Image: Xreal

Xreal is making its AR glasses more affordable with a new sub-brand called X By Xreal or xbx glasses, which are aimed squarely at entertainment and gaming.

The xbx a01+ is available in the U.S. starting today for $299, putting it well below the cost of Xreal's flagship smart glasses. It’s sold through Xreal's website, Amazon, Best Buy, B&H, and Micro Center.

The a01+ keeps the familiar idea behind Xreal's display glasses: plug them into a phone, laptop, handheld console, or other compatible device and get a large virtual screen in front of your eyes. Xreal describes the effect as a 147-inch screen viewed from four meters away. The glasses have a 50-degree field of view and support refresh rates up to 120Hz, which should be useful for gaming as well as streaming video.

That refresh rate and FoV bring the budget a01+ closer to the company's higher-end glasses. Earlier this year, Xreal One received 120Hz support through a firmware update, along with improvements to screen placement, power management, and text readability.

The big difference is positioning. Xreal One and One Pro are more ambitious spatial computing glasses, with Xreal's X1 chip enabling native 3DoF tracking. The a01+ is a simpler, lower-cost product focused on a portable big-screen experience.

The a01+ is compatible with Xreal's Beam Pro, a phone-like Android device that offers dual window spatial multitasking and can also capture stereoscopic 3D photos and videos.

At 62 grams, the a01+ is lighter than Xreal One and has a more playful design. The translucent body and hidden fluorescent xbx logo give the a01+ a more playful and sporty vibe. They also support snap-on front frames to quickly change the look, including Xreal designs and 3D-printable designs available on MakerWorld.

The display specs sound strong for the price. We’ll update you on the real-world experience once we get hands-on time. The a01+ uses dual-layer Micro-OLED displays with up to 1,600 nits of peak brightness, HDR10 support, real-time SDR-to-HDR conversion, and a dedicated image-enhancement chip co-engineered with Pixelworks. Xreal also lists 1.07 billion colors, 145 percent sRGB coverage, and three viewing profiles for cinema, eye care, and standard use.

Comfort is another focus. Xreal says the nose pad system was tuned with data from more than 2,000 facial profiles, with three nose bridge fits, adjustable nose pads and arms, and flexible hinges. The glasses also have TÜV Rheinland 5-star Eye Comfort, Low Blue Light, and Flicker-Free certifications.

The a01+ does not replace Xreal's broader XR ambitions. The company has been expanding the One series with accessories such as Xreal Eye, a tiny camera module that adds 6DoF tracking, and more.

At the high end, Xreal is also working with Google on Project Aura, an Android XR display-glasses device. The a01+ is something more immediate and practical: a cheaper way to watch, play, and work on a large virtual screen without buying into a full spatial computing setup.

More information is available on Xreal's website.

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