Earlier this yr at CES, Xreal and Asus introduced a partnership to develop a quite bold pair of augmented actuality glasses known as the ROG Xreal R1. At the time, the 2 corporations gave us a rundown on specs, however weren’t capable of fairly nail down a value. However, Xreal introduced that the ROG Xreal R1 might be priced at $849 with pre-orders opening later at this time from Best Buy. For individuals seeking to purchase immediately from Xreal’s on-line retailer, pre-orders will go stay on May 17.
The ROG Xreal R1 first raised eyebrows at CES due to its 0.55-inch Sony Micro-OLED shows (most brightness of 700 nits), which function a 240 Hz refresh charge and ultra-fast 0.01 ms response time. To put that in perspective, most of at this time’s AR glasses max out with a 120 Hz refresh charge. However, to really cater to the fanatic finish of the AR glasses, it is comprehensible why Asus and ROG would look to double that benchmark.
Xreal has included the X1 spatial coprocessor, which can be present in its high-end One Series AR glasses. The chip powers the on-screen menu system, 3 DoF functionality (with support for 6 DoF), and helps to reduce latency and motion blur during your gaming sessions. The X1 was designed for use with Xreal’s 120 Hz AR glasses, so it will be interesting to see if it is up to the task of handling 240 Hz gaming.
Unlike entry-level AR glasses that ship with plastic “shades” to block ambient light, the ROG Xreal R1 uses electrochromic dimming to shield your eyes from the outside world (three dimming levels are available). When it comes to audio, the glasses feature onboard Bose-tuned speakers.
In the months following the ROG Xreal R1’s announcement at CES, additional optimizations have been implemented to improve overall performance and compatibility with Asus ROG accessories.
Speaking of accessories, the ROG Xreal R1 can connect to the ROG Control Dock. This device includes DisplayPort and HDMI ports for viewing content on the glasses from a PC, Xbox Series S/X, PlayStation 5, or Nintendo Switch console. There are also USB-A ports for connecting a mouse and keyboard.
Even without the dock, you can natively connect the ROG Xreal R1 to smartphones and tablets that support DisplayPort over USB-C. And as you might expect from an ROG-branded device, the glasses are fully supported by the ROG Ally handheld gaming PC.
The hardware behind the ROG Xreal R1 definitely sounds impressive, but the $849 asking price may be a tough sell, especially in this economic climate. We expressed skepticism about Asus’ AirVision M1 glasses, which launched at $699, so the even higher price tag of the ROG Xreal R1 will need to deliver on performance and usability to justify its price.