First impression of XREAL One Pro: The "flagship large-screen version" of AR glasses is here.
In 2025, it can definitely be regarded as a significant year for the smart glasses market. The AI glasses wave triggered by Ray-Ban Meta continues to attract more players. Xiaomi (excluding Mi Home) finally enters the market as the first major mobile phone giant. Smart glasses manufacturers such as Thunderbird, Rokid, and INMO have also successively launched their own AI glasses. Google has officially launched Android XR, covering from MR headsets to AR glasses and then to AI glasses.
XREAL is also an unavoidable presence. In addition to Project Aura announced at the Google I/O Conference in May this year, XREAL has also launched its new-generation flagship product - XREAL One Pro, which was recently released and pre - ordered in China, with an official price of 4,299 yuan.
As a flagship product, this price is not surprising. But I believe many readers are also curious about the experience of XREAL One Pro. Compared with the previous XREAL One, where exactly is the "Pro"? And is it worth paying extra for the Pro version? Although the time of using XREAL One Pro is short and it's difficult to give a definite answer, Lei Technology does have some feelings to share with you.
Photo/Lei Technology
Before we start, it should be noted that the following experience is mainly based on connecting to a MacBook Pro (M1 Pro) and a Google Pixel 8, and does not involve the experience under XREAL Beam Pro.
Bigger, brighter, more versatile. Is the portable large - screen experience enhanced?
What exactly do users who buy AR glasses today want to get? In the view of Lei Technology, it's not difficult. The answer is actually hidden in the promotions of various companies, which is four words - portable large screen.
Needless to say about portability. The XREAL One Pro we have is size M, and its actual weight is about 91g, and it won't press on your head. Moreover, compared with similar AR glasses that look prominent and strange when worn, the optical engine of XREAL One Pro is thinner, so it looks more like traditional sunglasses when worn.
When you sit at your desk and put on the XREAL One Pro, you can get a virtual screen that is visually equivalent to a large - screen monitor. For me, it's like having a "third screen" in addition to the monitor and the laptop screen. The key is that compared with a bulky monitor, I can carry my laptop and XREAL One Pro to a coffee shop downstairs or on a high - speed train at any time to work, and at the same time get the experience of portability and a large screen.
XREAL One Pro, Photo/Lei Technology
Similar experiences can actually be found on other AR glasses in the market. The differences lie more in the details and the experience. In terms of the basics, the official claims that the XREAL One Pro can provide a screen size adjustment from 68 to 556 inches and a screen distance adjustment from 2 to 10 meters. To put it this way, when the screen distance is adjusted to the minimum and the screen size is adjusted to the maximum in the actual test, it's almost like standing in front of a wall - sized screen.
In actual scenarios, it won't be set like this, but the advantage of XREAL One Pro in displaying the screen is still quite obvious, with a larger screen size. Especially in the hover mode, the screen will be fixed at a specified position. Under the default screen settings, you can almost see the entire screen.
Interestingly, I found by querying public information that in fact, compared with the 0.68 - inch Micro OLED screen used in XREAL One, One Pro uses a smaller 0.55 - inch Micro OLED screen. However, the difference is that the field of view (FoV) of XREAL One Pro has been directly upgraded from the previous 50° to 57°, which means that the screen can cover a wider field of vision, and the display area has also been increased by 38%.
In addition to the always - following gimbal mode, XREAL One Pro has also added a new 32:9 ultra - wide - screen mode, which is equivalent to upgrading to a "ultra - wide - screen monitor". It can cover more windows, and the improvement in the experience of office work and some games such as racing is self - evident, and it doesn't require a large rotation amplitude. I also tried the built - in 3D mode when connecting to a Mac, but due to possible compatibility issues, it was actually unavailable. In the half - width mode, it even directly reminded that there was no video signal. Perhaps it can only be used with XREAL's own Beam Pro host.
XREAL One Pro, Photo/Lei Technology
Let's also talk about compatibility here.
Although after the self - developed X1 chip, the compatibility of XREAL AR glasses has greatly improved, and One Pro also promotes that it can seamlessly connect to devices such as Windows computers, Android phones, Macs, iPhones, and Steam Decks. But in reality, although most Windows computers in recent years generally support video output through the Type - C interface, the latest Surface models do not support new modes such as the ultra - wide - screen mode in the actual test. Android phones such as the Xiaomi 15 and OPPO Find X8s also do not support it.
Additionally, in the community, many users are also discussing the compatibility issue with the Switch 2. However, the main reason is Nintendo's "customization" of the interface. Many Switch accessory manufacturers are complaining about it. We still hope that XREAL can provide a better solution for users.
The XREAL One Pro has also been improved in terms of brightness. The official says that the brightness reaching the eyes has been increased to 700 nits. To be honest, this brightness is completely redundant for me. In indoor scenarios such as offices and coffee shops, it will be very dazzling if it is turned up to the maximum. On the contrary, the brightness of XREAL One Pro is more than enough, but unfortunately, it does not support HDR yet.
At the same time, the XREAL One Pro also supports three - level electrochromic adjustment. In scenarios such as watching movies, it can be adjusted to the highest level to block ambient light and enhance the overall sense of immersion. This is very important for the current positioning of AR glasses as portable large - screen devices. Strangely enough, except for some manufacturers such as XREAL and Viture, some other manufacturers still haven't added this feature.
Generally speaking, the upgrade points of XREAL One Pro are actually very clear. The core is the display experience, especially the improvement of the field of view, and behind it is also the product moat that XREAL may have for a long time in the future.
The secret of XREAL's optical architecture upgrade is right in front of you
Looking at the appearance design, the XREAL One Pro is actually quite similar to the previously launched XREAL One, maintaining the same design style of XREAL. However, in terms of the anti - pinch design, the XREAL One Pro may still need some improvement. There is a certain probability that your fingers will be pinched when opening and closing the temple arms, and due to the relatively large force, there will be obvious pain.
But if you pick up the XREAL One Pro and observe it carefully, you will probably notice a distinctive detail on One Pro: Different from the three - sided prisms on AR glasses that previously used the Birdbath optical solution, the prism on One Pro is obviously thinner and has four sides.
XREAL One Pro, Photo/Lei Technology
Actually, it's not just a visual modification, but a reconstruction of the optical architecture design. You know, for AR glasses, the optical module is often the most difficult part and the part that best reflects the technological gap. It determines whether a pair of glasses can provide a clear, large, and comfortable viewing experience. And the biggest upgrade of XREAL One Pro lies in its redesigned optical module.
As is well - known, Birdbath is a commonly used optical display solution for currently commercially available AR glasses. In essence, it is a semi - reflective imaging system based on spherical reflection + polarized light splitting. Simply put, the light emitted by the Micro OLED driven by the optical engine will be polarized and then reflected to the spherical mirror, and then reflected again by the spherical mirror and focused in the direction of the eyes to form a virtual image. However, due to the principle, there is a contradiction between the field of view, the volume, and the thickness of the module in the Birdbath solution, and it's difficult to make further breakthroughs in the old solution.
For example, XREAL One still uses the previous Birdbath solution, Photo/XREAL
XREAL's self - developed new - generation optical engine - X Prism is a successful exploration. It is designed based on total internal reflection (TIR) within the medium, achieving a more compact structure, higher light efficiency, and wider field - of - view coverage. Although we still don't know the specific technical details, the newly designed optical architecture is undoubtedly more advantageous in all aspects.
It's worth mentioning that this is just the beginning. At the recently held AWE USA 2025 (Augmented Reality World Expo), another domestic smart glasses manufacturer, Viture, released four AR glasses. Among them, the flagship product The Beast, which is planned to be launched in October, will further increase the field of view to 58°. The specific optical solution also needs to be announced.
On the other hand, the next evolution of XREAL's optical architecture continues. It is said that Project Aura, jointly launched by XREAL and Google, can achieve a field of view of over 70° and is planned to be launched next year. That is to say, achieving such a wide visual coverage without increasing the bulky volume of the headset means that X Prism still has a lot of room for expansion in the future.
Photo/Google
Back to the XREAL One Pro itself, this optical solution not only makes the virtual large screen more immersive but also improves the actual usability. For example, when reading documents or doing video editing in a coffee shop, you no longer need to focus precisely or adapt to the problems of "parallax" and "screen drift". You can just put on the glasses and start viewing, and there will be a screen as soon as you look up. You will easily forget that this is a pair of AR glasses and regard it as a new "private large - screen" terminal.
It can be said that the "Pro" of XREAL One Pro is precisely reflected in this optical engine right in front of your eyes. Although it's not as conspicuous as the support for 6DoF (powered by XREAL EYE), it is the most core perceptual window of the entire pair of glasses. XREAL obviously doesn't intend to use it as a one - time solution.
Conclusion
As usual, here is a summary of our experience with XREAL One Pro using Lei Technology's evaluation template.
Advantages:
1. Larger field of view and stronger sense of immersion;
2. 32:9 ultra - wide - screen mode provides a better experience for office work and some games.
Disadvantages:
1. There are still deficiencies in the compatibility of functions on different platforms;
2. The anti - pinch design is insufficient, and there is a certain probability of pinching fingers.
In terms of product strength, the core advantages of XREAL One Pro are undoubtedly very obvious. It may be the AR glasses with the strongest comprehensive strength at present. However, whether it is worth buying also depends on the price factor. Especially when compared with the XREAL One in the same series, which is at least 1000 yuan cheaper, considering the current usage scenarios of AR glasses, the appearance factor may be relatively less important. The main advantage actually comes from the larger field of view brought by the upgrade of the optical system.
Whether it's worth it or not, I believe everyone has their own judgment. But I want to say that the XREAL One Pro probably also represents the development direction of AR glasses for a long time in the future, that is, a larger field of view. And for the other direction, we may have to wait for Project Aura equipped with Android XR to answer. What's a bit worrying is, what about the domestic version at that time?
This article is from the WeChat public account "Lei Technology" and is published by 36Kr with authorization.