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4 hours ago
5
I’ve spent months successful the laboratory investigating the latest AR glasses from Xreal and Viture. By “lab,” I mean cozied up connected my sofa each night, playing my Steam Deck oregon Nintendo Switch 2 connected a huge, virtual surface that lone I tin spot done these glasses.
Using AR glasses arsenic a portable show for your handhelds (and different USB-C devices, similar phones, tablets, and laptops) is thing new. However, the latest versions person 1 must-have diagnostic successful common: 3 degrees of freedom, oregon 3DoF, which lets you anchor the surface anyplace you’d like, arsenic opposed to having it nauseatingly wiggle with each caput movement. This won’t marque AR glasses worthy their $400-plus costs for astir gamers. But this makes them much utile if you question a lot, oregon if you privation a much ergonomic handheld setup.
I tested 3 fashionable models — Xreal’s $449 1S, its $649 One Pro, and Viture’s $549 Beast — and determination is nary champion brace that everyone should buy. Each does a fewer things good and a fewer things not truthful well, which leaves maine nary different prime than to database retired the ingredients that would marque for 1 cleanable brace of AR glasses for gaming.Â
The comfort, dependable quality, and easiness of usage of Xreal’s glasses
All of these AR glasses are heavier and thicker than regular glasses, but Xreal’s 1S glasses are the lightest exemplary of the bunch. On my room scale, they measurement 85 grams (for comparison, the One Pro glasses measurement 91 grams, portion the Viture Beast glasses are 96 grams). A tiny happening that’s really a large woody is that they (as good arsenic the One Pro) person large value organisation and thinner temple arms than Viture’s Beast, which helps maine consciousness little strain connected my ears. It’s large that Xreal’s astir affordable AR glasses are conscionable arsenic comfy arsenic its astir costly pair.
The 1S and One Pro glasses present better-sounding audio done their temple arms than Viture’s latest glasses. Xreal’s audio is tuned by Bose, and the glasses person balanced audio with amazingly bully low-end performance. Viture’s is tuned by Harman, and the Beast glasses battalion considerably little oomph, with much accent connected the mids and highs. Music, movies, and games are each much amusive to perceive to done Xreal’s glasses, adjacent astatine debased volumes.
The 1S and One Pro glasses person less buttons than Viture’s glasses, which lowers the learning curve. Xreal’s glasses person 4 buttons successful total, each of which are on their close temple arm. To beryllium fair, each AR glasses’ fastener layouts instrumentality a portion to learn. But the Beast has six successful full dispersed crossed some temple arms, 2 of which are a fastener rocker dedicated solely to adjusting the opacity of its electrochromic lenses — it’s overkill.Â
The superior opposition and clarity of Viture’s Beast glasses
The 3 pairs of AR glasses that I tested usage akin Sony micro-OLED screens, but Viture’s glasses are my favourite erstwhile it comes to displaying games with the aforesaid affluent contrast, inky blacks, and agleam highlights arsenic would look connected the OLED TV successful my surviving room. Just arsenic important, representation prime looks large careless of wherever you usage these glasses due to the fact that their optics chopped down connected reflections (however, they’re not “4K-like,” arsenic Viture misleadingly advertises). The Xreal One Pro glasses are besides fantastic successful presumption of representation prime and grounds adjacent to nary reflections owed to having high-end optics, but they’re typically $100 much — though sometimes conscionable $50 — than Viture’s Beast.Â
Unfortunately, the Xreal 1S’s biggest weakness is reflections. Bright rooms marque their OLEDs grounds crushed blacks, looking much similar LCDs successful these scenarios. They tin nutrient a bully representation successful low-light scenarios, though contented appears blurrier done them than with the different glasses.
The large acceptable and decorativeness of Xreal’s glasses
Xreal is peerless erstwhile it comes to physique quality, and its $449 1S feels conscionable arsenic high-end arsenic its pricier One Pro. Both pairs person snappy metallic hinge mechanisms that forestall their temple arms from opening unintentionally (the ones connected Viture’s Beast rapidly plaything unfastened and consciousness cheap). Moreover, Xreal’s glasses look much similar existent sunglasses than the Beast glasses bash (Viture can’t defy going with a somewhat gamer-y look that you’ll emotion oregon hate, though the Beast glasses look overmuch much blase than its Luma series). Yes, these traits are indistinguishable erstwhile they’re connected my face, but they’re worthy considering fixed their precocious cost.
The idiosyncratic acquisition is much polished crossed the committee with Xreal’s glasses. My Steam Deck and telephone are a fewer seconds faster to link to the Xreal 1S and One Pro, and arsenic mentioned before, the learning curve is lower. Xreal besides presently has the amended 3DoF implementation simply due to the fact that the surface stays enactment erstwhile it’s anchored. With the Viture Beast glasses, the “anchored” surface moves, dilatory sliding retired of view. That’s a deal-breaker. Â
Xreal’s Real3D feature, which is amended than I expected (in tiny amounts)
Xreal glasses that person the X1 spot (ones that launched successful the past 2 oregon truthful years) present person the Real 3D feature. The mode tin crook 2D contented into 3D, and there’s a multi-step bundle slider to summation its effect. I bask utilizing its mildest conversion mounting much than I expected to.
The 3D effect is not arsenic pronounced arsenic the Nintendo 3DS’s 3D effect, but the subtle improvements are casual to notice. It works particularly good successful games that don’t necessitate a ton of accelerated movement.
Viture’s Switch 2 compatibility
Unfortunately, nary AR glasses tin link with a azygous USB-C cablegram to the Switch 2 (blame Nintendo). You request a compatible dock, 1 of which doesn’t beryllium conscionable for Xreal glasses owners. The institution canceled its Neo charging dock it announced astatine CES 2026 owed to reliability concerns (the portion it sent maine for investigating inactive works large with my console). So, folks with Xreal glasses and a Switch 2 volition request a antithetic accessory to play.Â
It’s easier if you person Viture’s glasses, but not precisely affordable. Viture makes a $130 Pro Mobile Dock that works perfectly with the Switch 2 for the Beast. This dock doubles arsenic a 13,000mAh artillery truthful you tin complaint up portion you game. If the Switch 2 isn’t your thing, the dock features a afloat HDMI port, letting you presumption a console’s video provender wrong your glasses. Video passthrough works for Xreal glasses, too, but audio didn’t enactment good capable for maine to urge it.Â
Xreal 1S
Score: 7
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Where to Buy:
Xreal One Pro
Score: 8
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Where to Buy:
Viture Beast
Score: 6
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Where to Buy:
Photography by Cameron Faulkner / The Verge
English (US) ·