Demand for smart glasses has been growing constantly throughout the last year. Every major market leader is getting involved, from Snap, to Meta – potentially even Samsung and Apple. But few innovations have really changed the game – that’s where the XReal One Series steps in.
While Meta’s Orion glasses might promise a revolutionary AR experience – they’re nowhere close to being consumer-ready. XReal’s One glasses, announced at the end of 2024, could give the XR company a chance to beat Meta to the punch.
Sure, these glasses aren’t truly wireless – they still need to be tethered to a device, but they feature a proprietary new built-in chip for innovative spatial computing experiences, and offer a massive upgrade to the displays in the previous XReal Air 2 specs. Plus, they tackle a major problem I think virtually all smart glasses have – poor audio.
All that, and you get a spatial computing solution that’s a fraction of the price of the Apple Vision Pro. I got a chance to test these new glasses for myself – so I’m giving you this exclusive, behind-the-scenes look at why I think they’re real game-changers.
The XReal One Series: Overview and Specs
XReal is already one of my favorite AR glasses vendors. The company always seems to do a great job at creating comfortable, user-friendly, even moderately stylish specs. The XReal One Series, builds on all of the company’s previous AR experience, and takes it to the next level.
While these glasses might look similar to the Air 2s, they feature a host of new capabilities, starting with a built-in X1 chip that powers “independent spatial computing”. Notably, that doesn’t mean you can use the glasses as a standalone device. However, the chip does optimize the performance of the display (more on that in a moment), and makes it easy to connect your glasses to any device.
The One Series also includes an optical modular AI camera (a first for the AR glasses industry) and a phenomenal set of Bose speakers for actually good audio (for once). The series currently features two versions of the “One” glasses, so here’s an overview of the specs for each.
Glasses XReal One XReal One Pro
Chipset XReal X1 XReal X1
Optics Optic Engine 3.0 Optic Engine 4.0
Display 0.68” Micro OLED 0.55” Micro OLED
FOV 50 degrees 57 degrees
Refresh rate 120Hz 120Hz
Spatial computing 3DoF 3DoF
Weight 84g 87g
The XReal One Series: The X1 Chip
Ultimately, the number one “update” that makes the One Series of glasses stand out is their brand-new integrated X1 chip. Before now, XReal’s smart glasses didn’t feature a built-in chip. They basically just gave you an opportunity to “cast” your screen from a device to a set of glasses.
Although you could use the XReal Beam Pro to access spatial screens, that meant investing in yet another accessory to connect to your device. The XReal One Series uses its X1 chip to place spatial computing abilities into the glasses.
This acts as a kind of “co-processor,” handling all of the computing needs in the glasses rather than relying on your smartphone or an external device. The custom chip is the result of about three years of R&D from XReal, and it’s one of the first silicon chips specifically designed for AR glasses.
Notably, despite the new chip, you’ll still need to connect your glasses to an external device, like a Steam deck, smartphone, PC, or MacBook. However, the chip will constantly optimize the device’s display for immersive apps, websites, and games.
This chip also enables another crucial feature: an upgraded 3DoF experience.
3DoF and Anchoring with the XReal One Glasses
The issue a lot of people have with virtual screens – even those created by high-end devices like the Apple Vision Pro, is a lack of stability. If you’re moving around, or even sitting in a car, your screen can move randomly around, usually leading to motion sickness.
The X1 chip in the XReal One Series glasses eliminates this problem. The chip constantly stabilizes and “anchors” the screen to your vision. Plus, it gives you a 3DoF experience that’s completely edge-to-edge, with virtually no latency whatsoever.
According to XReal, the M2P latency is only around 3ms at 120Hz. To put that into perspective, the XReal Air 2 glasses have a latency of around 20ms. Even the Vision Pro has a latency of around 12ms. This basically means that you’re going to end up with more of a comfortable and consistent experience. Whether you’re watching a video or working on a virtual document, you can do so with almost no lag or jitteriness at all.
However, it’s worth noting that these glasses still don’t support 6DoF- so you can’t move around freely and keep content positioned in specific spaces around you. Still, the overall 3DoF experience is a lot better than what you’d get from most alternative devices.
The Display Quality: Another Upgrade
Unsurprisingly, XReal has also upgraded the display for both the One and One Pro specs. The resolution is still the same as the Air 2s (1080p per eye). However, you get a 50 degree field of view on the standard specs, and 57-degree field of view on the Pro glasses.
Both versions have an incredible 120Hz refresh rate, and a peak brightness of around 600-700 nits – which means clarity is absolutely excellent. You can easily connect your specs to any device with a USB cable, and immediately see a crisp, virtual display, positioned perfectly in front of your eyes.
One of the things I like most about these glasses is how customizable the “virtual screen” is. Just by tapping on a couple of buttons, you can adjust screen distance and size, turn brightness up and down, adapt the color temperature, and so much more.
I also like that these glasses come with an electrochromic dimming function. That means instead of having to add a set of lenses to your glasses to darken them for outdoor use, your specs will adjust to the brightness around you automatically.
XReal One Series: Design and Comfort
At a glance, the latest XReal Specs don’t look very different to the models we’ve seen in the past. They’re still surprisingly sleek, which is impressive considering the additional tech that’s been built-into the frames. They’re also customizable. There’s an interchangeable front frame that allows you to change up your look with new colors and frames – which is a fun touch.
Although these glasses are still bulkier than a standard set of spectacles, they’re relatively lightweight. Depending on the version you choose, they weigh between 84 and 87 grams, which is light enough that I doubt I’d notice any strain even when wearing them all day.
They feel really balanced when they’re on your face, and they’re easy to forget about over time – particularly if you’re already used to wearing glasses. XReal has also upgraded its IPD options. Although you can’t “adjust” the IPD, you can order the glasses in a variety of ranges best on your visual needs – if you opt for the Pro specs.
There are also three levels of temple adjustments for a slightly more granular fit – and you can combine your glasses with prescription inserts if necessary. One other thing that really affects the comfort factor for these glasses, is the lenses they use.
The flat-prism lens design (Rather than a standard triangular birdbath design), makes these glasses feel more subtle and natural for your eyes. Obviously, the company has done something right – as they’ve managed to pick up a 5-star Eye Comfort rating from TUV Rheinland.
The Sound Quality and Modular Camera
When I review AR specs, I generally expect “limited” sound quality. It’s hard to fit a really great set of speakers into such a small device, after all. XReal absolutely surpassed my expectations with the XReal One Series. Both versions of the glasses have Bose speakers integrated into the arms.
Bose has fine-tuned the audio performance to ensure exceptional clarity, and give you more volume control – so you don’t have to strain to hear whatever you’re listening to. It’s a truly brilliant experience and one of the top things that made me add these glasses to my wish list.
Another stand-out feature (beyond the audio) is the modular RGB camera (the XReal Eye). Unlike other cameras on smart glasses, you don’t need to keep this attached to your specs at all times. You can remove it whenever you want a more “subtle” appearance.
The camera can capture 12MP photos and videos of up to 1080p at 60FPS. Plus, XReal says it’s going to upgrade this feature with new multimodal AI features going forward. That means it will be able to recognize images and respond to voice controls in combination with an AI assistant on your host device (such as your smartphone).
In addition, you can pair the camera with your XReal Beam Pro mobile device and create first-person view photos and videos with an augmented reality holographic display.
XReal One Series: Availability and Pricing
With all of this amazing functionality to offer, I really expected the XReal One Series to be a lot more expensive. Just look at how Meta is struggling to create its Orion specs for less than $10,000 per unit – for instance. However, XReal’s glasses are surprisingly affordable.
They’re not the cheapest glasses around, but the standard version is available to pre-order for $499, while the Pro version will cost you around $599. XReal has also said bundles will be available for those who want to buy the glasses and the Beam Pro together. Since other spatial computing devices like the Apple Vision Pro cost over $3,000, this pricing is excellent value for money.
Sure, you won’t get all of the XR bells and whistles that other full mixed reality headsets can offer. However, you will get arguably, one of the best AR experiences available today, for a price that’s even cheaper than buying a high-end smartphone.
Although you can pre-order these glasses now from the XReal website or the company’s Amazon store, they won’t start shipping until 2025. Still, XReal has said that they’re shipping the glasses globally, to countries like the US, UK, China, Italy, France, Germany, and Japan.
The XReal One Series: My First Impressions
Obviously, since the XReal One Series glasses aren’t “fully available” yet, I only had a limited opportunity to really put them to the test. However, I’m already incredibly impressed. The XReal Air 2 glasses were already fantastic, but these glasses are on a whole different level.
The visuals are excellent, the sound quality is second to none, and the built-in chip really does transform the spatial computing experience (and minimize motion sickness). Plus, you get exceptional comfort, great customization options, and great ease of use – all for a reasonably low cost.
Even the camera is fantastic – and XReal hasn’t added the new multimodal AI features that will take this accessory up a notch yet either. Ultimately, if you’re looking for a truly transformative pair of AR glasses in 2025, and you don’t want to wait around for Meta to (possibly) release the Orion specs, XReal’s One Series is a great choice.
I don’t even mind the fact that you need to keep these glasses tethered to an external device (that would usually be a markdown point for me). The overall experience more than makes up for having to deal with a cable dangling behind your ear.
