Sept 7, 2025

I have seen the future through AR glasses

My experience with the XReal One Pros

I like to try new technology. 75% of what I buy is something I use once or twice then sell or give away (or keep in a drawer and forget about. Sorry, remarkable). But sometimes, on rare occasions, there's a product that is A) fucking awesome and B) I can't help but evangelize.

One of my more recent purchases was the XReal One Pros, and wow: I have seen the future, and it's through AR glasses.

If you're unfamiliar, the XReal One Pros are really just a display and (surprisingly good) speakers. They are augmented reality (AR) glasses, meaning they aren't like virtual reality headsets such as the Vision Pro or Meta Quest: they don't replace fully your view, they put an overlay on it

I really think it's easier to show than tell in this case:

To get something out of the way: do I think XReal in particular will be the product that comes out on top? Not at all. I like their product, and I respect any newcomers to the hardware game, but it's an uphill battle for sure.

The Good

  • They are light. Because they're really just shells and they're powered by your devices, there's no need for a heavy battery
  • You can just look forward. No need to be staring at a small phone screen when you're on a flight.
  • The "Widescreen" mode is epic. Generally, you have one window in front of you, taking up your FOV. With widescreen mode its like having an IMAX display curved 120 degrees around.
  • Gaming on them is awesome.

The Bad

  • The 1080p screen is definitely usable, but Retina screens on Macs spoiled me.
  • I've heard Apple Vision Pro's have similar issues, but on airplanes the "Anchor" mode (that keeps the image fixed in a single spot in space, so you can look around and come back to it) gets just a little confused. If the plane turns, you'll find your head at 90 degrees trying to follow it.
  • They can get a little warm. Nothing too uncomfortable, but it's noticeable.
  • They're definitely ugly. I don't mind wearing them on planes, but they aren't something you'd wear walking around outside just yet

Is AR the future?

My experience with them has convinced me AR experiences can be the future. If the XReal's had a good Siri, smaller frames, and some kind of wireless connection to my device, I could see myself using my phone ~10% of the time that I do now. And I would enjoy wearing them! It's not so different from how we use phones today, but at least we could be staring straight ahead rather than down at our hands.

P.S. Jony Ive and Sama - I hope you're building this.

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