This tiny tablet is a smart upgrade for AR glasses
An Android phone minus the phone plus two giant cameras. | Image: Adi Robertson / The Verge Xreal is one of the few companies trying to sell mass-market augmented reality headsets without an existing big tech empire. But its latest product isn’t a pair of glasses; it’s a phone-sized Android tablet designed to keep you using them. At last week’s Augmented World Expo (AWE) the company announced the Beam Pro, a combination battery, app repository, and 3D video recorder. It’s a pragmatic solution to a very obvious problem — even if, at first glance, I wish it were weirder. Xreal’s glasses — the Air 2 and Air 2 Ultra — have generally required some kind of third-party device like a phone, laptop, or Steam Deck. (There was a bare-bones control box called the Beam, but it wasn’t a big focus for the company.) The Beam Pro is meant to... Continue reading…
![This tiny tablet is a smart upgrade for AR glasses](https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/3isH1nsR5kyy2GsYbtpMKhEhgHo=/0x0:4032x3024/1200x628/filters:focal(2016x1512:2017x1513)/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/25504395/20240619_132925.jpg)
![The back of the Xreal Beam Pro, a chunky white Android tablet.](https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/E21DRI27rurDQDY1xMNsQjl-vhE=/0x168:4032x2856/1310x873/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/73427131/20240619_132925.0.jpg)
Xreal is one of the few companies trying to sell mass-market augmented reality headsets without an existing big tech empire. But its latest product isn’t a pair of glasses; it’s a phone-sized Android tablet designed to keep you using them. At last week’s Augmented World Expo (AWE) the company announced the Beam Pro, a combination battery, app repository, and 3D video recorder. It’s a pragmatic solution to a very obvious problem — even if, at first glance, I wish it were weirder.
Xreal’s glasses — the Air 2 and Air 2 Ultra — have generally required some kind of third-party device like a phone, laptop, or Steam Deck. (There was a bare-bones control box called the Beam, but it wasn’t a big focus for the company.) The Beam Pro is meant to...
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