XREAL 1S Overview: Specs, Weight, Worth, and How It Compares to the XREAL One

The XREAL 1S is XREAL’s newest pair of AR glasses, designed to ship a plug-in spatial show expertise by way of light-weight, sunglasses-style {hardware}. Reasonably than working as a standalone headset, it connects to telephones, PCs, consoles, and handheld gaming units to reflect or prolong a show instantly in entrance of your eyes.

In XREAL’s lineup, the 1S sits beneath the flagship One and One Professional fashions, alongside the Air 2 collection, and above accessory-only merchandise just like the Beam Professional hub. It isn’t positioned as a full spatial-computing or “true AR” machine with onboard processing. As a substitute, it focuses on doing one factor effectively: appearing as a conveyable, immersive digital display screen for video leisure and gaming.

In brief, the XREAL 1S is finest understood as a digital show you put on, not a headset that meaningfully augments the bodily world round you.

Ubergizmo co-founder Hubert Nguyen makes use of the XREAL One every day and has contributed to this text by sharing his expertise of that machine. We each have been uncovered to one of these expertise for the previous 20 years.

XREAL 1S weight and luxury

At 84 grams, the XREAL 1S is clearly heavier than common eyeglasses, however weight distribution is dealt with effectively. Due to adjustable nostril pads and balanced arms, stress on the nostril stays delicate, and I discovered the glasses comfy for prolonged classes starting from 45 minutes to a number of hours.

In my case, there have been no apparent stress factors, and luxury was adequate that I even fell asleep with the glasses on a number of occasions. There’s some warmth buildup close to the highest of the body, nevertheless it stays delicate (96F) and doesn’t contact the pores and skin, so it by no means turns into uncomfortable throughout use.

In comparison with the earlier era, the general bodily expertise may be very related. Any design or weight adjustments are sufficiently subtle that they don’t seem to be apparent in every day use. When you have been comfy carrying earlier XREAL glasses (of comparable weight), the 1S will really feel instantly acquainted. Consolation right here just isn’t a differentiator, however it’s stable and dependable, which issues for a tool meant to be worn for lengthy video or gaming classes.

XREAL 1S specs and key options

Show and Visible Expertise

Sensible glasses have been evolving for many years, and the progress has been spectacular, however you will need to perceive what this expertise is attempting to attain. The XREAL 1S creates the notion of an enormous show utilizing {hardware} that matches in your pocket. That’s a powerful feat, however it’s not the identical as taking a look at an actual, bodily giant display screen together with your naked eyes.

With that context in thoughts, the XREAL 1S delivers a noticeable enchancment in visible high quality over the earlier era, due to its 1200p decision. The decision enhance interprets right into a sharper picture that almost all customers will instantly understand when upgrading from older fashions. From a subjective standpoint, the expertise feels just like watching a superb, giant, 1080p tv.

When shifting your head rapidly back and forth, the picture can blur barely whereas in movement. This seems to be a byproduct of the system compensating between “Comply with” mode, the place the picture stays centered in your view, and “Anchor” mode, the place the picture is mounted in digital house. In follow, that is hardly ever a problem, as typical use doesn’t contain speedy head actions.

The show favors immersion over absolute readability. For motion pictures and video content material, this works extraordinarily effectively. On a airplane, the expertise is far superior to any built-in seatback display screen, together with these in enterprise class. The open-ear audio system, nevertheless, should not highly effective sufficient in noisy environments like flights, so pairing the glasses with Bluetooth earbuds or headphones is beneficial.

I sometimes use the 173-inch display screen setting at a five-meter digital distance and deliberately go away some darkish house across the picture. Filling the whole area of view could sound interesting, however backing off barely offers a greater stability between readability and immersion.

For textual content and productiveness, limitations turn into extra obvious. At 1920×1200 with one hundred pc scaling in Home windows, textual content is simply legible however tiring to learn for lengthy durations. Rising scaling to 125 or 150 % improves consolation, making mild studying potential for one to 2 hours, however I’d not use the XREAL 1S for demanding duties like coding. That type of work would require a strong digital multi-monitor setup, and XREAL not seems to be pursuing that course on desktop platforms. For journey work, I nonetheless depend on a conveyable monitor as an alternative.

Hubert identified that he has presbyopia, which impacts near-field imaginative and prescient, however as a result of the focus of the show is ready at about 5 meters, he doesn’t want corrective glasses to look at motion pictures comfortably.

I didn’t discover significant picture distortion or coloration points across the edges, even when mendacity on my facet and barely misaligning the glasses. This implies comparatively low sensitivity to IPD (interpupillary distance) for traditional 2D content material, although particular person face shapes will naturally have an effect on outcomes. Like most optical techniques, readability is finest on the middle of the picture, and I did discover slight softness within the lower-right nook when studying textual content. This doesn’t matter for video.

Brightness is enough even open air on a sunny day with the lenses set to their most clear mode. Indoors or on a airplane, I often darken the lenses as a lot as potential. I’m not satisfied excessive brightness ranges are mandatory right here, as consolation issues greater than uncooked luminance.

In each “Comply with” and “Anchor” modes, head motion feels pure, and I skilled no movement illness or discomfort. For video, I favor Comply with mode. Anchor mode could be extra compelling if digital multi-monitor setups have been supported.

Producer-Pitched Use Circumstances

XREAL positions the 1S as a life-style machine, emphasizing watching TV, taking part in video games, and having fun with content material on the go. This framing is suitable. The concept of getting a big digital display screen anyplace, particularly when you don’t personal a big tv or are touring, is compelling.

Journey is a use case I like to recommend along with the above, offered you might be keen to hold the glasses. I don’t use the unique carrying case, which is pretty giant, and as an alternative depend on a normal glasses case for comfort.

Actual-World Use: What Truly Works

In follow, video consumption, gaming and journey are the place the XREAL 1S feels most pure. Watching motion pictures or exhibits, whether or not at house or on the street, is the machine’s strongest use case. It isn’t designed to interchange a piece monitor, and it shouldn’t be evaluated as such.

I commonly used the glasses for classes lasting round two hours. There’s some eye pressure merely from carrying a show in your face, which is inherently much less pure than taking a look at a distant display screen, however I discovered it manageable and never a barrier to every day use for leisure.

Gaming is extra nuanced. Relying on the style, the XREAL 1S may be a wonderful different to a conveyable monitor. Some video games profit enormously from immersion, particularly these centered on exploration or cinematic presentation. Others, comparable to real-time technique video games, really feel higher on a standard monitor the place precision and peripheral consciousness matter extra.

Audio high quality is nice for informal use. At house, dialogue is obvious, and I by no means felt the necessity to use headphones. The open-ear design is a part of the attraction, permitting you to remain conscious of your environment. For live shows or music-focused content material, devoted headphones nonetheless ship higher immersion, however the choice is all the time there.

Gaming assessments included smartphone use and a Lenovo Legion Go handheld gaming PC. On the Legion Go, video games should be run in non-exclusive mode for display screen mirroring to work correctly. In each circumstances, immersion was glorious. Gameplay felt easy at 60 Hz, and whereas I didn’t constantly hit 120 Hz in my assessments, there have been no apparent latency points that will detract from informal gaming.

Total, XREAL is setting expectations accurately by pitching the 1S as an leisure and life-style machine, not knowledgeable productiveness device.

Compatibility, Setup, and Ecosystem

Our XREAL 1S was examined with Android smartphones, an iPad mini 6, an Amazon Fireplace TV Stick, and the Lenovo Legion Go transportable gaming PC. Setup is mostly simple. The glasses behave like an exterior monitor, and most customers will solely must discover ways to navigate the onboard menu, just like establishing a brand new TV.

Adapters are generally required. Utilizing the Fireplace TV Stick required an HDMI-to-USB-C adapter that generated noticeable warmth. Energy draw from a smartphone measured between 2.2 and a pair of.5 watts throughout video playback.

This does drain the telephone sooner however not a blocker for significant use. It’s nonetheless potential to look at a number of hours of content material. For prolonged classes, I recharge my telephone each three to 4 hours or use USB-C splitters that enable charging and show output concurrently, like this XREAL accessory.

XREAL considered this, and you might additionally buy the XREAL Neo, a ten,000 mAh. It features as a DisplayPort pass-through hub whereas delivering as much as 20 W on battery, which is sufficient to preserve or slowly recharge a telephone, handheld console, or PC throughout use.

No app or software program is required for primary operation, which makes the expertise actually plug and play. Firmware updates are simple to use through a pc, and previous XREAL merchandise have obtained a number of updates post-launch, together with main function enhancements.

XREAL 1S vs XREAL One

The visible high quality enchancment is noticeable, however not transformative. It isn’t sufficient to justify an improve for those who already personal final 12 months’s mannequin, particularly if you’re glad with it.

There are a lot of small refinements, together with interface enhancements, however the total expertise and market positioning stay largely unchanged. One ongoing frustration is audio mode dealing with with my Fireplace TV. Robotically switching and remembering audio settings would considerably enhance usability for that use case..

Who Ought to Purchase It, and Who Ought to Not

The XREAL 1S is finest fitted to video fanatics and players who worth immersion and portability. It really works effectively as a digital TV or show substitute for leisure, particularly throughout journey.

When you already personal the earlier era, there’s little motive to improve. The enhancements are actual however incremental.

If you’re in search of a piece monitor substitute, or count on a full AR or VR expertise with spatial interplay, this isn’t the appropriate product.

Conclusion and XREAL 1S worth

The XREAL 1S, priced at $449 at publication time, is a wonderful transportable digital show for video leisure and gaming. It shines throughout journey and informal house use, delivering a convincing large-screen expertise in an especially compact kind issue. It isn’t designed for productiveness, and it shouldn’t be judged as a standard AR or VR headset. When you perceive its position and limitations, the XREAL 1S delivers precisely what it guarantees.

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