NBC 60Matthew Miller/ZDNET Xreal 1 Pro Plus 4.5 / 5 Very good Pros & Cons Brightness increased to 1,200 nits. Improved on-device 3D is fantastic. Viewing mode switch is convenient.
Xreal Eye gestures have significantly improved. $50 less than the first generation, but still expensive. Prescriptions require lens inserts. Xreal just launched a new pair of XR glasses, the Xreal 1 Pro Plus , and after spending a week commuting with them, they’ve become my new daily driver.
This new pair improves upon the One Pro in a few key areas, closing the gap between Xreal and the Viture Beast XR glasses, another pair I use frequently. Also: The best AR and MR glasses: Expert tested These improvements include an increase in brightness from 700 to 1,200 nits, improved 3D conversion of 2D content on the fly from 30 fps to 60 fps, new geometry nose pads to improve fit, AI HDR mode, and the ability to quickly switch between three new picture modes. More from ZDNET The onboard X1 chip sets the bar When Xreal first launched the X1 spatial computing chip in its glasses, it changed the game with a flawless on-board menu system and heavy lifting performed on the glasses rather than through software on your connected phone or computer.
The great thing about Xreal having this chip in its glasses is that it can continue to upgrade the chip, and it did so with a few elements in the new 1 Pro Plus glasses. Matthew Miller/ZDNET The 2D-to-3D conversion on the glasses is awesome, and last weekend I enjoyed a couple of days of Formula 1 action from Singapore in 3D while sitting on the couch and peeking under the glasses to watch college and professional football games. The 3D conversion process has been upgraded from 30 fps to 60 fps, so the visuals are better, and I’ve been choosing to watch nearly all of my video content in 3D mode.
While I can use other apps in 3D from my Pixel 11 Pro Fold, I find 3D best for videos and photos. Nearly twice as bright The Xreal One Pro launched with a maximum brightness of 700 nits, and then Viture’s Beast glasses one-upped them by pushing the industry forward with 1,250 nits of perceived brightness. The Viture Beast is clearly more vibrant when working in an office or well-lit environment, and as soon as you put them on, you can see the difference.
For the new 1 Pro Plus glasses, Xreal significantly increased the brightness to 1,200 nits, which is certainly bright, but still doesn’t quite compare to the Viture Beast, which provides the brightest experience for XR glasses in my testing. Matthew Miller/ZDNET My commute is about 45 minutes each way on train cars with plenty of windows and bright lights, so it’s nice to have XR glasses with ample brightness. In my daily use, I actually turn down the brightness a couple of levels since the max is a bit too much, even on the upgraded 1 Pro Plus.
Three viewing modes Xreal does a great job with the user interface on the 1 Pro Plus, with buttons isolated to just the right side of the glasses. There is a red primary button at the bottom with a long button behind it for increase and decrease options. A third Quick Button at the top offers customization options for single-press, double-press, and press-and-hold actions.
Matthew Miller/ZDNET One interesting new option on the 1 Pro Plus is Display Mode, which gives you options for Standard, Movie, and Reading. These modes are not specific settings you can select yourself, such as adjusting screen size or viewing distance, but are packaged visual settings created by Xreal that incorporate dedicated image processing. Here’s what each looks like: Standard mode is simply the default display effect.
You can adjust configuration settings in the first two pages of the OSD menu, and if you find a particular setup that you love, simply designate it as one of the three available Preset Scenarios. You can even set these scenarios to launch faster with the Quick Button. Also: I compared the 3 best XR display glasses right now Movie mode optimizes color and light/dark layers, enhancing contrast for a more cinematic viewing experience.
I recommend you launch a movie in standard mode, then switch to Movie mode to see the optimizations yourself and decide whether you like this mode. You can still customize the screen size and distance with Movie mode enabled. When I first opened the Kindle app on my Pixel 11 Pro Fold and enabled Reading mode, it was immediately clear that the text was enlarged and easier to read.
This mode doesn’t simply increase the display size and change the distance; it magnifies and reduces detail lost during image processing. With this mode enabled, screen size and distance options are unavailable. Gesture control with the Xreal Eye I tried out the Xreal Eye — the detachable camera for the One Pro glasses — earlier this year, but didn’t find much use for taking photos and videos with it.
More support for the Eye is integrated into the 1 Pro Plus to enable hand gestures, which can be a far more efficient way to navigate the glasses’ UI. Also: I replaced my office monitors with XR glasses, and the 174-inch screen spoiled me For example, pinching your finger and thumb together simulates a tap on the display or a mouse click. A unique play/pause and scroll gesture is available with your palm facing you and pinching, while the center of this gesture can even be used to launch your voice assistant.
Lastly, there are hand gestures for scrolling, screen calibration, and liking comments. Matthew Miller/ZDNET There is a lot to take in with all the gestures, and it takes a bit of practice to get comfortable using them regularly. Pop-ups do appear in the glasses to help guide you if you get stuck, and there are sure to be further developments with this functionality since this gesture control is ultimately still being developed.
Final thoughts Xreal continues to push the XR industry forward with its flagship products, which are also more affordable than the big competitors . I don’t commute or travel without XR glasses, and I even use them around the house when I want to multitask. The Xreal 1 Pro Plus improves on its predecessor in a couple of ways, while launching at a price $50 less than the One Pro .
If you’re interested in Xreal’s highly anticipated Aura Android XR glasses? That product is not quite ready yet, although it is now available for preorder for $1,279 . Matthew Miller Contributing Writer Matthew Miller started using mobile devices in 1997 and has been writing news, reviews, and opinion pieces ever since.
Matthew started using mobile devices with a US Robotics Pilot 1000 and has owned hundreds of devices running Palm, Linux, Symbian, Newton, BlackBerry, iOS, Android, webOS, Windows Mobile, and Windows Phone operating systems. His current collection includes the latest and greatest foldables, wearables, and more, along with classic devices like the Apple Newton MessagePad 2100 and Sony CLIE UX50. Matthew can be found on various social networks under the user name of "palmsolo." See full bio The Latest from Matthew I wear XR glasses every day on my commute – Why Xreal’s latest pair is my new main driver Suunto Race 3S review: How real-time dynamic pacing improved my trail runs Sick of fragile smartwatches?
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Source: ZDNET
