The Xreal One series features the X1 chip, the company’s first self-designed processor.
Xreal
Xreal on Wednesday launched its latest generation of augmented reality (AR) glasses, as it looks to fend off competition from the likes of Meta And Snap.
A company backed by a Chinese e-commerce giant AlibabaIt hopes to capitalize on the growing interest in AR glasses.
The Xreal One series includes the X1 chip, the company’s first self-designed processor for its eyewear and a big step forward in product capabilities.
Xreal touts the ability for wearers of its glasses to be able to connect to devices such as a phone, laptop or games console and view their content on a large digital screen in front of them. The A previous generation product of Xreal The device requires a companion device called Beam for connectivity, but the latest chip means Beam is not required.
“I think this is the biggest upgrade in Xreal history and probably the biggest upgrade for the entire consumer AR glasses (sector),” Xreal’s CEO Chi Xu told CNBC in an interview.
The X1 chip has been in the works for three years, Xu said, seeing it as a way to increase the glasses’ ability to differentiate itself from the competition.
“We need to step up to define a chip that really defines some new features for these types of glasses,” Xu said.
Xreal is one of the biggest players in the AR glasses space, but it faces stiff competition from the likes Snap unveiled its new set of glasses in SeptemberPlus the continued efforts of Facebook parent Meta Meta is a Ray-Ban product. Meanwhile, CNBC reported This year it is Qualcomm Working with Google and Samsung on a set of glasses.
Xreal is also among the companies betting on glasses rather than larger headsets like Apple’s Vision Pro or MetaQuest to become a mass-market winner in AR.
“People are starting to realize that the headset doesn’t make sense, we need to move to lighter form factors for the eyewear category,” Xu said. “But the challenge for Glasses is can we push the limits to deliver the headset experience in a much smaller form factor?”
The Xreal One and Xreal One Pro start at $499 and $599 respectively.
AR, which refers to technology that overlays digital content on the real world, has been in the limelight for the past few years. However, the market did not explode as many had predicted. Larger headsets have proven too expensive or uncomfortable, and firms including Xreal and Meta are focusing on how they can make the glasses experience more engaging.
Xu said the product still lacks content and killer use cases, something that needs to change before the product category can reach a wider user base. It all starts with good hardware, the CEO said.
“We need a platform, we need an ecosystem to improve the experience because we don’t have any content yet. But for developers to get excited … you have to have good hardware to start with,” Xu told CNBC. .
Xu said the company expects to sell 500,000 units of its earlier products in 2025, roughly double this year’s figure.
