XREAL 1S Evaluation: 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}. Slightly than working as a standalone headset, it connects to telephones, PCs, consoles, and handheld gaming gadgets to reflect or prolong a show immediately in entrance of your eyes.

In XREAL’s lineup, the 1S sits under 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 for video leisure and gaming.

Briefly, 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 the sort of know-how 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. Because of adjustable nostril pads and balanced arms, strain on the nostril stays gentle, and I discovered the glasses snug for prolonged periods starting from 45 minutes to a number of hours.

In my case, there have been no apparent strain 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 gentle (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 could be very related. Any design or weight modifications are sufficiently subtle that they don’t seem to be apparent in every day use. Should you had been snug sporting 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 periods.

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 it is very important perceive what this know-how is attempting to realize. The XREAL 1S creates the notion of an enormous show utilizing {hardware} that matches in your pocket. That’s a formidable feat, however it’s not the identical as an actual, bodily massive display 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 the majority customers will instantly understand when upgrading from older fashions. From a subjective standpoint, the expertise feels much like watching a superb, massive, 1080p tv.

When transferring your head shortly backward and forward, 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 observe, that is hardly ever a difficulty, as typical use doesn’t contain fast head actions.

The show favors immersion over absolute readability. For motion pictures and video content material, this works extraordinarily effectively. On a aircraft, the expertise is far superior to any built-in seatback display, together with these in enterprise class. The open-ear audio system, nonetheless, usually are 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 setting at a five-meter digital distance and deliberately go away some darkish house across the picture. Filling your entire subject of view might sound interesting, however backing off barely offers a greater steadiness between readability and immersion.

For textual content and productiveness, limitations turn out to be extra obvious. At 1920×1200 with 100% scaling in Home windows, textual content is simply legible however tiring to learn for lengthy durations. Growing scaling to 125 or 150 % improves consolation, making mild studying doable for one to 2 hours, however I might not use the XREAL 1S for demanding duties like coding. That sort of work would require a sturdy digital multi-monitor setup, and XREAL not seems to be pursuing that route on desktop platforms. For journey work, I nonetheless depend on a conveyable monitor as a substitute.

Hubert identified that he has presbyopia, which impacts near-field imaginative and prescient, however as a result of the focus of the show is about 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 normal 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 aircraft, I normally darken the lenses as a lot as doable. 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 had been supported.

Producer-Pitched Use Circumstances

XREAL positions the 1S as a way of life machine, emphasizing watching TV, enjoying video games, and having fun with content material on the go. This framing is suitable. The thought of getting a big digital display 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’re prepared to hold the glasses. I don’t use the unique carrying case, which is pretty massive, and as a substitute depend on a normal glasses case for comfort.

Actual-World Use: What Truly Works

In observe, video consumption, gaming and journey are the place the XREAL 1S feels most pure. Watching motion pictures or exhibits, whether or not at residence or on the highway, 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 frequently used the glasses for periods lasting round two hours. There’s some eye pressure merely from sporting a show in your face, which is inherently much less pure than a distant display, 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 could be a wonderful various to a conveyable monitor. Some video games profit significantly from immersion, particularly these targeted on exploration or cinematic presentation. Others, similar 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 sweet for informal use. At residence, dialogue is evident, and I by no means felt the necessity to use headphones. The open-ear design is a part of the enchantment, permitting you to remain conscious of your environment. For concert events or music-focused content material, devoted headphones nonetheless ship higher immersion, however the possibility is at all times there.

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

General, XREAL is setting expectations accurately by pitching the 1S as an leisure and life-style machine, not an expert productiveness software.

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 have to discover ways to navigate the onboard menu, much like organising a brand new TV.

Adapters are typically 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 couple of.5 watts throughout video playback.

This does drain the telephone sooner however not a blocker for significant use. It’s nonetheless doable to look at a number of hours of content material. For prolonged periods, 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 possibly can additionally buy the XREAL Neo, a ten,000 mAh. It capabilities as a DisplayPort pass-through hub whereas delivering as much as 20 W on battery, which is sufficient to keep 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 really plug and play. Firmware updates are straightforward to use by way of a pc, and previous XREAL merchandise have obtained a number of updates post-launch, together with main characteristic enhancements.

XREAL 1S vs XREAL One

The visible high quality enchancment is noticeable, however not transformative. It isn’t sufficient to justify an improve should you already personal final 12 months’s mannequin, particularly in case you are glad with it.

There are numerous small refinements, together with interface enhancements, however the general expertise and market positioning stay largely unchanged. One ongoing frustration is audio mode dealing with with my Fireplace TV. Routinely 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 alternative for leisure, particularly throughout journey.

Should you already personal the earlier era, there may be little motive to improve. The enhancements are actual however incremental.

In case you are on the lookout for a piece monitor alternative, or anticipate a full AR or VR expertise with spatial interplay, this isn’t the best product.

Conclusion and XREAL 1S value

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 residence use, delivering a convincing large-screen expertise in a particularly compact type issue. It isn’t designed for productiveness, and it shouldn’t be judged as a standard AR or VR headset. Should you perceive its function and limitations, the XREAL 1S delivers precisely what it guarantees.

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