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Friday, January 16, 2026
Xreal's Cheapest AR Glasses Just Got Better (and Cheaper)
gizmodo.com: Xreal is back at CES 2026 with some improvements to its most affordable AR glasses. The Xreal 1S (a sequel to the Xreal One) are now $50 cheaper at $449 and have improved specs to boot. Cheaper and better, you say? Alright, I’m listening.
4 comments:
DogBlog
said...
There are a few aspects of this product that I think are really cool. A big thing the article mentions is how the XREAL 1S is fifty dollars cheaper than their previous model. I think this is a great example of how as technology is improved and developed it gets cheaper to appeal to a more diverse market. I could definitely see how AR glasses could be super helpful for lots of different things. When I used to work at a makerspace, a lot of the repairs to our laser cutter came from online solutions that I found on my computer. I spent a significant amount of time getting in and out of the machine to check my computer because it didn’t fit comfortably inside as I was working. Having glasses where I could project the video I was using to figure out how to troubleshoot actively playing so I could follow along would definitely have improved workflow.
AR is honestly incredible to me. I feel like these glasses, if used right, can make anyone feel like they are a superhero or video game character with a heads up display. While modern AR Glasses more often than not seem clunky and not conducive to constant daily use, I think that they are incredibly cool. I love when exhibitions or events add in an AR experience, even if it’s just through a phone app, it can raise engagement. I think that one reason that Pokemon Go became so popular was because of the AR features that it boasts. AR can make it feel like we are living in one of the technologically advanced futures that are seen in science fiction movies. I think that something that would be immensely useful for those with hearing impairments would be for them to be able to use AR glasses with captioning software to communicate with others more fluidly.
The idea of integrating augmented reality into daily life is really fascinating to me, and most certainly is a double edged sword. On one hand, they have the capability to transform workflows, allowing for a digital overlay onto a physical space, and they can augment entertainment by putting a digital overlay onto an entertainment experience, such as a film. On the other hand, they could become standard, something you have to use, and could be leveraged to put advertisements all over people’s visions, and by corporations to track their customers and harvest their data. To be fair, phones are already essentially doing this. Regardless, this is one of the better products out of CES. This is an evolution of technology that has been under development for years, with a lot of potential. The other products out of CES that I’ve read about, such as all of the AI that seems to dominate the show, and LEGO’s puzzling intelligent brick, seem to be missing the mark.
I’ve been keeping up with the development of glasses technology a lot since I discovered the meta ray bands around a year ago, I’ve always thought that idea was upper cool and futuristic but I’ve noticed they haven’t been gaining much traction in terms of sales despite a lot of cool and useful features a lot of glasses in the market have. Introducing new technologies to modern consumers is always a gamble because you never know if something will be appealing to the consumer market (unless it’s something already pre established like apple or PlayStation) I think it says a lot on how people are a lot more selective now than like 20 years ago and area lot less open to newer technologies. I do think that if ar glasses came out 10 years ago they would be really popular but in 2026 people aren’t really that stunned with the features anymore.
4 comments:
There are a few aspects of this product that I think are really cool. A big thing the article mentions is how the XREAL 1S is fifty dollars cheaper than their previous model. I think this is a great example of how as technology is improved and developed it gets cheaper to appeal to a more diverse market. I could definitely see how AR glasses could be super helpful for lots of different things. When I used to work at a makerspace, a lot of the repairs to our laser cutter came from online solutions that I found on my computer. I spent a significant amount of time getting in and out of the machine to check my computer because it didn’t fit comfortably inside as I was working. Having glasses where I could project the video I was using to figure out how to troubleshoot actively playing so I could follow along would definitely have improved workflow.
AR is honestly incredible to me. I feel like these glasses, if used right, can make anyone feel like they are a superhero or video game character with a heads up display. While modern AR Glasses more often than not seem clunky and not conducive to constant daily use, I think that they are incredibly cool. I love when exhibitions or events add in an AR experience, even if it’s just through a phone app, it can raise engagement. I think that one reason that Pokemon Go became so popular was because of the AR features that it boasts. AR can make it feel like we are living in one of the technologically advanced futures that are seen in science fiction movies. I think that something that would be immensely useful for those with hearing impairments would be for them to be able to use AR glasses with captioning software to communicate with others more fluidly.
The idea of integrating augmented reality into daily life is really fascinating to me, and most certainly is a double edged sword. On one hand, they have the capability to transform workflows, allowing for a digital overlay onto a physical space, and they can augment entertainment by putting a digital overlay onto an entertainment experience, such as a film. On the other hand, they could become standard, something you have to use, and could be leveraged to put advertisements all over people’s visions, and by corporations to track their customers and harvest their data. To be fair, phones are already essentially doing this. Regardless, this is one of the better products out of CES. This is an evolution of technology that has been under development for years, with a lot of potential. The other products out of CES that I’ve read about, such as all of the AI that seems to dominate the show, and LEGO’s puzzling intelligent brick, seem to be missing the mark.
I’ve been keeping up with the development of glasses technology a lot since I discovered the meta ray bands around a year ago, I’ve always thought that idea was upper cool and futuristic but I’ve noticed they haven’t been gaining much traction in terms of sales despite a lot of cool and useful features a lot of glasses in the market have. Introducing new technologies to modern consumers is always a gamble because you never know if something will be appealing to the consumer market (unless it’s something already pre established like apple or PlayStation) I think it says a lot on how people are a lot more selective now than like 20 years ago and area lot less open to newer technologies. I do think that if ar glasses came out 10 years ago they would be really popular but in 2026 people aren’t really that stunned with the features anymore.
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