CES 2026: Tried Xreal’s Unreleased ROG R1 Gaming Glasses

Xreal, the augmented reality brand behind some of the leading smart glasses, faces a lot of new competition at CES 2026. Smart glasses have been a hit with attendees at this year’s CES packed convention floor. Earlier in the event, I was impressed with the TCL RayNeo Air 4 Pro (especially for its price).

So, how does the Xreal respond to a more crowded pitch? By bringing out the big guns.

Xreal introduced two new pairs of AR glasses for CES 2026: the Xreal 1S and the ROG Xreal R1 AR gaming glasses. The Xreal 1S offers some significant upgrades over its predecessor, not to mention a price drop to $449. Meanwhile, the company claims its upcoming ROG Xreal R1 AR gaming glasses are the world’s first micro-LED smart glasses with a 240Hz refresh rate (not even the Apple Vision Pro can do that). You can buy the Xreal 1S now, but the new ROG glasses won’t arrive until later this year, and may come with a higher price tag.

On top of that, Xreal is showcasing a new innovation at CES – Instant 3D Transformation. Xreal calls it Real 3D, and it’s now available on both the 1S And Existing Xreal One Pro glasses are a free over-the-air update. This system instantly converts your display, photos, videos, games and entertainment content from 2D to 3D, and it’s a damn trick.

I’ve always been very open about being very skeptical of smart glasses, especially if they have built-in cameras. The Xreal Smart Glasses were the first thing that made me say, “Okay, I get it. That’s really cool.” The company’s spatial computing glasses create a giant screen in your surroundings that mirrors the display on your smartphone, tablet or laptop. So, if you’re working in a coffee shop or on an airplane, you’ll immediately see a large screen floating in the air in front of you, while built-in Bose speakers deliver audio.

I tried out the ROG Xreal R1 AR gaming glasses at CES

I tried out the unreleased R1 glasses during a demo at CES paired with the new ROG Xbox Ally X gaming handheld. This includes using them to play Elton Ring When they are connected to a gaming PC. The results surprised me. As I like to say, it made me feel like I was living in the future. They delivered one of those rare “holy shit” moments, which is exactly what I look for at CES.

The R1’s display is quite impressive, and the refresh rate was flat. As mentioned earlier, even the $3,499 Apple Vision Pro maxes out at 120Hz, and while watching some movies on the Vision Pro, it didn’t seem like it consistently hit that rate. Not so in the case of R1. Graphics were impressive with strong color and clarity compared to nearby display. They aren’t too heavy on your face either, although I couldn’t wear them for very long.

The new R1 sports ‘Eldon Ring’ with gaming glasses.
Credit: Timothy Werth / Mashable

Credit: Timothy Werth / Mashable

Unlike Xreal’s other glasses, the R1 doesn’t connect directly to your device. They sit on your desk and plug into an included dock that lets you connect to a wide variety of devices. This makes the R1 a bit less mobile; However, the dock is very compact and you can always plug directly into the gaming handheld.

Here’s what gamers will get with the R1:

• Display: 240Hz 1080p Micro-OLED panels

• Resolution: 1920 x 1080

• Display size: 171 inch display from a distance of 4 meters

• Field of View: 57 degrees

• Weight: 91 grams

• The sound of the pose

• Electrochromic lenses

• Includes ROG controller dock

• Link: PCs, consoles, handhelds, Android and iOS via USB-C

The real 3D conversion feature works instantly

With Apple’s Vision Pro and Samsung’s Galaxy XR, users can turn their photos and videos into 3D content. This portability is a big selling point with these futuristic headsets. However, this process always takes a few seconds and can be hit or miss.

However, Xreal’s 3D conversion feature is unlike anything I’ve tried before. With this setting enabled, every part of your virtual scene will be instantly converted from 2D to 3D. The app icons on my iPhone display popped off the screen. The desktop background suddenly became three-dimensional. It even works with video content. I took some recent 4K videos I shot during Gwen Stefani’s performance at The Sphere, and the Xreal One Pro instantly turned them into surprisingly realistic 3D videos.

I don’t like the marketing image for the true 3D feature, it doesn’t quite capture the experience. It’s a lot trippier — in a good way.

The actual 3D effect is cooler than this picture, I promise.
Credit: Xreal

These kinds of 3D conversions are never perfect, but I was impressed by how realistically it rendered 3D content — and how quickly. True 3D can be activated with the push of a button, and as far as I can tell the effect is immediate. In Xreal, “it’s all powered by the X1 spatial computing chip itself.”

What’s even cooler is that this feature is available for free for existing Xreal glasses. It’s available as an over-the-air software update, and I’m happy to continue playing it at home. (Go to the Xreal website to access the update.)

The real 3D aspect is very impressive.
Credit: Timothy Werth / Mashable

The Xreal eye patch (pictured here) also enables registration and gesture control.
Credit: Timothy Werth / Mashable

Likewise, once CES is over, I’m excited to try out the new Xreal 1S glasses and pit them against newcomers from TCL and other brands. Xreal isn’t cheap, but that’s not the goal.

During my demo, an Xreal representative told me that they don’t compete on price, but try to compete on quality. Based on the brand’s CES offerings, they are still several steps ahead of the competition.

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