XREAL One Pro Review: Your Portable IMAX Experience
In the rapidly evolving world of smart glasses, 2025 has been a year of explosive growth. With tech giants like Google and Samsung unveiling prototypes, and Xiaomi entering the fray with its AI smart glasses, the competition is fierce. Amidst this "Battle of the Glasses," XREAL stands out with its latest offering, the XREAL One Pro, focusing on delivering a portable big-screen experience rather than AI-powered photography. Are these AR glasses the answer to a portable IMAX cinema? Let's dive into the details.
Design and Build
The XREAL One Pro is a significant step forward in terms of design. It features the new X-Prism optical engine, making the glasses smaller, thinner, and more comfortable to wear. Compared to the previous XREAL Air 2 series, these glasses look more like a stylish pair of sunglasses. The compact design ensures they are not only lightweight but also easy to carry around, fitting neatly into a pocket.
Technical Specifications
The XREAL One Pro boasts an impressive set of features:
- Optics: X Prism optical scheme with a 57° field of view (FOV), offering a 38% larger display area compared to its predecessor.
- Spatial Chip: Equipped with the X1 spatial chip, enabling advanced spatial computing capabilities.
- Display Modes: Offers two modes—Gimbal Mode and Hover Mode. Gimbal Mode keeps the display centered in your field of view, even when you move your head, with an anti-shake effect. Hover Mode, on the other hand, fixes the display in place, allowing for a more immersive experience.
- Picture Quality: Supports a wide range of screen sizes from 68 to 556 inches and a viewing distance of 2 to 10 meters. The glasses provide a 700-nit brightness level, dual IPD (interpupillary distance) adjustment, and a full 120Hz refresh rate, ensuring a smooth and vivid visual experience.
- Camera and Sensors: The glasses support the XREAL Eye accessory, which adds a 12-megapixel camera and 6DoF (six degrees of freedom) hover capabilities. This feature allows users to take photos, record videos, and interact with virtual content more dynamically.
- Sound System: Features custom Bose speakers integrated into the frame, delivering a surround sound experience without the need for additional headphones.
- Additional Features: Includes three levels of electrochromic dimming to enhance immersion by darkening the environment outside the virtual screen. The auto-transparency mode intelligently adjusts the brightness based on where you look, making it easier to interact with the real world when needed.
User Experience
The XREAL One Pro excels in providing a versatile and immersive experience. Whether you're watching movies, playing games, or working on your computer, the glasses offer a large-screen feel that is both comfortable and engaging. The ability to switch between different display modes and adjust the screen size and aspect ratio (including a 32:9 ultra-wide "ribbon screen") adds to the flexibility and immersion.
The sound quality, thanks to the Bose collaboration, is impressive, providing a complete audio-visual experience without the need for external headphones. The physical buttons on the frame make it easy to switch between modes and adjust settings on the fly.
Practicality and Use Cases
One of the standout features of the XREAL One Pro is its portability. Unlike many AR glasses that require a bulky setup, these glasses are lightweight and can be easily carried anywhere. They are perfect for use at home, on a plane, or even in a coffee shop. The need for an external connection (via a cable) might seem a bit old-fashioned, but it ensures a stable and high-quality connection with minimal latency.
Conclusion
The XREAL One Pro is a compelling option for those looking for a portable and immersive AR experience. While it may not be the futuristic AR glasses we've seen in sci-fi movies, it delivers a practical and enjoyable solution for anyone seeking a large-screen experience on the go. Priced at $649, it offers great value for its features and performance. If you're in the market for AR glasses that prioritize portability and a big-screen experience, the XREAL One Pro is worth considering.
