Xreal XBX a01+ review: Astoundingly bright, lightweight AR glasses for $299

Xreal XBX a01+ review: Astoundingly bright, lightweight AR glasses for $299 It's the best pair of budget AR glasses we've seen yet. I've sung my praises about Xreal's One AR glasses, but at $599, they're not exactly an impulse purchase. Enter the XBX a01+, a pair of $299 glasses that offer a stripped-down AR experience while still delivering much of what makes Xreal's premium frames so great. Slip them on, and you've got a 147-inch virtual screen on your face. It can mirror your phone, computer or portable gaming device (though not the Switch or Switch 2, unfortunately). They sport sharp Micro-OLED lenses with a shocking 1,600-nit peak brightness, and they weigh just 62 grams (about the same as a C battery). While RayNeo has had $300 AR glasses for years, like the recent Air 4 Pro, the XBX a01+ is brighter and has a slightly wider field of view. It's still not exactly cheap, but at the very least it means there's more competition in the world of AR glasses, which tends to drive prices down over time. What's special about the Xreal XBX a01+? "Holy crap, these are light." That was my first thought after taking the a01+ out of its compact hard case. It's noticeably less hefty than the Xreal One Pro, and it doesn't feel much heavier than a typical pair of oversized sunglasses. Honestly, it's easy to mistake the a01+ for normal shades — its arms aren't overly boxy like the One Pro, and its front frames hide its techier innards. And unlike Meta's family of smart glasses, there aren't any cameras to creep people out. What makes the XBX a01+ truly special is its dual-layer Micro-OLED 1080p screen, which can be cranked all the way up to 1,600 nits. That's far brighter than you'd typically want for a screen directly in front of your eyeballs, but it helps the glasses deliver a sharp image in the direct sun or other over-lit environments. There are fourteen steps of brightness adjustment, as well as multiple viewing profiles. You'd typically use the standard mode, but there's also an eye-care mode that reduces blue light, as well as a cinema mode that tones down color saturation. With a 50 degree field of view, the a01+ does a decent job of virtualizing a 147-inch screen directly in front of you. Its 120Hz refresh rate also means it can handle 120 fps gaming if you connect it to a PC or compatible handhelds. Dual stereo speaker drivers built into frames also deliver sound right to your ears with a variety of audio modes (standard, whisper, cinema and 3D surround). And before you ask, no, the XBX a01+ has no affiliation with Xbox. Xreal representatives said Microsoft is aware of the product and has no problem with it. It sure seems like a missed opportunity for Microsoft to tie itself to a useful gaming accessory, though. Using the XBX ao1+: An affordable cinema for your face After snapping on prescription lenses (an additional $50 from HonsVR) above the a01+'s display, I plugged the glasses into my iPhone and was immediately taken aback. In front of me was…