After years of hands-on with various AR glasses that never quite fit right, I've finally found a pair that could work for everyday use. XREAL's new One Series AR glasses, which I recently tested, solve two key pain points: they’re more comfortable than any other glasses I've tried, and they don't make me look like a complete geek while wearing them.
The first thing I noticed when picking up the XREAL One was their surprisingly light weight – just 84 grams. While that number might not mean much on paper, in practice, it means you can wear these glasses comfortably for extended periods.
And the ability to customize the fit is better than I’ve seen in other consumer AR glasses. For a snug fit, the temples adjust independently with multiple steps, and there are three sizes of adjustable nose pads.
XREAL will offer a variety of frames, so you can find one that matches your style. From the front, most of the glasses look like regular sunglasses. There are, of course, are a few telltale giveaways: the cord running from the temple of the glasses to your phone (or other device) and the way they project slightly away from your face to accommodate the built-in micro displays.
While AR interfaces can often be confusing, XREAL has simplified control through buttons on the glasses themselves. After a brief learning curve with the menu system, I found it intuitive to adjust display settings like size and depth. This on-device control eliminates the need to constantly reach for your phone – a small but welcome improvement.
During my hands-on session, I tested the glasses with both an iPhone and a Steam Deck. The USB-C connectivity performed as expected – plug and play, with no complex setup required.
The glasses use two 0.68-inch OLED panels to produce a bright, ultra-wide Full HD display of up to 147 inches with a 50 degree field of view, which is wider than most consumer AR glasses. Brightness levels reach 600 nits, translating to a perceived peak brightness of 5,000 nits when viewing the display.
If you're a gamer or want to use the glasses to view multiple displays, you'll appreciate the low input lag. XREAL credits this performance to their new X1 chip, which the company claims delivers motion-to-photon latency of just 3ms at 120Hz.
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The speakers built into the temples of the XREAL One were designed with the help of Bose engineers, and the collaboration shows. The Bose Frames are the best open-ear glasses I’ve tried, and the sound quality with the XREAL One is comparable. It’s certainly not audiophile quality and lacks bass, but you will feel enveloped in sound while watching movies. Note that others nearby will hear your audio, so you'll want to wear earbuds if you're watching on a plane.
The XREAL One is available for pre-order now for $499, with shipping starting in mid-December. A Pro model, priced at $599, will follow in early 2025. While not inexpensive, the pricing feels reasonable given the technology and build quality.
[Image credit: Suzanne Kantra/Techlicious]
Suzanne Kantra founded Techlicious 15+ years ago and has been covering consumer technology for more than 20 years. She was the Technology Editor for Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia, where she hosted the radio show “Living with Technology," and served as Senior Technology Editor for Popular Science Magazine. She has been featured on CNN, CBS, and NBC.
