ASUS and XREAL teamed up at CES to make gaming smartglasses with two vital upgrades

The newest era of smartglasses can create enormous digital screens with out the necessity to lug round large displays are an actual boon to frequent vacationers. However, their specs aren’t usually tailor-made to the wants of avid gamers, so at CES 2026, ASUS and XREAL partnered to make a pair with two crucial options you don’t usually get from rivals.

The new ROG XREAL R1 AR glasses are based mostly on the prevailing XREAL One Pro, so naturally they share a number of the identical parts and specs together with twin micro-OLED shows with a per-eye decision of 1,920 x 1,080, three levels of freedom (natively), 700-nit peak brightness, 57-degree FOV and built-in audio system tuned by Bose. However, the large distinction on the R1s is that as a substitute of maxing out with a 120Hz refresh charge, ASUS and XREAL’s collab goes all the way in which as much as 240Hz. That’s a fairly good bump, particularly for individuals with older {hardware} or anybody who won’t have entry to a excessive refresh charge show or simply doesn’t wish to decrease their requirements whereas touring.

The different massive addition is the R1’s included ROG Control Dock, which from what I’ve seen is barely higher suited to residence use. It’s designed to be a easy hub with two HDMI 2.0 jacks, one DisplayPort 1.4 connector and a few USB-C slots (one is for energy), so you may shortly change between a number of methods like your desktop and console with a single contact. That stated, relying on the scenario you won’t even want the dock in any respect as a result of the R1s can be linked to suitable PCs or gaming handhelds just like the ROG Ally X and ROG Xbox Ally X (see the synergy there?) immediately through USB-C.

When I bought to attempt them out at CES, the R1s delivered an easy to make use of and comparatively streamlined equipment. At 91 grams, they’re barely heavier than the unique XREAL One Pro (87g) in order that they don’t really feel too weighty or cumbersome. I additionally actually just like the inclusion of electrochromic lenses, which let you change the tint of the glasses with the contact of a button. This permits you to alter how a lot or little gentle you wish to are available in via the entrance to finest fit your surroundings. And because of assist for 3 DOF, you have got the flexibility to pin your digital display screen in a single location or let it comply with you round.

Now you will need to keep in mind that in an effort to get 240Hz on the smartglasses, you want {hardware} able to pushing the sort of efficiency. So relying on the title, when the R1s are linked to one thing like a gaming handheld, you won’t be capable of get there. Luckily, I had the possibility to make use of the specs when linked to a PC as nicely, which let me actually recognize the smoothness you get from sooner refresh charges. General picture high quality was additionally fairly good because of the glasses’ 1080p decision, so I had no hassle studying textual content or discerning small UI parts.

My one small gripe is that I sort of want its 57-degree FOV was a tiny bit larger, however that’s extra of a limitation of present optical expertise as there aren’t a ton of equally sized specs that may go a lot increased (not less than not yet). That stated, even with its present FOV, you may nonetheless create as much as a 171-inch digital display screen at 4 meters away, which is massively larger than any transportable display screen you may entertain carrying round.

Unfortunately, ASUS and XREAL haven’t introduced official pricing or a launch date for the R1s but, however hopefully they gained’t price an excessive amount of greater than the XREAL One Pro, that are at present going for $649.