XREAL 1S

XREAL has been on a roll lately with some solid AR glasses in their lineup. Their XREAL One Pros are the ones that I’ve been using the most lately, but today they’re announcing a new pair in their lineup. Well, it was announced a month or so ago in Japan, but here in the United States, the XREAL 1S is now officially available.

The XREAL 1S is set to be the replacement for the XREAL One. Sporting the same birdbath lenses, the XREAL 1S does have new Sony micro-OLED screens that produce a really great image. Dare I say, the image is better than the XREAL One Pros. But before that, let’s get into some specifics about the pair.

Coming in a dark blue color, the 1S looks pretty close to the One, with pretty much the same dimensions. Like the One, the 1S has flexible hinges on the temples and you can tilt them in three different positions. The ends of the temples are also flexible with the left temple featuring the USB-C port.

On the top and bottom of each temple are speakers tuned by Bose. This has been on the past few XREAL glasses. Sound is pretty good for a set of AR glasses. There is some sound leakage as the speakers fire up and down. Sitting next to some friends, they said they were able to hear what I was watching at levels that I found I was comfortable listening to.

I won’t go through the control scheme too much as it’s the same as the XREAL One Pro. You can read my previous review to get most of the specifics with how the buttons work on the temples. The XREAL 1S has two buttons on the right temple, one on top and one on bottom. There’s also a rocker switch that allows you to adjust volume, brightness, and the darkness of the electrochromic dimming when activated. You can change the action of the top button to suit your needs as well.

So, what sets this apart from the XREAL One? For starters, the XREAL 1S uses Sony micro-OLED panels capable of 1920x1200 resolution and up to 120Hz refresh rate. Not only do you get a little bit better resolution than the previous set, but you also get slightly more field of view. The 1S’s field of view comes in at 52 degrees, 2 degrees more than the 50 in the One. Finally, the peak brightness of the panels increases from around 500 nits to 700 nits with the 1S. So as far as the screen goes, you’re getting a better screen than the One in all aspects.

You can, like with the One Pro, adjust the size and distance of the screen. You can go from a simulated 200” down to 92”. Distance-wise, you can have the simulated image as close as 1m up to 10m. The available sizes of the screen will depend on the distance you set so there’s some variations depending on how close you put the image to your eyes.

Color- and clarity-wise, I really like these micro-OLED displays. The picture isn’t too bright, but the colors are represented well, and I don’t notice any screen door effect with them. Text is still not something that I think is clear to read, thus I don’t recommend these for developers or those who work in word processing a lot. I think we still need a few more notches of increased resolution before I’d replace my traditional monitor setup with a pair of AR glasses when programming in Visual Studio. For movies, videos, and gaming though, the image quality is excellent and the support of up to 120Hz ensures you can get some smooth motion with fast paced games. Do I like the image better than the XREAL One Pro? I think I do. While I do miss the FOV of the One Pro when using the 1S, I think a future small iteration of the One Pro with these displays would make for a nice entry into XREAL’s lineup until we get the Auras.

The XREAL 1S uses the traditional birdbath optics so you are going to get some minor reflections in your view if you wear bright clothing. While these reflections have mostly been solved with the Prism-style lenses in the XREAL One Pro, those optics do have their own drawbacks, which is the slight pin cushion effect at the edges. In the XREAL 1S, I did find the image to be square all the way around and I had clarity from edge to edge in all directions.

Like the previous glasses, the XREAL 1S contains the XREAL X1 chip. This chip really sets their glasses apart from competitors as they allow for a lot more functionality onboard without the need to connect it to a phone or secondary device. Again, you can see my detailed review of what the XREAL X1 chip can do in my review of the XREAL One Pro. But, XREAL has a new trick up their sleeve with the XREAL 1S.

For the XREAL 1S and coming to the XREAL One Pro and One, XREAL has made it so the glasses can turn anything into 3D. They call it Real 3D. Whereas the competition uses software to enable this feature and it’s limited to a few programs, XREAL uses the X1 chip to convert 2D video into 3D allowing people to watch anything in 3D mode. Got some old videos that you watch? Press a button and make it look like it’s in 3D. Playing a game on your Steam Deck or streaming it from a console? XREAL will let you experience the game in 3D. Even if you’re just working on your computer, the X1 chip will make your desktop look 3D. There’s nothing that you can’t convert to 3D with this new feature.

It does so by using AI to convert a 2D frame into a 3D image in real time. It’s actually really damn slick and I found myself watching a ton of stuff in 3D mode. I was surprised at how well it worked in the beta session and just seeing something like a music video or TV show on YouTube in 3D was pretty impressive.

How well does it do with games? For some games, the effect is amazing. When playing an isometric RPG like Shadowrun Returns, the world looked so much more immersive as the 3D effect made it feel like I was looking at a table with miniatures. The buildings, furniture, objects, characters, and decorations were all rendered in the correct distance giving this game a very impressive 3D look. An unconventional game I tried with this tech was Balatro. It didn’t add too much, of course, but it was kind of like seeing the cards “float” in the middle of the screen a bit. With Skyrim, I found the text to be too jagged to really enjoy reading and there were a lot of weird rendering anomalies when trying to get the 3D effect to work. Fallout 4 worked better, but there were still many times the text was distorted. How well the feature works is really game dependent in terms of clarity and accuracy.

When the feature was first introduced, it was limited to 30Hz, but a recent update from XREAL bumped it up to 60Hz. I double checked this by playing a few more lower GPU intensive action games with the performance monitor on my Steam Deck. On the upper left, it would never go past 60FPS with Real 3D mode on. With it off, the FPS counter went above 60 in my XREAL 1S. So, it’s definitely not a mode you’d play in if you want some high frame rate fast action gaming. But for slower-paced games, some old school action games, RPGs, and strategic games, the Real3D feature is just a sight to behold. As a side note, if you do get the XREAL 1S, always make sure you're updated to the latest firmware to get the latest and greatest features and stability fixes.

Is it perfect? No. It’s got a ways to go, but even in its current state it’s still really usable and fun to watch. You’ll get anti-aliasing issues on edges of things that can be distracting. Edges of heads and faces can sometimes shimmer depending on the situation. Watching some sporting events, many times the edge on the lettering also shimmered and distorted. The X1 chip also makes its best guess on how far back or forward things are in view, and certain objects can sometimes be placed in the wrong depth making the image look a little weird. You can adjust the level of 3D depth applied with four different settings. Some work better than others on certain types of content. But for the most part, it does really well, and I was able to watch plenty of shows from start to finish in 3D mode.

Heat does emanate from the top front of the XREAL 1S, but it isn’t too bad. I didn't feel notice any heat near my forehead or top of my eyes when wearing the glasses or even during long sessions of watching content with Real3D on.

The XREAL Eye camera is also compatible with the XREAL 1S and plugging one in allows for 6DoF features. I took mine from my XREAL One Pro and connected it to the same port on the 1S. Doing so enabled a few more features in the glasses such as recording video and taking pictures.

With the Eye in place, the 1S activated the spatial anchoring feature. This mode lets you pin the image in space, allowing you to walk up to it and even around it. The functionality feels the same as the XREAL One Pro where it works in good conditions with some glitches here and there. Sometimes as I walked around, the image would change position, and this is in rooms with plenty of light. But, if you don’t move too much and want to anchor your picture in space, the Eye will let you do that. You can still anchor an image without the Eye; it’s just you won’t get the ability to walk up to and around it. Also, you won’t be able to use anchoring in a moving vehicle, so, if you’re taking a car ride or on a plane, smooth follow is the way to go.

I did not notice any drifting when using the anchor mode. The image stayed in its place and I was happy with how stable it was. I’m one that prefers having smooth follow or even where the image is stuck to my face, but if you are one that would rather have the anchor method of watching media, the XREAL 1S does a great job of keeping the image in space and in place.

Along with the release of the 1S, XREAL is also releasing a companion device called the Neo. The Neo is a powerbank and display pass-through that lets you charge the device you have plugged it into while using your glasses with it. This works well for portable gaming devices like the Steam Deck or Switch 2 letting you get more play time out of it.

The Neo sports a 10,000 mAh battery and fast charges most devices. With my Galaxy Fold 7 plugged in, I was getting about 3,400 mA charging speed, which is pretty good. There’s a USB-C input on the side with the display cable for the glasses and a USB-C input on the opposite side to charge the Neo. That means you can use it while being charged, which is nice.

The cable to connect to a USB-C display is permanently attached to the Neo, which I do not like. If the cable goes bad, then it renders the Neo useless. I would have rather seen another USB-C connector there to allow you to use whatever cable you like. Unfortunately, Neo’s cable isn’t interchangeable so let’s hope that it does last a while.

The display connector cable has a 45 degree USB-C connector so it can sit a little more flush with the device it connects to. There’s a clip near it so you can clip it to the excess cable or the glasses cable if you so desire.

On the front, there’s a round magnet that will let you attach any phone with a mag-safe case or mag-safe ring built in. If your device doesn’t have one, the Neo comes with two attachable rings so you can have the Neo connected to it when in use. There’s no Qi charging here as it's solely for connecting the Neo to the device and keeping them together. You might be asking why you would want that and that’s because the Neo also features a kickstand so you can stand up the phone or portable gaming device on a flat surface. The kickstand can be placed at multiple angles with a maximum angle of about 50 degrees.

I have confirmed that the display pass through will let you run at 120Hz. On my Steam Deck, I connected the Neo to the handheld and then connected the XREAL 1S to the Neo. The display settings indeed detected 1920x1080 120Hz mode and I was able to set it to that manually.

As a battery bank and stand for a mobile device, the Neo does let you enjoy your device longer and props it up if you want to do so. There’s no extra functionality when you connect your glasses to the Neo, but it seems like a nice traveling companion to get extra usage out of a device with the extra battery power it provides. And yes, it will work with the Switch 2. Also, it will work with other AR glasses. I was able to plug in my VITURE Luma Ultra to it and then plug the Neo into my phone and it worked.

Back to the XREAL 1S, what comes with the glasses is typical of what XREAL has included in the past. You get a few different nose pads, a cleaning cloth, and a hard shell magnetic case. As with the XREAL One Pro, I found the case to be OK, but a step back since there’s no pouch or separate area to keep your USB cable in. I bought a third party case from Amazon because I do want to keep the glasses and cord from contacting during travel to minimize any possibilities of scratches if they do come in contact.

For those who need prescription lenses, the ones that I was supplied with did a good job with one minor issue. I’ve picked up a few from HonsVR, which is the company that developed the ones I was using. The lenses attach into two little holes that you expose near the nose piece area by removing two small rubber plugs. The prescription lenses were solid and didn’t exhibit any bounce or movement when I moved my head around.

The one minor issue is that the right temple will not lie flat without pushing the right prescription lens either down, bending the frame a little. I have to consciously fold the left temple down first to minimize the bending of the right prescription lens. It’s a small problem, but one that you’ll want to be aware of should you decide to get some prescription lens inserts for the XREAL 1S.

The XREAL 1S is set to replace the One Pro as it is pretty much the same design with better internals. The software side adds Real 3D, which really takes these glasses to another level. XREAL's really knocking it out of the park leveraging that X1 chip in these glasses. And the price? The XREAL 1S is coming in at $449, $50 less than the XREAL One. That’s really good as you get better screens and pay less than the previous version. For the Neo, that’ll come in initially at $99, but will increase to $119 after February 4, 2026. The Neo starts to ship next month while the XREAL 1S is available now.