Xreal’s latest product, the Beam Pro, turned my $400 Xreal Air 2 smart glasses into a low-cost Vision Pro alternative. While Xreal’s spatial computing solution lacks the power and sophistication of Apple’s first VR headset, it offers many similar features.
The Beam Pro can also capture 3D photos and videos to help you relive memories with Xreal Air smart glasses, which show depth and movement that make those moments come alive. Undoubtedly, Apple’s headset is currently the best solution for spatial computing, but the Vision Pro’s ultra-premium $3,500 price inspired my search for a more affordable alternative.
Apple wouldn’t use this description, but the Vision Pro is one of the best VR headsets available, while Xreal makes among the best smart glasses. I tried Xreal’s Air 2 and Beam Pro instead of Apple’s Vision Pro, saving thousands in the process while accepting that it isn’t a complete replacement.
Xreal spatial computing
Xreal Air, Air 2, and Air 2 Pro smart glasses work like virtual monitors, so I need a separate device to accept input, access the internet, and process data. That’s the purpose of the Beam Pro.
It looks and works much like an Android phone. In fact, many Android phones can connect to Xreal glasses and run a limited version of the Beam Pro’s software, displaying virtual browser windows so I can access the internet in a way that feels almost like using a multi-screen PC. However, I can’t do everything I want with web apps.
Since Xreal created the Beam Pro for its Air smart glasses, it’s not limited to just a browser. I can open any Android app in a portrait or landscape view. For example, I can keep Gmail open in a vertical panel on my left and Chrome in a wider window on my right. I even ran two different browsers side by side. I tried Microsoft Edge, Firefox Focus, and DuckDuckGo with no issues.
I can use a VPN, a password manager, ChatGPT, and any other Android app. I can even install third-party keyboards. I like Microsoft SwiftKey’s full touchpad cursor control better than Gboard’s limited side-scrolling for editing.
Like the Apple Vision Pro, Xreal’s solution offers a head-mounted display with a full-featured browser and access to mobile apps. While Apple packed all the processing power into the hefty visor of the Vision Pro with an external battery to reduce a bit of the weight, Xreal put everything into the Beam Pro as an external compute unit that accepts input, handles processing, and supplies power to lightweight Air series smart glasses.
Working with virtual screens
Apple’s visionOS is quite refined and intuitive, integrating eye- and hand-tracking hardware in a way that Meta failed to achieve with its eye-tracking Quest Pro headset. With the Vision Pro, I can rest my hand on the desk or my lap, then look and pinch to navigate.
Xreal’s system has no tracking cameras, yet its NebulaOS offers a quick, reliable virtual interface. By default, the virtual screen moves smoothly when I turn my head, keeping everything centered in the Xreal Air 2’s large, bright displays. I prefer to switch to body anchor mode, which locks the screen in place so I can turn to see the other window or look away to speak with someone.
I hold the Beam Pro in one hand and use it like a laser pointer to interact with controls and content that are only visible in the glasses. If I select a text field, Gboard pops up so I can swipe, type, or voice type as I would with a phone. I can also pinch to zoom content within a window.
The Beam Pro’s default portrait orientation lets me see two windows at once, which is convenient for multitasking. A button at the top of each window toggles to landscape mode so the app fills the 1080p viewport. When I glance to the side, the viewport follows my gaze and the other window comes into view.
The center divider is a button that swaps the left and right sides. I can drag a corner to resize a window or use the preset medium and large toggle switch at the top right.
A swipe down reveals quick settings to check the battery, time, date, Bluetooth, and Wi-Fi status. A swipe up reveals a taskbar of open apps. Tapping the home button on the Beam Pro’s screen opens the app library.
Xreal’s system works very well for casual browsing and content consumption, but it isn’t ideal for productivity. I wrote this article with a web app called Lex, mostly using a Bluetooth keyboard and mouse, but occasionally switching to the Beam Pro’s pointer and touchscreen for input.
Apple’s headset has more advanced gaze-based cursor control, but swiping text with the Beam Pro is faster and easier than pecking out letters on the Vision Pro’s virtual keyboard.
Keyboard and mouse mode
Until brain-computer interfaces become standard equipment for VR headsets, clacking away on a physical keyboard and rolling a mouse will likely remain the most effective way to be productive on a computer.
With a great Bluetooth keyboard and mouse, the Beam Pro feels quite similar to an efficient and economical Chromebook. While the $200 Beam Pro has the performance of an inexpensive phone, modern phone chips are quite fast when running only one or two apps.
My requirements for writing are minimal. I need about a dozen tabs for research, a text editor, and a quick, reliable way to move the cursor and type. I had no trouble capturing screenshots, researching details, and writing.
With two large virtual screens and the familiarity and speed of a physical keyboard and mouse, it felt quite natural. I rarely touched and never lifted the Beam Pro, except to tap the screenshot button or the home button.
An Apple Vision Pro user would have to connect to a MacBook or pair Bluetooth accessories to match this degree of productivity. It’s nice to have more and larger screens, but I can manage with two.
Spatial videos
Xreal’s Beam Pro records spatial videos in the more traditional side-by-side (SBS) 3D video format. The back panel holds two 50 MP cameras spaced 2 inches apart. When shooting spatial photos or videos, the Beam Pro uses both cameras to capture depth.
If I look at the screen without smart glasses, I see two pictures taken from slightly different angles. When I put on the Xreal Air 2, I see spatial videos and photos with natural depth. It sounds cliché, but 3D images recreate the moment with much greater fidelity than a flat picture can.
For example, I recorded a video of a lovely woods walk. In 2D, a cacophony of green leaves merged together into a nice, but muddled video that lacked impact. When I view the same video in spatial mode, every stem, branch, and leaf stands out, revealing the complex weave of ferns, flowers, moss, and trees seen on this beautiful trail.
While the Apple Vision Pro can record spatial video with two relatively low-resolution 6.5 MP cameras, I’d never walk through the woods wearing a bulky headset. Any iPhone 16 or an iPhone 15 Pro can capture spatial video, but the cameras have different focal lengths and are spaced less than an inch apart. Apple’s AI magic manages to create depth from this unlikely hardware, but there must be some trade-offs.
Meanwhile, a $200 Xreal Beam Pro records similar 1080p 3D videos and captures 12 MP 3D photos without wearing anything on my face or requiring an expensive new iPhone. Afterward, I can watch on my Xreal Air 2 smart glasses.
Since most people lack 3D viewers, sharing spatial content is a bit awkward. That’s true for Apple and Xreal’s spatial media. I can share media with someone who has an Xreal system or convert it to another format. Xreal’s SBS 3D is fairly 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 convert Xreal’s SBS videos into Apple’s spatial video format with the Spatialify app. Then I can share my 3D captures with Vision Pro or Meta Quest 2, 3, 3S, and Pro owners.
Xreal vs. Apple
Apple’s ultra-premium Vision Pro has plenty of advantages over the Xreal system I tried, and that’s to be expected. Yet it wasn’t as big a difference as I’d imagined. Both help me on my quest to get rid of monitors.
The Xreal Air 2’s 46-degree field of view presents a large viewport equivalent to using a large PC monitor or sitting several feet from a big-screen TV. That’s fine for work, but for gaming and watching movies, the Vision Pro’s immersive environments win by surrounding you in another world. Xreal’s system is more like a permanent mixed reality mode.
While the productivity and spatial video comparison is close, the Vision Pro is a more versatile spatial computer. Each has a place in the growing and diverse extended reality marketplace.
For streaming video and gaming, Xreal offers the equivalent of a large vivid screen that’s lightweight and folds to fit in my pocket. I wouldn’t carry Apple’s VR headset beyond my home or office unless I packed it carefully for a trip.
I like Apple’s Vision Pro, but the Xreal Air 2 and Beam Pro bundle costs significantly less. That makes all the difference in the world for most people. I’ll enjoy my Xreal solution now while I wait for my dream device to arrive.
Snap’s Spectacles and Meta’s Orion demonstrations gave us a glimpse of the future, and several more intriguing XR products will ship soon. Xreal’s Air 2 Ultra comes closer to a Vision Pro experience since it recognizes hand gestures without a trackpad. And if you need a more powerful spatial computer, check out these top Apple Vision Pro alternatives.
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