Future of Smart Glasses: Insights from XREAL's CEO

XREAL's new display glasses, XREAL Air, enhance AR experiences and aim to revolutionize smart glasses with advanced tech and affordability.

### The Future of Smart Glasses: Insights from XREAL's CEO
* 👓 I had the opportunity to experience XR's latest high-end display glasses, the **XREAL Air**, while discussing future developments with CEO **Chi**.
* 🔍 The XREAL Air boasts an impressive **50 and 57° field of view**, priced affordably at **$500 and $600**, respectively, with enhanced audio powered by **Bose**.
* 🌐 XREAL is pioneering advancements in AR glasses, aiming to provide a display experience that combines **high quality with affordability**, targeting **80% of the VST experience at only 20% of the cost**.
* 💻 The introduction of the X1 chip is a significant breakthrough, enabling **universal 3D capabilities** across various devices, which enhances **user interaction with the displays**.
* 📷 XREAL is also developing a plug-in camera compatible with AI, indicating a future where smart glasses can **integrate more advanced functionalities**.
* 🔄 The CEO envisions a shift in AR glasses over the next 5 to 10 years, where these devices become **more compact and versatile**, potentially **replacing traditional eyewear**.
* 🚀 As the technology evolves, XREAL aims to **offload more computational tasks to the glasses themselves**, paving the way for a **more independent and efficient user experience**.
* 🌟 Overall, the conversation highlighted a **promising trajectory for smart glasses**, merging **current functionalities** with **future innovations** in AR technology.

I got to play games and look at videos through XR's newest pair of high-end display glasses, but I also got to talk to the CEO and founder about what's coming next. There's a whole future of smart glasses and AR glasses that are coming, but in the present, there are a

bunch of glasses that are already out which do really useful things. One of them is the whole product line made by XREAL. These display glasses have been around for years, but XR's newest line, called the XREAL Air, improves the quality of the display and the audio

even more. The XREAL Air has a 50 and 57° field of view in glasses that aren't that expensive—$500 or $600 for the two models—with audio powered by Bose and a new ability to take these displays and fix them in space so that you could turn

your head and allow yourself to see much larger pieces of a much larger display without feeling like they're floating glued to your eyes. What XREAL is doing is one step of where AR glasses are heading, and I'm really curious to see whether it's a sign of what's to come. XREAL also

has a plug-in camera for these glasses that's going to be compatible with AI, and I spoke to the CEO of XREAL to talk about what else is coming next for smart glasses and for XREAL. So, um, talking about Chi, who's the founder and CEO of

XREAL display glasses that I've worn and tested and been out there, work with uh, phones and game consoles, and I'm curious where the new glasses fit themselves in a landscape where we see AR glasses like, you know, they're prototypes of things that Meta

Is doing with Orion. Snap's doing spectacles, and then these at a lower price are also hitting a different landscape. Like, what do you see happening? Well, I see actually a big kind of trend: VSTs are slowly

going down, and you know, OS is getting more and more popular. The OSC is Optical See-Through. I was going to ask what that...

Yeah, Optical See-Through. Okay, so uh, yeah, and we've always been, you know, working heavily, investing heavily on this kind of OS class, believing this is the right

form factor, you know, and our ideal goal is, you know, um, how could we actually make this kind of glasses with like 80% of the VST experience but only at 20% of their cost in terms of, you know, price point, the weight, and everything. Look at the full

factor, right? This is something I believe I could wear on a daily basis, and you know, uh, given that kind of direction, all we're trying to do is, you know, how do we pick the display technology and how can we actually further optimize and tailor the kind of experience, you know, for

this? And one of the biggest kind of breakthroughs we had is this X1 chip. You know, we think, you know, um, how we actually enable kind of universal 3D off capability on virtually any kind of hosting device. You know, there's no existing kind of solution for that, so we

have to build something from scratch. So the X1 chip on this... um, does look like some of the stuff that's been happening on some of your other devices, yeah, the separate devices, the Beam Pro, and it can fix things in space and...

Allow the display to work a bit, also. Like, uh, I tried that SpaceTop AR laptop where you could float displays, and I tried curving a monitor, and you could move around and see different parts of the display. And that works with any device that works with

like an iPhone or Steam Deck or whatever. Yep. Do you see more software becoming, like, acknowledging this capability, or does it not even matter in terms of, you know, where you're positioning yourself as kind of like an AR plug-in display?

First of all, you want to make this like a very independent kind of accessory that can easily plug into anything. But if you really want to take this to the next level, yes, I think, you know, we can easily work with some third-party laptop companies to enable maybe not an

ultra-wide screen, but three separate different screens there. And slowly, slowly you can be able to project some of the hotspots, not just on Windows, and those kinds of support is something we require from the third parties. Well, I think it's also interesting that in

trying these out, that they have their own, like, TV settings built in, you know, that you can do. There's a lot more onboard customization, and it feels like it's bridging the gap between, like the way I see it now, smart glasses have this

you know, people see a future with AR glasses, but in the present, the glasses are doing particular things like, oh, they're a good camera, or they're headphones, or in this case, they're your display. And these seem to be leaning a lot into, we're going to

Become more of that for people. Absolutely. I think, you know, for productivity, for gaming, this is their both top choices. Yeah, I'm really curious about the camera, you know, the camera, which I didn't get to, uh, you know, I know was coming and I got to see it on the

glasses.  Bridges into that um AI glasses territory you're starting to see with like Meta and its glasses. Where do you see that going with this? I think, you know, AI is going to be a big kind of complement to AR going forward. It's

going to make AR glasses more efficient in terms of interface. And on the other hand, I think, you know, if you look at like 5 to 10 years, probably AR is the best platform for AI to take off because this is probably the the host for you to see

the world you're seeing and also know your intent feedback. So those kinds of personalized data are going to help your personalized AI a lot more efficient, a lot more powerful as well. I mean, do you see that happening almost agnostically across platforms, or you know, like it's it's

an interesting position because it's kind of like, 'build it and they will come.' There's a part that you want to wait for like ecosystems to arrive and then you build the hardware. I think it's a very interesting X Project is like you just kind of make stuff that works and um and

you know, everybody's waiting for these advanced AR glasses and phone ecosystems, but that's, you know, that's still a long road. Yeah, but I, you know, you know, being in this industry, this is hardware, you know, uh, it takes time, but you know, we're really excited about what

Going to happen in the next couple of years, I think we'll finally see a pivoting point where the market is going to explode. And I see, from the technology side, a lot of stuff coming together for a form factor like this and even smaller. Do you think...

Um, I notice on the Pro models, they're getting more compact; the lenses are getting flatter. It's starting to look a little more like regular glasses. They're still different. Do you think...

How far away do you think it'll be until you could bridge that gap? Obviously, still being tethered, but do you see some of those things being overcome, or do you imagine you'll kind of just cross those...

bridges as you come to them? Well, it depends on what your application is for, right? If you want to replace the glasses you're wearing today, we're probably seeing five to ten years. But, I think for now, if...

you really want to have a sunglasses-type device, you carry this with you all the time, and from time to time you want to plug it in and then just enjoy the experience. I think this one is...

probably pretty good. Yeah. Would you ever explore other types of accessories? Because I see Meta has the wristband, and I'm really curious how much further, especially with the Ultras that are out there, there's possibility of doing six-DOF or...

Full motion AR, and I'm curious about how far that part... not absolutely. So the goal is not, you know, coming up with different types of interaction tools; it is coping with a system where you feel like this is more intuitive and also yet efficient. Well, it also occurs...

to me, trying out the... um... the demonstration of the curved display on the laptop. And I've been thinking about AR, and part of me thinks as much as there's like future tech that you want to throw at people, is it...

also about getting people used to just the idea of using something like this and then building from it? Because I kind of see that here where it's like, you know, enough people start using it as a display, doing things like that, then you start adding more and that becomes the...

definition of what AR is. That's how the smartphone—the iPhone—got started, remember? Right. Yeah. So we actually wanted this to be a product that people can use on any basis, and then they will actually want to add more stuff, and there will be more developers jumping in as...

well. And also, I guess I finish thinking about your your X1 chip, which is like a new custom chip that's on these... that is the beginning of some sort of a footprint there for how these can function on their own, anchoring things in space. Where do you see things going...

along that road? Well, I think, you know, it is a very important and pivoting point, and going forward there's going to be more and more kind of computation offloaded to the glasses. And you know, right now we have all the processing here, and maybe later...

Six. Off-hand gesture, and maybe even some of the AI capability will happen here. And this, you know, eventually you realize you can actually cut off this wire, and this will be all you want—devices at some point. So this is like the beginning of that, yeah, beginning steps because it

does feel like there's more *living* on these glasses now than before, even though they're also working as displays. Yeah, and that's why, you know, compared to all the Air series, yeah, we believe we want to call this X1. This is the actual step forward for consumer

industry. Great talking to you, and uh, yeah, it's obviously curious about what comes next. There's a lot of stuff happening in this space, uh, and uh, if you have more questions, you can leave them below. But uh, yeah, thanks for watching.

Xreal One is Another Step Forward: The Future of AR Glasses Is Coming (Exclusive)

CNET is the premier destination for explaining and navigating the changing world around us. Through news, product reviews, price comparisons, and more, we’ll tell you what’s new in the parts of modern life that increasingly matter more — from health, home, and money to tech, culture, and climate — and how to get the most out of them.

CNET

Introduction to XREAL Air and its features

Review of XREAL Air display glasses, including interaction with the CEO.

Focus on XREAL Air's improved display and audio quality, powered by Bose.

Description of the 50° and 57° field of view and pricing ($500-$600).

Highlighting the ability to fix displays in space for a wider viewing experience.

Mention of an upcoming AI-compatible plug-in camera.

Discussion on the future of smart glasses and XREAL's position in the market

Comparison of XREAL glasses with other AR glasses from Meta and Snap.

CEO's perspective on the trend of Optical See-Through (OST) technology becoming more popular.

XREAL's focus on OST glasses with a goal of 80% VST experience at 20% of the cost.

Discussion on optimizing display technology and user experience.

Introduction of the X1 chip and its universal 3D off capability.

Software compatibility and future development

Discussion on the compatibility of the glasses with various devices (iPhone, Steam Deck).

Question regarding software acknowledging the glasses' capabilities.

CEO's vision for future collaborations with third-party laptop companies.

Mention of onboard customization and bridging the gap between smart and AR glasses.

Current use cases of smart glasses (camera, headphones, display).

Focus on XREAL's approach to becoming a more versatile device for users.

Discussion on the integration of AI capabilities into AR glasses.

Long-term vision for AR glasses and XREAL's strategy

Discussion on the long-term development of advanced AR glasses and phone ecosystems.

Prediction of a market explosion in the next few years due to technological advancements.

Observation on the increasing compactness of Pro models and the future of form factor.

CEO's estimation of the time needed to create glasses that fully replace regular glasses (5-10 years).

Future accessories and interaction methods

Discussion on exploring other accessories beyond the glasses themselves (like Meta's wristband).

CEO's focus on intuitive and efficient interaction systems rather than introducing various interaction tools.

Discussion on the importance of getting users accustomed to the technology before adding more features.

The strategy of creating a product that people can use daily and then adding more features as demand grows.

The role of the X1 chip and future advancements

Discussion on the X1 chip's role in offloading computation to the glasses.

Vision of future capabilities: off-hand gestures and AI processing on the glasses.

The X1 chip as a stepping stone towards completely wireless devices.

Concluding remarks on XREAL's advancements in the consumer industry.