- Updated: April 4, 2026
- 11 min read
Best AR Glasses for Gaming: Xreal One Pro, Xreal 1S, and Viture Beast Reviewed
Skip to main contentThe homepageThe VergeThe Verge logo.The VergeThe Verge logo.TechReviewsScienceEntertainmentAIPolicyHamburger Navigation ButtonThe homepageThe VergeThe Verge logo.Hamburger Navigation ButtonThe VergeThe Verge logo.My dream pair of AR gaming glasses needs to have these nine featuresGadgetsCloseGadgetsPosts from this topic will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed.FollowFollowSee All GadgetsGamingCloseGamingPosts from this topic will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed.FollowFollowSee All GamingNintendoCloseNintendoPosts from this topic will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed.FollowFollowSee All NintendoMy dream pair of AR gaming glasses needs to have these nine featuresNo available model has all nine, but the latest pairs from Xreal and Viture come pretty close.No available model has all nine, but the latest pairs from Xreal and Viture come pretty close.by Cameron FaulknerCloseCameron FaulknerEditor, CommercePosts from this author will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed.FollowFollowSee All by Cameron FaulknerApr 4, 2026, 2:00 PM UTCLinkShareIf you buy something from a Verge link, Vox Media may earn a commission. See our ethics statement.Cameron FaulknerCloseCameron FaulknerPosts from this author will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed.FollowFollowSee All by Cameron Faulkner is an editor covering deals and gaming hardware. He joined in 2018, and after a two-year stint at Polygon, he rejoined The Verge in May 2025.I’ve spent months in the lab testing the latest AR glasses from Xreal and Viture.By “lab,” I mean cozied up on my couch each night, playing my Steam Deck or Nintendo Switch 2 on a huge, virtual screen that only I can see through these glasses.Using AR glasses as a portable display for your handhelds (and other USB-C devices, like phones, tablets, and laptops) is nothing new.However, the latest versions have one must-have feature in common: three degrees of freedom, or 3DoF, which lets you anchor the screen anywhere you’d like, as opposed to having it nauseatingly wiggle with every head movement. This won’t make AR glasses worth their $400-plus costs for most gamers. But this makes them more useful if you travel a lot, or if you want a more ergonomic handheld setup.I tested three popular models — Xreal’s $449 1S, its $649 One Pro, and Viture’s $549 Beast — and there is no best pair that everyone should buy. Each does a few things well and a few things not so well, which leaves me no other choice than to list out the ingredients that would make for one perfect pair of AR glasses for gaming.The comfort, sound quality, and ease of use of Xreal’s glassesAll of these AR glasses are heavier and thicker than regular glasses, but Xreal’s 1S glasses are the lightest model of the bunch. On my kitchen scale, they weigh 85 grams (for comparison, the One Pro glasses weigh 91 grams, while the Viture Beast glasses are 96 grams).A small thing that’s actually a big deal is that they (as well as the One Pro) have great weight distribution and thinner temple arms than Viture’s Beast, which helps me feel less strain on my ears. It’s great that Xreal’s most affordable AR glasses are just as comfortable as its most expensive pair.Each pair comes with adjustable nose pads to fit different nose bridges.Viture’s Beast glasses (left) have thicker temple arms than Xreal’s glasses, particularly where they rest on your ears.Xreal’s glasses sound a lot better than Viture’s Harman-tuned glasses.An example of what the 1S’s electrochromic lenses look like with maximum dimming.The 1S and One Pro glasses deliver better-sounding audio through their temple arms than Viture’s latest glasses. Xreal’s audio is tuned by Bose, and the glasses have balanced audio with surprisingly good low-end performance. Viture’s is tuned by Harman, and the Beast glasses pack considerably less oomph, with more emphasis on the mids and highs.Music, movies, and games are all more fun to listen to through Xreal’s glasses, even at low volumes.The 1S and One Pro glasses have fewer buttons than Viture’s glasses, which lowers the learning curve. Xreal’s glasses have four buttons in total, all of which are along their right temple arm. To be fair, all AR glasses’ button layouts take a while to learn.But the Beast has six in total spread across both temple arms, two of which are a button rocker dedicated solely to adjusting the opacity of its electrochromic lenses — it’s overkill.RelatedAsus ROG’s next ally is Xreal, with 240Hz AR glasses coming in 2026A first look at Google’s Project Aura glasses built with XrealXreal sues Viture over AR glasses patentThe superior contrast and clarity of Viture’s Beast glassesThe three pairs of AR glasses that I tested use similar Sony micro-OLED screens, but Viture’s glasses are my favorite when it comes to displaying games with the same rich contrast, inky blacks, and bright highlights as would appear on the OLED TV in my living room.Just as important, picture quality looks great regardless of where you use these glasses because their optics cut down on reflections (however, they’re not “4K-like,” as Viture misleadingly advertises). The Xreal One Pro glasses are also fantastic in terms of picture quality and exhibit next to no reflections due to having high-end optics, but they’re typically $100 more — though sometimes just $50 — than Viture’s Beast.The Beast glasses look a lot more sophisticated than Viture’s previous models, but they only come with blue-tinted lenses.The Sony micro-OLED screens are similar across all AR glasses I tested, but optics have a big impact on how they look (Xreal 1S shown here).A look at the flatter optics used by the Viture Beast (top) and Xreal One Pro (bottom) that keep out reflections.The birdbath optics of the Xreal 1S (left) seen next to the flat optics used in the One Pro (right).Unfortunately, the Xreal 1S’s biggest weakness is reflections. Bright rooms make their OLEDs exhibit crushed blacks, looking more like LCDs in these scenarios. They can produce a good image in low-light scenarios, though content appears blurrier through them than with the other glasses.The great fit and finish of Xreal’s glassesXreal is peerless when it comes to build quality, and its $449 1S feels just as high-end as its pricier One Pro.Both pairs have snappy metal hinge mechanisms that prevent their temple arms from opening unintentionally (the ones on Viture’s Beast quickly swing open and feel cheap). Moreover, Xreal’s glasses look more like real sunglasses than the Beast glasses do (Viture can’t resist going with a slightly gamer-y look that you’ll love or hate, though the Beast glasses look much more sophisticated than its Luma series).Yes, these traits are indistinguishable once they’re on my face, but they’re worth considering given their high cost.The user experience is more polished across the board with Xreal’s glasses. My Steam Deck and phone are a few seconds faster to connect to the Xreal 1S and One Pro, and as mentioned before, the learning curve is lower. Xreal also currently has the better 3DoF implementation simply because the screen stays put when it’s anchored.With the Viture Beast glasses, the “anchored” screen moves, slowly sliding out of view. That’s a deal-breaker.Xreal’s Real3D feature, which is better than I expected (in small amounts)Xreal glasses that have the X1 chip (ones that launched in the past two or so years) now have the Real 3D feature. The mode can turn 2D content into 3D, and there’s a multi-step software slider to increase its effect. I enjoy using its mildest conversion setting more than I expected to.The 3D effect is not as pronounced as the Nintendo 3DS’s 3D effect, but the subtle improvements are easy to notice. It works especially well in games that don’t require a ton of fast movement.Viture’s Switch 2 compatibilityUnfortunately, no AR glasses can connect with a single USB-C cable to the Switch 2 (blame Nintendo). You need a compatible dock, one of which doesn’t exist just for Xreal glasses owners.The company canceled its Neo charging dock it announced at CES 2026 due to reliability concerns (the unit it sent me for testing still works great with my console). So, folks with Xreal glasses and a Switch 2 will need a different accessory to play.Viture’s glasses work like a charm with Switch 2 via its $130 dock.The Xreal Neo enabled Switch 2 compatibility (and has a slick design), but was canceled. It’s easier if you have Viture’s glasses, but not exactly affordable.Viture makes a $130 Pro Mobile Dock that works perfectly with the Switch 2 for the Beast. This dock doubles as a 13,000mAh battery so you can charge up while you game. If the Switch 2 isn’t your thing, the dock features a full HDMI port, letting you view a console’s video feed within your glasses. Video passthrough works for Xreal glasses, too, but audio didn’t work well enough for me to recommend it.7Verge ScoreXreal 1S$449$449The GoodComfortableGreat build qualityBest-in-class soundThe BadReflection cityContrast is lackingWhy does 1200p look this fuzzy?$449 at Amazon$449 at XrealHow we rate and review products8Verge ScoreXreal One Pro$649$649The GoodComfortableGreat build qualityBest-in-class soundReflections be gone!The BadPriceyContrast isn’t quite as rich as Viture’s Beast$649 at Amazon$649 at Best Buy$649 at XrealHow we rate and review products6Verge ScoreViture Beast$550$550The GoodStellar contrastCloser to feature parity with Xreal’s glassesThe BadSound and build quality are lackingShifty 3DoF integrationAdvertised 1200p mode isn’t available$550 at VitureHow we rate and review productsPhotography by Cameron Faulkner / The VergeFollow topics and authors from this story to see more like this in your personalized homepage feed and to receive email updates.Cameron FaulknerCloseCameron FaulknerEditor, CommercePosts from this author will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed.FollowFollowSee All by Cameron FaulknerBuying GuidesCloseBuying GuidesPosts from this topic will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed.FollowFollowSee All Buying GuidesGadgetsCloseGadgetsPosts from this topic will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed.FollowFollowSee All GadgetsGamingCloseGamingPosts from this topic will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed.FollowFollowSee All GamingNintendoCloseNintendoPosts from this topic will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed.FollowFollowSee All NintendoPC GamingClosePC GamingPosts from this topic will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed.FollowFollowSee All PC GamingVerge ShoppingCloseVerge ShoppingPosts from this topic will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed.FollowFollowSee All Verge ShoppingWearableCloseWearablePosts from this topic will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed.FollowFollowSee All WearableMost PopularMost PopularAO3 is finally out of beta after 17 yearsAnthropic essentially bans OpenClaw from Claude by making subscribers pay extraThe ABS Challenge System is exposing the worst umpire in baseballReddit is moving on from r/allDespite EV headwinds, Rivian’s sales are upVerge ShoppingSign up to get the best deals on products we’ve found and tested sent to your inbox.Email (required)Sign UpBy submitting your email, you agree to our Terms and Privacy Notice.This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.Advertiser Content FromThis is the title for the native adMore in GadgetsLenovo Legion Go 2 suddenly costs $650 more as RAMageddon lays waste to gaming hardwareThe best iPad deals you can get right nowAnker’s small, five-port travel adapter is down to its best price yetHow the Apple Watch defined modern health techWaiting for Trump PhoneThe best AirPods deals you can get right nowLenovo Legion Go 2 suddenly costs $650 more as RAMageddon lays waste to gaming hardwareSean HollisterApr 3The best iPad deals you can get right nowSheena Vasani and Brandon WidderApr 3Anker’s small, five-port travel adapter is down to its best price yetSheena VasaniApr 3How the Apple Watch defined modern health techVictoria SongApr 3Waiting for Trump PhoneAllison JohnsonApr 3The best AirPods deals you can get right nowSheena Vasani and Brandon WidderApr 2Advertiser Content FromThis is the title for the native adTop StoriesAn hour agoReally, you made this without AI? Prove it7:00 AM UTCAnker’s Nebula P1 projector is the portable sound kingTwo hours agoSuper Meat Boy 3D makes suffering funApr 3I saved a doomed Windows laptop by embracing LinuxApr 3Anthropic essentially bans OpenClaw from Claude by making subscribers pay extraApr 3Apple’s best product ever