84 grams and 87 grams for the Pro respectively. This is orders of magnitude more usable and convenient than HoloLens, or even devices like the Meta Quest 3.
I think therein lies the big gap between what some platforms want to push vs. what consumers will actually want in reality. Yes, the XREAL aren’t cheap, but they’re also something I use regularly as someone who travels frequently. I watched Cyberpunk Edgerunners while travelling exclusively on the XREAL devices connected to my phone. They’re great for playing Xbox Cloud Gaming titles, and also adding a bigger display to the Lenovo Legion Go and so on.
The downside was always that you couldn’t resize the monitors or anchor them without extra steps. The new X1 computing platform should help resolve that situation. We’ll be back with a full review soon.
