XREAL Beam Pro is a $199 phone-like Android device designed to pair with XREAL’s augmented reality glasses

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XREAL is a company that makes Augmented Reality glasses, which basically put a floating display in front of your eyes without completely obscuring your vision, allowing you to see virtual and real-world objects at the same time. The latest model also support “immersion controls” which let you block out the real world while watching videos.

In order to actually use these AR glasses though, you need to pair them with a device like a smartphone, tablet, PC, or game console. And up until now, that meant using them with a third-party device. But now the company has launched a phone-like, pocket-sized Android device called the XREAL Beam Pro that’s designed to work with XREAL glasses. It’s available for pre-order now for $199 and up and should begin shipping in mid-July.

Keep in mind that the price does not include a set of glasses. But if you don’t already have those, you can buy a bundle with both the Beam Pro and a set of XREAL Air 2 Pro glasses. Here are some of the pricing options available at launch:

  • XREAL Beam Pro (6GB RAM/128GB storage) for $199
  • XREAL Beam Pro (8GB/256GB) for $249
  • XREAL Beam Pro (6GB/128GB) + Air 2 Pro for $602 (marked down from $648 retail price)
  • XREAL Beam Pro (8GB/256GB) + Air 2 Pro for $649 (marked down from $698 retail price)

While the XREAL Beam Pro isn’t a phone, it is a full-fledged Android device that ships with access to the Google Play Store, allowing you to interact with millions of apps using either a set of AR glasses or the device’s 6.5 inch display. In fact, you could probably think about this as the latest in a line of Android-powered iPod touch competitors… albeit, one that’s purpose-built for use with an external, wearable display and has a few unusual quirks.

For example, the Beam Pro has a “Snapdragon spatial companion processor,” which suggests it could be using a chip that’s part of the Qualcomm Snapdragon XR family rather than one of the processors more typically found in smartphones and tablets. The phone’s two 50MP rear cameras are positioned so that you can use them to record stereoscopic 3D photos and 1080p/60 fps videos. And there are two USB-C ports instead of just one (allowing you to, for example, charge the Beam Pro and use a headset at the same time, or use AR glasses and a pair of wired headphone simultaneously – since there’s no 3.5mm audio jack).

Otherwise, if this thing had support for making phone calls and sending text messages over cellular networks, it would be a phone. It has a 6.5 inch, 2400 x 1080 pixel, 60 Hz display, support for WiFi 6 and Bluetooth 5.2, two USB 3 Type-C ports with support for video output, a 4,300 mAh battery and support for 27W fast charging, a microSD card reader with support for cards up to 1TB, and proximity, ambient light, and motion sensors. There’s an 8MP front-facing camera, and the device is rated IP54 for dust and water resistance.

XREAL says you should be able to watch videos for up to 3.5 hours when using a pair of AR glasses, or for up to 7.5 hours using the built-in display.

The XREAL Beam Pro ships with an operating system that’s based on Android 14, called NebulaOS. In addition to letting you view and interact with Android apps in a wearable display, the operating system provides “a spatial canvas where up to two apps can be opened, positioned side-by-side in a notebook array, and placed in 3D space.” You can navigate using the handheld Beam Pro “as a pointed and touchpad.”

The company also plans to offer a version with 5G support in the future, as well as an Enterprise edition. There’s no word on how much those models will cost or when they’ll be available yet.

The Beam Pro isn’t Xreal’s first mobile hardware device meant to pair with the company’s glasses. But the original Xreal Beam is a much more limited gadget, which lacks its own display and can only be used with external displays. It also lacks support for the Google Play Store and other apps that require Google Mobile Services like YouTube, Chrome, or Google Maps.

press release

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