XREAL 1S Overview: Specs, Weight, Value, 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 gadgets 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’s not positioned as a full spatial-computing or “true AR” machine with onboard processing. As an alternative, it focuses on doing one factor nicely: performing as a conveyable, immersive digital display for video leisure and gaming.

Briefly, the XREAL 1S is greatest 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 this kind of 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 nicely. Due to adjustable nostril pads and balanced arms, stress on the nostril stays gentle, and I discovered the glasses comfy for prolonged periods 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 may be some warmth buildup close to the highest of the body, however 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 may be very comparable. Any design or weight adjustments are adequately subtle that they aren’t apparent in every day use. In case you have been comfy carrying earlier XREAL glasses (of comparable weight), the 1S will really feel instantly acquainted. Consolation right here 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

Good 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 formidable feat, however it’s not the identical as taking a look at an actual, bodily giant display along with your naked eyes.

With that context in thoughts, the XREAL 1S delivers a noticeable enchancment in visible high quality over the earlier era, because of 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 just like watching a great, giant, 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 fastened in digital house. In observe, that is not often 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 nicely. On a airplane, the expertise is far superior to any built-in seatback display, together with these in enterprise class. The open-ear audio system, nevertheless, 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 the complete discipline of view could sound interesting, however backing off barely offers a greater steadiness between readability and immersion.

For textual content and productiveness, limitations change into 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 p.c 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 type of work would require a sturdy digital multi-monitor setup, and XREAL now not seems to be pursuing that course 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 point of interest of the show is about at about 5 meters, he doesn’t want corrective glasses to observe motion pictures comfortably.

I didn’t discover significant picture distortion or colour points across the edges, even when mendacity on my facet and barely misaligning the glasses. This means 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 methods, readability is greatest 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 ample even open air on a sunny day with the lenses set to their most clear mode. Indoors or on a airplane, 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 desire Comply with mode. Anchor mode can 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 thought of getting a big digital display wherever, 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 keen to hold the glasses. I don’t use the unique carrying case, which is pretty giant, 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 reveals, whether or not at house or on the street, is the machine’s strongest use case. It’s not designed to switch a piece monitor, and it shouldn’t be evaluated as such.

I frequently used the glasses for periods lasting round two hours. There may be 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, 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 significantly from immersion, particularly these centered on exploration or cinematic presentation. Others, reminiscent of 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 concert events or music-focused content material, devoted headphones nonetheless ship higher immersion, however the choice is at all times 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 mirroring to work correctly. In each instances, immersion was wonderful. Gameplay felt clean at 60 Hz, and whereas I didn’t persistently hit 120 Hz in my assessments, there have been no apparent latency points that may 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 moveable gaming PC. Setup is mostly easy. The glasses behave like an exterior monitor, and most customers will solely have to discover ways to navigate the onboard menu, just like organising 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 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 observe 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 accent.

XREAL considered this, and you may 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 preserve or slowly recharge a telephone, handheld console, or PC throughout use.

No app or software program is required for fundamental operation, which makes the expertise really plug and play. Firmware updates are straightforward to use through a pc, and previous XREAL merchandise have acquired 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’s not sufficient to justify an improve when you already personal final yr’s mannequin, particularly in case you are 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. Mechanically 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 greatest suited to video fans and players who worth immersion and portability. It really works nicely as a digital TV or show alternative for leisure, particularly throughout journey.

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

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

Conclusion and XREAL 1S value

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

Filed in Computer systems >Gaming >House. Learn extra about CES, CES 2026, Shows and Televisions.