XREAL ROG R1

We've previously taken a closer look at XREAL's rather impressive AR glasses, which aren't designed to travel with you and let you document your trip to Mallorca in a slightly "creepy" way. No, this is an entertainment product, a flat-screen display you can actually fit in your shirt pocket that gives you access to a far more ambitious, immersive version of your smartphone screen, or your Switch 2 for that matter.

So what happens when XREAL's broader consumer profile is combined with something as hardcore as Asus's ROG division? Well, that's what we're here to find out because they've launched the XREAL ROG R1, a pair of AR glasses designed specifically for gamers.

Okay, so if we start with XREAL's previous products, we can pretty quickly explain what this actually is. It's a small pair of glasses that requires a connection to a device, consisting of two Micro-OLED panels in front of each eye at a resolution of 1920x1080. The display can project up to 171 inches from a distance of four metres, and delivers a full 240Hz via the Frame Rate Booster (which reduces sharpness slightly) and a response time of 0.01 ms. This display in front of your eyes covers a 57% field-of-view (FOV) and is available in both "Follow" mode (where the display tracks your head movements) and "Anchor" mode, where you can turn away from it.

So imagine this: for some reason, you don't have access to a traditional display that's good enough for the media experience you want. You connect your R1 set to a console, a PC, or an Android smartphone, and suddenly you have access to a 171-inch screen. It's easy to see the appeal, isn't it?

The entire package weighs just 91 grams and doesn't drain the battery of the connected device as much as initially assumed, so it's hard to say that XREAL and ROG aren't succeeding in their intended mission for the R1. There's also electrochromic dimming in the glass, allowing you to darken the lenses with the push of a button, a feature that works absolutely brilliantly.

Of course, there are compromises. The fact that the resolution is "only" 1080p doesn't really matter, and the sharpness throughout the projection is surprisingly solid, even when scaled up to something close to the maximum screen size; however, when using the aforementioned Frame Rate Boost to 240Hz, which has to be one of the most crucial specs, the image quality takes a noticeable hit. Yes, responsiveness increases, but it comes at the expense of a lot of sharpness, which I couldn't quite come to terms with during the review period.

And then there's the ROG Control Dock. The idea is that by providing access to two HDMI 2.0 ports (yes, 2.0, not 2.1), DisplayPort 1.4, and USB-C, the dock can be placed near a TV or computer monitor, allowing you to use its joystick to adjust settings more quickly and actively switch between inputs.

But even though I can easily see the appeal of AR glasses for gaming, I have a hard time understanding who would wear them at home if they have access to a traditional display; their most attractive use case remains on the road, or simply when you're away from your usual setup. So if this ROG Control Dock has contributed to the price of £750, when a pair of XREAL One Pro glasses costs £580, that markup seems like a bit of a waste on a feature I don't quite see the point of.

That said, it's possible to enjoy these Micro-OLED displays with a relatively high refresh rate in a way that allows for tremendous immersion anywhere. I think I might just buy a pair of regular XREALs instead.