Xreal’s New $299 ‘xbx’ Smart Glasses Channel Xbox Vibes | WIREDSkip to main contentMenuSECURITYPOLITICSTHE BIG STORYBUSINESSSCIENCECULTUREREVIEWSMenuAccountAccountNewslettersBest Power BanksBest Smart RingsRouters vs. ModemsChoose the Right LaptopSmart SprinklersDeals DeliveredSecurityPoliticsThe Big StoryBusinessScienceCultureReviewsChevronMoreExpandThe Big InterviewMagazineEventsWIRED InsiderWIRED ConsultingNewslettersPodcastsVideoLivestreamsMerchSearchSearchBoone AshworthGearMay 27, 2026 9:54 AMXreal’s New $299 ‘xbx’ Smart Glasses Channel Xbox VibesThese display smart glasses can connect to a phone, laptop, or gaming handheld and project the screen to your eyeballs.Courtesy of XrealCommentLoaderSave StorySave this storyCommentLoaderSave StorySave this storyXreal, known for its high-end display-centric smart glasses, is making its gear more accessible. On Wednesday, the company revealed a new sub-brand—X By Xreal—focused on lightweight display glasses that start at $299.Xreal is the Chinese tech company that makes screen-forward smart glasses. Its devices connect to a phone, desktop, or console and provide a display that beams large, high-quality video directly into the wearer’s eyeballs. The glasses are meant to provide a sharp, reasonably comfortable way to play games or watch movies on a big screen, without having to crane your neck down at a phone, laptop, or gaming handheld.X By Xreal, or xbx for short, sounds a little like Microsoft’s popular gaming console, but Xreal thinks it’s different enough that the naming convention won’t draw Redmond’s ire. The first pair of glasses—the a01—look like they feature Xbox branding, with the xbx logo rendered along the frames in a bright yellow-green font that invites comparison.Courtesy of XrealThe a01 are extra lightweight, weighing around 62 grams (0.14 pounds). Xreal says the displays have a perceived brightness of 1600 nits, with HDR10 support, an anti-shake mode to help keep the picture stable, and interchangeable frames. They’re designed to be comfy, wearable glasses for people to keep on their face, whether they are “lying in bed watching shows late at night or gaming with friends for long periods,” according to the company's press release. Since they connect to a phone or laptop that does the bulk of the video processing, the glasses don’t require their own batteries.Xreal’s main goal with its glasses is to win on wearability. Face computers have long struggled on that front. More powerful systems beget heftier cases, which are harder on faces. The big smart glasses manufacturers, like Meta and Google, are aiming to squeeze as many features as possible into their smart glasses while also keeping them mobile and comfy. Meta, which has done quite well on that front, has still struggled to keep its more powerful glasses from bulging out.Xreal’s display glasses take a different route, focusing on more niche use cases of consuming content. They’re not designed to be worn while walking around, though the display's high brightness and the chromatic dimming features mean they can be used outdoors. The a01 also supports Xreal's Beam Pro, its Android device that enables three degrees of freedom (3DoF) tracking plus access to Google Play Store apps.Courtesy of XrealThe new xbx a01 glasses come a week after we learned more about Xreal’s Project Aura glasses, which it’s developing in partnership with Google and Qualcomm. These glasses aim to slim down the traditionally heavy, boxy chassis usually found on mixed reality headsets—like Samsung’s Galaxy XR or the Apple Vision Pro—and pack that power into a battery-pack-supported but much lighter pair of glasses people might want to wear, hand tracking and all.The a01 glasses are available in China, and the company says they will launch in the US in July. They cost $299, which is markedly cheaper than many of Xreal’s other glasses products.CommentsBack to topTriangleYou Might Also LikeHow to find us: Add WIRED.com to your preferred sources in GoogleHow the Canvas hack threatened thousands of schoolsBig Story: I've covered robots for years—this one is eerily lifelikeOrbs, saucers, and flashes on the moon—here’s what’s in the UFO filesTake our survey: What does “home” mean to you?Boone Ashworth is a staff writer on the WIRED Gear desk, where he writes about connected hardware, sustainability, and the right to repair. 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Xreal, a company specializing in display-centric smart glasses, has launched a new sub-brand, X By Xreal, introducing more accessible, lightweight display glasses starting at $299, exemplified by the Xbx model designed for Xbox Vibes. These devices function by connecting to external sources such as a phone, laptop, or gaming handheld to project large, high-quality video directly into the wearer’s eyes, aiming to provide a comfortable method for consuming media like games or movies without requiring users to look down at handheld devices, thus alleviating neck strain. The naming convention, Xbx, is intended to be distinct from established gaming brands. The initial model, the a01, emphasizes wearability, weighing only about 62 grams, and features a perceived brightness of 1600 nits along with HDR10 support, an anti-shake mode for picture stability, and interchangeable frames, making them suitable for extended use. A key design philosophy for Xreal is achieving superior wearability, addressing the difficulty faced by other smart glasses manufacturers, such as Meta and Google, in balancing powerful features with comfortable, mobile designs. Unlike some mixed reality headsets, Xreal's focus is on content consumption rather than active locomotion, although the high brightness and chromatic dimming features permit outdoor use. Furthermore, the Xbx a01 integrates with Xreal's Beam Pro, an Android device that supports three degrees of freedom tracking and access to the Google Play Store applications. Developments in this area parallel Xreal's work on Project Aura glasses, which seeks to reduce the bulkiness of mixed reality hardware through battery support and enhanced hand tracking. The glasses operate by offloading the heavy video processing to connected external devices, meaning the glasses themselves do not require internal batteries, simplifying the design. Although currently available in China, Xreal plans to launch the Xbx in the United States in July.