XREAL Air VS Rokid Max - “AR Glasses” Compared

Today, we're comparing the smartglasses of two major players in the AR glasses realm: Rokid Max VS Nreal Air (now XREAL).
► Our VR recommendations can be found here:

Rokid Max, the fresher face, launched this year, while the Nreal Air hit the UK market back in May 2022. This age gap might explain some significant differences. We’ll talk about design, comfort, visual quality, software compatibility and more. I hope this video helps you make the most informed choice and now, join me beyond reality.

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#arglasses #ar #casandchary

[CasandChary]

What's your pick after hearing this?

[dodgerx]

Nreal Air … or Xreal Air as they are called now (after a dispute with Unreal)
Not only did they change their name today. They also released the Xreal Beam. A device that brings 3Dof head tracking to any device and the ability to stream wireless from Iphone, Android, Mac, windows and Steam Deck without a cable or dongle.

[kristijanpilato]

I have the Nreal Air over 6 months now and I love them, for watching videos and playing games, also they are easy to carry and connect instantly. Got the Red magic adaptor for charging and mirroring on the same time. Can wait for the windows update.

[MKBPresents]

I received my Rokid Max AR glasses yesterday. I have been working to get them optimized for my vision. Overall, I am very impressed and plan to use them for screen mirroring of my PC and game consoles. Yesterday, I played a PS4 game for several hours and while it takes a bit of getting used to, eventually, I almost got to the immersion that I get using the Quest 2 in games. The release set has ventilation holes to let out warm air at the eyebrow and it does keep the rest of the glasses pretty cool but it is another thing to get used to. I like the diopter adjustments very much but until I put on a set of glasses with astigmatism correction, the image was too blurry except for the center. Now, it is almost edge to edge sharp but it looks odd to wear two sets of glasses. I know that I can get custom made lenses for the Rokid Max but they are expensive so I'll put up with this hack for a while.
Overall, I have high hopes for these glasses and can't wait for the 3DOF software for PC. That would be awesome.

[tobiasdrewry]

I actually purchased both to test and will be keeping the Rokid Max. Out of the box, even with the less than optimal Rokid Hub (US) release, the Max works with more of my devices and the 3d SBS switch is a massive boon to watching and playing 3d content in Side-by-side mode.

As you stated in the review, the clarity of the max is noticable compared to the nReal. Additionally, as someone with a wider head, I found the rokid max, with their spring arms and softer pressure, to be far more comfortable to wear for extended periods of time.

I tend to watch my shows and play my games with subtitles enabled by default, I found the max to be legible 100% of the time, while I found the nreal air to only work well with fairly large text.

I do wish the max had shipped with more than one nose piece, however, that is a minor issue in the grand scheme of things!

Thanks for putting this video (and others) together. Keep up the good work and helping drive the VR/AR/XR economy!

[mbot]

I owned both and found the color on the Rokid to be way too warm for my taste. I really couldn’t stand it. Also the edge blur on the Rokid was an actual hindrance with the larger screen vs a minor annoyance on the xreal with the slightly smaller screen. Now that xreal can do 120hz and be paired with the beam, it’s the clear winner in my opinion (unless you need to diopter adjustments).

Thanks so much for the great video!

[rptromega]

Built in diopter of the Rokid was the deciding factor for me.

[Volker_A]

The Nreal looks way better on the face. They don't immediately look weird.

[FlorianFahrenberger]

I got the nReal Air (by the way, they are called "xReal" as of today, I think because of a lawsuit...) about 6 months ago. They are actually great when used as a tiny portable monitor. They work well with the Steam Deck, and I do occasionally watch 3D movies on them. I love that they can already work with Apple computers and will soon work with Windows, but I don't think I will use that very often, much like the phone app. Sure, it's fun and impressive and feels futuristic to put a bunch of windows around you and pretend you live in the future. But it's not really productive or useful.

So: awesome as a portable monitor for gaming and movies. But not really AR, that 3DOF tracking is more of a gimmick.

[seankew]

With the upcoming launch of the Beam for the Xreal / Nreal Air, I think the decision will become a bit easier.

[johncrichton]

Dear Cas and Char, this is a great video and I have literally been waiting for such a clear and informative piece to be published - keep it up!!

[LawrenceKennard]

I'm among a small group of people that have low vision and appreciate this video❤

[Juice]

Think I’m going to put the Rokid on my radar for Black Friday. I wear glasses so the option to dial in my prescription makes the choice pretty simple.
Thanks for the review though, the video’s very well put together and answered any questions I could’ve thought of.

[PSYCHOVNM]

THANK YOU so damn much for THIS comparison video.

[dublinvids]

NReals arms adjust with a loud snapping for each increment. My advice is adjust once and once only and when they are unconnected as one lens stopped functioning when I was adjusting them.

[ThatSoddingGamer]

TBH, I'm going to wait a generation or two for the technology to mature a bit further. I just saw the Apple Vision Pro, and while that thing is stupid expensive (Like $3500 US?), it does seem to set the bar appropriately high. In a few years or so, I hope to see something of similar level of quality to that (visual fidelity, gesture & voice controls, and overall software support and stability), cheaper (let's be real, we don't need the Eye Vision gimmick do we? It's an interesting feature but no doubt is an expensive addition), and of course targeted towards Windows/Android. Basically, I'd like to see something lean more in the VR, but provide high quality passthrough like the Apple Vision apparently has. I know some VR headsets, especially high end ones, have some great features, but we need something smaller and lighter if we're going to use it regularly in day to day life. Battery life is also a big factor.

[dumky]

Glad to know the Rokid works with the Nintendo Switch with minimal hassle! I hope the Nreal Air could provide a similar dongle/solution.

[Zimtok]

Your editing is glass smooth and the timing of transitions is soothing. Beautifully done.

Also, this answers a big question I had, as I find these devices to sport a very attractive use case.

[geekwars]

Rokid for me - for two reasons:
- I wear regular glasses, meaning I'd need to add the cost of prescription lenses with the Nreal
- I would use it mainly for portable gaming, meaning I care less about the software support and care more about the refresh rate

[officialstevenma]

3:01 that's probably the best way to put the AR view into perspective that I've seen so far, every other video should be doing this