Beam Pro is essentially a specialized Android device designed specifically for powering Xreal glasses, including 6DoF AR on the Xreal Air 2 Ultra.
The Xreal Air glasses lack internal computing or battery powers, acting purely as an external display for any connected device (such as your phone) via USB-C, projecting images onto a head-mounted virtual screen. However, when paired with certain Android phones, a PC, or numerous devices via the existing Xreal Beam adapter, the glasses can support 3DoF rotational tracking. When used with specific Samsung Galaxy phones, the Xreal Air 2 Ultra can perform true AR with 6DoF positional tracking.
Xreal Glasses offer 0DoF with most devices (left), 3DoF with Beam Pro on most Air models (middle), and 6DoF with Beam Pro on Air 2 Ultra.
Enter Xreal Beam Pro. It’s crafted to enable true 6DoF AR on the Air 2 Ultra or provide a 3DoF display on other Air models, regardless of the phone you own and without depleting its battery.
Xreal Beam Pro isn’t intended to replace your existing phone but to act as a dedicated computing hub for your smart glasses – supporting all media and gaming apps available on the Google Play Store.
Xreal’s Nebula app launcher and positioning system.
Xreal claims it includes Netflix, Disney+, Prime Video, Steam Link, and cloud gaming services. For gaming, you can pair a Bluetooth gamepad and for all uses you can pair Bluetooth headphones.
When you connect your Xreal Air glasses to the Xreal Beam Pro, you’ll see the company’s Nebula app launcher, which allows you to position these Android apps in space. In applications, the Xreal Air 2 Ultra will remain fixed in position thanks to 6DoF tracking, while in all other models of glasses they will only be 3DoF (rotational).
Xreal Air 2 Ultra: True AR Glasses for Samsung Galaxy S23
Xreal Air 2 Ultra are genuine AR glasses with positional tracking and scene mesh, powered by a Samsung Galaxy S22 or Galaxy S23 via USB-C. Full details here:
Unlike typical phones, the Beam Pro has two USB-C ports at the bottom. One powers the glasses, and the other allows simultaneous charging. The battery should last around 3 hours and supports 27W charging to fully recharge in just over an hour.
The Beam Pro runs on Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 6 Gen 1, a low-end but relatively recent 4nm chip used in budget Android phones, and has a 6.5-inch 90Hz LCD panel with 1080p resolution.
Xreal Beam Pro
The two rear cameras are designed to capture stereoscopic 3D photos and videos and have a 50mm aperture, which is much wider than the iPhone 15 Pro’s cameras. The Xreal Beam Pro supports 3D 1080p 60FPS video recording, compared to 30FPS in Apple’s camera app.
The $200 base model has 6GB of RAM and 128GB of storage, while an 8GB of RAM and 256GB model is available for $250.
These two models offer Wi-Fi only, but a higher-end version with a SIM card tray and 5G modem is expected later this year if you actually want it to replace your current phone.
All models feature a microSD slot that supports cards up to 1TB.
While Xreal’s devices somewhat resemble traditional glasses, they have a thicker, lower profile.
Pre-orders for the Xreal Beam Pro are now available in the US, UK, Germany, France, Italy, Netherlands, Czech Republic, Japan, and China. In South Korea, pre-orders will open on July 1. Xreal says it “anticipates” shipping in August.
Owners of the original Xreal Beam, which has been poorly received due to issues with image quality and the cooling fan, can order the Beam Pro for $150 until July 10.