Wearable Tech: Is the Apple Vision Pro Worth the High Price Tag?
WEARABLE tech is the talk of the town thanks to the Apple Vision Pro. But with a hefty price tag of $3499 (£2,773) it’s way out of the affordability range for most people. There are some less powerful alternatives around for those who are more interested in basic visual content – ie watching TV and movies – than augmented reality features. That’s where XREAL hopes to come in with its smart glasses that are a fraction of the cost – and the company has plans for something even bigger in March to take on Apple. So, what better place to test out a wearable than during a long flight in the comfort of Virgin Atlantic Upper Class, where I can lay back and see if the XREAL Air 2 Pro is worthwhile.
XREAL Air 2 Pro: How does it work?
The XREAL Air 2 Pro can connect to anything that supports USB-C, which is most things these days, so Android phones, laptops and even games consoles. Obviously, the iPhone 15 has just adopted USB-C so it works with that too, but for older iPhones still with the lightning cable you really need a separate device called the “Beam” for it to work fully – more on that later. The XREAL Air 2 Pro basically creates a virtual projection of whatever is on the screen of the device you’ve plugged in. What you see can be expanded to create a virtual floating screen up to 130-inches wide, all generated from two 0.55-inch Sony micro-OLED displays with a 1080p resolution.
XREAL Air 2 Pro: Set-up
Set-up of the XREAL Air 2 Pro is a bit of a faff depending on the device you’re using. If you’ve got a USB-C smartphone then it’s certainly a lot easier – although not every handset is supported so be sure to check XREAL’s list before. But with an iPhone using a lightning cable (and other non-supported devices) you’ll have to buy the separate Beam display adapter – and there are a whole load of wires involved as you can see in the image below.
XREAL Air 2 Pro: What’s it like?
Laying back and being able to watch what I want on my Virgin Atlantic flight from a huge virtual screen no one else could see was a dream. I prefer keeping the display to a locked position – the option that moves with you made me feel dizzy. The images are really sharp though; 4K would have been even better. Sound comes out of tiny speakers built into the glasses which were not powerful enough for a flight, so Bluetooth earbuds were definitely a must (and I would probably advise them away from flights too so you’re not annoying people). The ability to dim the glasses is the key difference between the XREAL Air 2 and XREAL Air 2 Pro, which is a handy addition, however most of the time I preferred using it with complete darkness.
XREAL Air 2 Pro: Verdict
The XREAL Air 2 Pro is a game-changing gadget for a totally different viewing experience, especially if you love good telly and a movie like me. They don’t look wacky and they’re pretty comfortable too, especially when tucked under a cozy quilt on a flight with Virgin Atlantic. I just wish there weren’t so many wires to get tangled in. And the Beam device should be included with every unit as standard, not treated as an extra add-on to pay for (at £119 / $119) as it provides so much more. The XREAL Air 2 Pro on its own costs £449 / $449 which is also quite steep for most consumers. XREAL recently revealed a new Air 2 Ultra with added hand tracking that’s being mooted as a real rival to the Apple Vision Pro which I’m intrigued to try next.