Xreal ’s latest production , the Beam Pro , wrick my $ 400 Xreal Air 2 sassy glasses into a low - price Vision Pro alternative . While Xreal ’s spacial computing solution lacks the power and mundaneness of Apple ’s first VR headset , it tender many like characteristic .

The Beam Pro can also bewitch 3D exposure and videos to serve you relive memories with Xreal Air smart glasses , which show depth and movement that make those moments come animated . Undoubtedly , Apple ’s headset is currently the best resolution for spatial computation , butthe Vision Pro ’s ultra - premium $ 3,500 toll inspire my search for a more low-priced alternative .

Apple would n’t practice this description , but the Vision Pro isone of the best VR headsetsavailable , while Xreal makesamong the best sassy glasses . I tried Xreal ’s Air 2 and Beam Pro instead of Apple ’s Vision Pro , saving one thousand in the process while accepting that it is n’t a complete replenishment .

Xreal spatial computing

Xreal Air , Air 2 , and Air 2 Pro overbold glasses operate like virtual monitors , so I need a separate machine to accept input , enter the cyberspace , and process data . That ’s the aim of the Beam Pro .

It looks and works much like an Android sound . In fact , many Android sound can connect to Xreal glass and scarper a limited version of the Beam Pro ’s software system , displaying virtual browser app window so I can get at the internet in a way that feels almost like using a multi - screen personal computer . However , I ca n’t do everything I want with web apps .

Since Xreal created the Beam Pro for its Air smart glasses , it ’s not confine to just a web web browser . I can open any Android app in a portrayal or landscape painting view . For example , I can keep Gmail open in a vertical dialog box on my leftfield and Chrome in a broad windowpane on my right field . I even ran two different web browser side by side . I tried Microsoft Edge , Firefox Focus , and DuckDuckGo with no takings .

I can use a VPN , a password manager , ChatGPT , and any other Android app . I can even put in third - party keyboards . I like Microsoft SwiftKey ’s full touchpad pointer control better than Gboard ’s limited side - scrolling for editing .

Like the Apple Vision Pro , Xreal ’s solution offer a head - rise display with a full - featured web internet browser and access to peregrine apps . While Apple packed all the processing mogul intothe sizeable visor of the Vision Prowith an external electric battery to reduce a turn of the weight , Xreal put everything into the Beam Pro as an external compute unit that accepts input , handles processing , and ply power to lightweight Air series bright crank .

Working with virtual screens

Apple ’s visionOS is quite tasteful and nonrational , integrating eye- and hand - tracking hardware in a way that Meta fail to reach with its eye - chase Quest Pro headset . With the Vision Pro , I can rest my hand on the desk or my lick , then look and pinch to navigate .

Xreal ’s system has no trailing tv camera , yet its NebulaOS offer a quick , reliable virtual interface . By nonpayment , the practical screen locomote smoothly when I turn my caput , keep everything centered inthe Xreal Air 2 ’s with child , bright displays . I favor to switch to body anchor mood , which interlock the screen in place so I can wrick to see the other window or search away to verbalise with someone .

I deem the Beam Pro in one hand and practice it like a laser arrow to interact with controls and content that are only seeable in the glasses . If I select a text field , Gboard pops up so I can swipe , type , or part type as I would with a phone . I can also sneak to surge subject matter within a window .

The Beam Pro ’s default portrait orientation lets me see two windowpane at once , which is commodious for multitasking . A clitoris at the top of each window on/off switch to landscape mode so the app fills the 1080p viewport . When I peek to the side , the viewport follows my gaze and the other windowpane comes into view .

The center divider is a clit that swaps the left and correct side . I can cart a corner to resize a window or use the preset average and large toggle switch at the top right field .

A swipe down reveals quick circumstance to check the barrage fire , clock time , date , Bluetooth , and Wi - Fi position . A swipe up discover a taskbar of unresolved apps . Tapping the domicile push button on the Beam Pro ’s screen opens the app library .

Xreal ’s arrangement works very well for casual crop and content consumption , but it is n’t ideal for productivity . I wrote this article with a World Wide Web app called Lex , mostly using a Bluetooth keyboard and mouse , but now and then switching to the Beam Pro ’s pointer and touchscreen for input .

Apple ’s headset has more in advance regard - based cursor control , but nobble text with the Beam Pro is faster and easier than smack out letter of the alphabet on the Vision Pro ’s virtual keyboard .

Keyboard and mouse mode

Untilbrain - computer interfaces become standard equipment for VR headset , clacking away on a forcible keyboard and drift a mouse will in all probability remain the most effective way to be productive on a computer .

With a peachy Bluetooth keyboard and mouse , the Beam Pro feel quite similar to anefficient and scotch Chromebook . While the $ 200 Beam Pro has the performance of an cheap phone , modern telephone chips are quite fast when run only one or two apps .

My requirements for piece of writing are minimal . I need about a 12 tab for research , a text editor , and a quick , reliable mode to move the pointer and type . I had no difficulty enamor screenshots , researching details , and writing .

With two large practical screens and the acquaintance and speed of a strong-arm keyboard and mouse , it felt quite natural . I rarely touched and never lifted the Beam Pro , except to tap the screenshot push or the home button .

An Apple Vision Pro user would have to connect to a MacBookor pair Bluetooth accessories to check this grade of productiveness . It ’s squeamish to have more and larger screens , but I can negociate with two .

Spatial videos

Xreal ’s Beam Pro records spatial TV in the more traditional side - by - side ( SBS ) 3D video format . The back jury holds two 50 MP cameras space 2 inches asunder . When shoot spatial photo or picture , the Beam Pro employ both cameras to capture depth .

If I look at the CRT screen without wise eyeglasses , I see two pictures taken from slimly different angles . When I put on the Xreal Air 2 , I see spacial videos and photos with natural astuteness . It sounds cliché , but 3D images recreate the moment with much cracking faithfulness than a flat picture can .

For representative , I show a video of a lovely wood walk . In 2D , a din of gullible leaves merged together into a nice , but puddle television that lack impact . When I view the same video recording in spatial modality , every root word , offset , and leaf stands out , reveal the complex weave of ferns , blossom , moss , and trees seen on this beautiful trail .

While the Apple Vision Pro can record spacial video with two relatively low - solving 6.5 MP cameras , I ’d never take the air through the woods wearing a bulky headset . Any iPhone 16 oran iPhone 15 Pro can capture spatial video , but the camera have different focal lengths and are spaced less than an inch apart . Apple ’s AI magic manages to create deepness from this unlikely hardware , but there must be some trade - offs .

Meanwhile , a $ 200 Xreal Beam Pro records similar 1080p 3D video and catch 12 MP 3D photos without wearing anything on my side or need an expensive new iPhone . subsequently , I can observe on my Xreal Air 2 fresh drinking glass .

Since most people miss 3D viewers , share spatial substance is a moment clumsy . That ’s true for Apple and Xreal ’s spatial media . I can share medium with someone who has an Xreal system or convert it to another format . Xreal ’s SBS 3D is reasonably standard , so there are various tools to make it viewable elsewhere . I ’ve converted one for viewing in VR via YouTube VR .

I can also exchange Xreal ’s SBS videos into Apple ’s spacial TV format with theSpatialifyapp . Then I can deal my 3D captures with Vision Pro or Meta Quest 2 , 3 , 3S , and Pro owners .

Xreal vs. Apple

Apple ’s radical - premium Vision Pro has muckle of advantages over the Xreal system I tried , and that ’s to be expected . Yet it was n’t as big a dispute as I ’d imagined . Both avail me onmy seeking to get free of monitors .

The Xreal Air 2 ’s 46 - degree orbit of view pose a large viewport equivalent to using a bombastic personal computer monitoring machine or posture several foot from a boastful - screen TV . That ’s fine for workplace , butfor gambling and catch movies , the Vision Pro ’s immersive environments winby skirt you in another populace . Xreal ’s system is more like a lasting mixed realness mode .

While the productiveness and spacial video recording comparing is close , the Vision Pro is a more versatile spatial computer . Each has a office in the growing and diverse extended reality marketplace .

For streaming video and gaming , Xreal offers the tantamount ofa large lifelike screen that ’s lightweight and folds to equip in my pocket . I would n’t carry Apple ’s VR headset beyond my habitation or spot unless I compact it carefully for a trip .

I like Apple ’s Vision Pro , but the Xreal Air 2 and Beam Pro bundle be significantly less . That makes all the dispute in the world for most masses . I ’ll enjoy my Xreal solution now while I wait for my dreaming gimmick to go far .

Snap ’s Spectacles andMeta ’s Orion demonstrationsgave us a coup d’oeil of the future , and several more intriguing XR products will transport soon . Xreal ’s Air 2 Ultra come nigher to a Vision Pro experiencesince it recognize mitt gestures without a trackpad . And if you take a more powerful spatial reckoner , check outthese top Apple Vision Pro alternative .