I replaced my monitor and TV with these AR glasses — here’s what happened

4 weeks ago

The Xreal Air 2 rank highly arsenic immoderate of my favourite AR glasses to usage owed to their gorgeous display, comfortable, lightweight construction, and worth for money. But 1 of its superpowers is nan package you tin download to genuinely unlock nan specs’ afloat capabilities.

In fact, I judge you could usage these to switch nan beingness screens astir your house, specified arsenic your TV and machine monitor. That’s precisely what I’ve been doing this week, and while nan acquisition isn’t cleanable (there’s really a beautiful large catch), these glasses did show maine an breathtaking early for this technology.

I mean conscionable ideate it… I’ve lived successful galore location shares pinch mini surviving spaces — being capable to pin a immense virtual TV connected nan wall and a multi-monitor setup connected nan different is monolithic for ensuring nan room doesn’t look cluttered pinch beingness screens.

This is simply a beautiful precocious preview of spatial computing, which is thing nan Apple Vision Pro has been bragging astir for a while. Not only do you get a workable type of it correct now (instead of waiting until adjacent year), you tin besides bask it astatine $3,000 little than having to bargain Apple’s headset.

Spatial computing for all?

Let’s research this a small further. It each starts pinch nan Xreal Air 2 glasses of course, but you will request a macOS instrumentality and nan Xreal’s Nebula software. Don’t worry, a Windows type is coming soon.

Open nan package connected your Mac and plug successful nan glasses. At that point, you’re greeted pinch a three-display horizontal. It’s an acquisition you could easy switch your show with. This is made imaginable by nan Sony Micro-OLED panels wrong of these glasses, which nutrient a crisp, colorful 1080p image pinch a 120Hz refresh rate.

In fact, you tin make nan simulation moreover amended pinch nan further beam instrumentality — disposable for $119 connected its own, aliases you tin get an Air 2 bundled pinch this mini pebble of a instrumentality for $499.

With this, you tin besides usage nan Body Anchor characteristic to recreate nan acquisition I’ve been enjoying successful edifice rooms, flights, and nan container room of my apartment. That intends resizing and pinning a 130-inch show to nan wall aliases ceiling of your chamber for immersive viewing, aliases sticking nan multi-display layout of your Mac to a wall — eliminating nan request for a show entirely.

Plus, arsenic nan Xreal rep confirmed to maine successful our hands-on session, this Nebula package for Windows won’t conscionable beryllium constricted to a three-display layout for illustration nan macOS version. Instead, you’ll beryllium capable to prime betwixt this and a afloat ultrawide show — awesome news for gamers!

So for conscionable $400, you tin get 1 of my favourite announced features of Apple Vision Pro. That is chaotic fixed you’d beryllium paying $3,499 for nan aforesaid point connected Apple's machine, which leads to 1 burning question.

What’s nan catch?

There has to beryllium 1 — I mean we’re dealing pinch $400 glasses present complete a VR headset that is astir 10 times much expensive. So, what is nan sacrifice being made present to make this work?

Put simply, it comes down to nan section of view. The OLED panels whitethorn nutrient a gorgeous vivid 1080p image astatine up to 130-inches successful beforehand of you, but pinch a 46-degree FOV, nan image trim disconnected is beautiful stark.

You see, pinch a afloat headset for illustration nan Apple Vision Pro, nan institution is capable to power what you spot successful your peripheral too. If you request to dart your pupils disconnected to nan correct to drawback a portion of accusation from that display, it’s tin of doing truthful conscionable for illustration you would pinch respective monitors successful beforehand of you successful real-life.

However, erstwhile you deliberation of 46 degrees of visibility, that intends you person to make deliberate turns of nan caput to spot each of nan 3 virtual monitors successful beforehand of you. And so, while I'm successful awe of nan Xreal Air 2, I tin virtually (and figuratively) spot nan advantage Apple grants for that wallet-busting price.