Every January, the Las Vegas convention centers are packed with exciting new technology for CES, and that's no different for CES 2024. And what technology is more exciting than the best virtual reality headsets and AR glasses?
We searched CES 2024 for the best virtual reality and augmented reality technology announcements. We drove cars with AR technology, tried out a bunch of different glasses, and even underwent a haptic suit.
However, it was worth it to find five fantastic devices for this CES 2024 roundup.
If you want to see more of the amazing tech shown at CES, we've got a guide to the 20 best gadgets from CES 2024 and the best wearable and fitness tech from CES 2024.
1. New Qualcomm XR2+ chip
This isn't a VR headset and was technically revealed before CES, but we're including it here because Qualcomm gave us a deeper look at the Snapdragon XR2+ Gen 2 at the Las Vegas tech convention. This chipset will appear in several of the best virtual reality headsets we'll see in the coming years.
This powerful successor to the XR2+ Gen 1 found in the Meta Quest Pro will power the next generation of business headsets. This includes the Samsung VR headset that is being developed in partnership with Google.
In practical terms, the chipset can support displays with up to 4.3K resolution per eye at 90Hz, features 2.5x better GPU performance than the XR2 Gen 2 found in Meta Quest 3, and has 8x better AI performance. It can also support Wi-Fi 7 and full-color mixed reality streaming.
Qualcomm is currently he name in the XR chipset game, and we expect the XR2+ Gen 2 to only further cement its position. And it could help rival XR devices prove they're just as capable as the Apple Vision Pro.
2. Asus AirVision M1 Glasses
Speaking of Apple, this year's CES award for the device that sounds most like a knockoff of an Apple product goes to Asus' AirVision M1 glasses.
The name may be reminiscent of the Vision Pro, which includes aspects of the iPad Air and Apple's M1 chipset found in some iPads and Macbooks, but has almost no relation to Apple hardware. The only minor similarity is that these specs are a wearable AR display.
Asus glasses do not work on their own; You need to connect them to a compatible phone or computer with a USB-C display port (which means it can output video and audio over USB-C). It is true that these types of devices are a lot of fun, but our experience with them is that they are still quite expensive for what they offer. The resolution is only Full HD and you often need to purchase several not-so-optional add-ons to get the most out of the experience, raising the price above the usual $400/£400/AU$600 price you already pay. smart glasses.
We haven't tested the Asus AirVision M1 glasses yet, nor do we know which regions they will be available in or when the release date will be, so we'll reserve judgment on them for now. But if you're looking for a pair of specs that live up to what you expect from “AR glasses,” the next item on this list might be a better choice.
3. Xreal Air 2 Ultra
Xreal makes some of our favorite smart glasses; You can learn more about the AR specs it created before in our Xreal Air review and Xreal Air 2 Pro review, and at CES 2024, it unveiled something that promises to be even better than what I've seen in the past.
The Xreal Air 2 Ultra goes beyond simply projecting an AR display into your real-world space like its predecessors. It's a proper spatial computer with a camera, so the device can track your hands and identify real-world objects that virtual items can interact with.
However, while the glasses look a lot like the Apple Vision Pro, there is a downside: you need an external device to power them. Specifically, Xreal lists only the Samsung Galaxy S22, the Samsung Galaxy S23, and a yet-to-be-released “custom computing unit” as being fit-for-duty devices. If you're not interested in spatial computing, you can use them as a portable Full-HD display for any device with a USB-C display port.
On the other hand, even if you buy a new Samsung phone, you could get a full Xreal spatial computing package for around $1,000/£1,100 if you can find a Galaxy S22 on sale. This is less than a third of the price of the $3,499 Apple Vision Pro, although it is much more expensive than the $499.99 / £479.99 / AU$799.99 Meta Quest 3.
We don't yet know how well this Air 2 Ultra experience stacks up against its rivals, but if it can deliver a solid experience, the Xreal could be a winner.
4. AR glasses in a car
BMW has been finding ways to bring XR technology to cars for some time. We've previously seen their efforts to bring virtual reality offices and entertainment to their trips so car passengers can do more with their trip, but their CES 2024 demo focused on drivers.
Thanks to a pair of Xreal Air 2 glasses, we saw AR directions that guided us through the streets of Las Vegas (for the demo, we were in the passenger seat while someone else drove). We were also able to see warnings about upcoming potholes, stop signs, and how much charge the electric vehicle has left.
This was all just very well done pilot research to help inform the future of driving technology. But BMW's AR experience convinced us, so we hope that this type of technology is not far from being more than a simple prototype.
5. Sony's business headphones
Most people think of entertainment when they think of virtual reality, but there is a big push to bring more XR devices to the industry, a trend that continues with the recently announced Sony XR headset.
Created in partnership with Siemens, the device is designed to help companies bring more stages of production (particularly design and prototyping) to the metaverse. With the headset, they can produce and analyze 3D models of their designs and diagnose any problems before investing in real-world prototypes.
Overall, the headphones seem pretty standard, but they do feature a couple of odd phones. One is a VR controller with a more traditional shape, while the other is a ring. The advantages of this setup are that you have one hand free to more easily interact with real-world objects and you can practice with virtual objects while still having the convenience of the buttons on a controller.
There's not much more to say about the headset for now, but given its standalone design, perhaps it will pave the way for a successor to the PSVR 2 headset that's no longer tethered to a PlayStation console.
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