Viture One XR glasses: The best way to experience big screen media on the go
The Apple Vision Pro is an exciting new device, but it's expensive and heavy. Its launch has raised awareness of other options for portable big screen experiences and led to my discovery of Viture.
Hyperdrive Hits
5/5 Medals of Yavin: Highly recommended for people who have long public transport commutes, travel on a plane and want to enjoy media, and those who want an easy way to extend displays while working on the go with a single laptop display. Also great for gamers, but I didn’t yet test that capability.
Light weight and powered by the media source device
A few optional accessories, some are critical to success
High quality audio, comfortable for extended wear, plug-and-play with USB-C
Affordable $400 price
While I did not intend to purchase the Apple Vision Pro, after seeing some initial reviews I gave in and went to visit my local Apple Store. $4,300 later, includes the high Washington State sales tax, I had the headset and travel case in hand. I spent more than a week using the Apple Vision Pro and while the experience was pretty stunning, the headset is very heavy and pushed down on my cheeks, required a heavy battery pack to be carried with me at all times, and was too large to be taken easily on my commute and plane travel.
I then heard about XR (extended reality) glasses and purchased the XReal Air 2 Pro on Amazon to test out. These were quite comfortable and provided a decent experience, but I wasn’t satisfied with the visual experience and found the software that offered additional functionality to be rather worthless. I returned these to Amazon after several days of use.
Since I liked the idea of the XR glasses, loved the form factor, and appreciated the price, I decided to try another XR glasses option. The Viture One XR glasses are readily available on Amazon and had a 10% off virtual coupon so the cost was $400. I also purchased the $9 shade accessory to block out all forward light and the $39 USB-C adapter that would allow me to charge up my phones while using the glasses.
For the past month I have spent a lot of time with the Viture One XR glasses testing out multiple media sources and experiences, commuting with the glasses, and even taking a 15-hour international flight to put the glasses to the test for extended airplane travel.
Rating:
As explained in my palmsolo’s Refresh Rating Scale post, I’m awarding the Viture One XR glasses five (5) Medals of Yavin. For those looking for a way to provide a large screen video experience with their phone, computer, or gaming device these are the best XR glasses you can find today. The $400 price is a fraction of what I paid for the Apple Vision Pro and work better for my use cases.
The Good and the Bad
It’s pretty rare for me to not find something that can be improved with a product and even though I haven’t tested other drones I do have some thoughts on this Viture One XR glasses.
Pros
Compact and comfortable design
Powered by the media source with minor impact on battery life of that source
Myopia adjustment dials and single button shade toggle
Excellent audio performance
High quality carrying case
Valuable accessory options
Two people can enjoy the experience with the Mobile Dock
Affordable price
Cons
Some media sources may not work in offline mode (not really a Viture issue though)
SpaceWalker app still needs some work
Experiences
Sometimes the first impression when new devices arrive can set the bar for the product experience. I’ve seen watches and phones arrive for testing with next level packaging and loved those experiences. Viture’s One XR glasses arrived with a lovely orange and black zippered hard shell case that holds the glasses and the primary USB-C cable. What a fantastic package to travel with that also gives you a feeling of excellence.
As soon as the Viture One XR glasses arrived I took them out of the package and tried the included nose mounts to find the ones that worked best for me. They are a bit hard to remove from the glasses, but nearly all of them seemed comfortable to me. The key is to find the set that helps you position the glasses the right distance from your eyes for the display to be fully visible.
After getting your nose clip just right, connect the magnetic USB-C cable to the glasses and plug the other USB-C male end into an audio source. When the display appears in the glasses, the next step is to close one eye at a time and rotate the dial on top of each eyeglass opening. This myopia adjustment is superb for those of us who wear glasses as it allows me to remove my glasses and use the Viture One XR without contacts. After dialing your focus in with each eye then you are all set to enjoy a big screen experience in the glasses.
The Viture One XR glasses are powered by the device providing the video content so no charging is required. I have watched dozens of hours with the glasses and I have not noticed significant battery drain on my phones. When I commute on the train, I do not use the USB-C XR adapter or Mobile Dock and the power to keep the glasses going is minimal.
There are four accessories that you can purchase to also help charge up the media source and I bought and tested three of them. The least expensive $39 USB-C adapter provides an extra USB-C port so you can plug in a cable to charge your phone while you use the headset. The better option, especially if you have a desire to use the SpaceWalker app or an iPhone 15 Pro/Pro Max is to purchase the $59 USB-C XR adapter. I bought the standard one at first, they look about the same, and learned my lesson as that basic adapter does not provide advanced experiences. There is also an adapter for older iPhones.
The best accessory that I purchased for the Viture One XR glasses is the $129 Mobile Dock. This looks like an external battery pack and indeed provides a large 13,000 mAh capacity battery to keep your devices charged up. There is one USB-C input and then two Viture One XR output connections so you can share video content with others at the same time. This also supports two player Nintendo Switch use, which is fantastic. A standard HDMI female port is also present so you can use something like an Amazon Fire Stick with the Mobile Dock. A short USB-C to USB-C cable is provided to connect your Nintendo Switch. You can expect about six hours of playback on the Nintendo Switch with the Mobile Dock. The Mobile Dock does not provide the 3D support of the XR USB-C adapter, but that is still early in development so you may not make that a priority at this time.
Using the Nintendo Switch, you can also use other gaming devices, the screen on the Switch goes blank when connected so no power is being wasted there. You connect your Switch JoyCon controllers to the gaming grip, or other JoyCon accessory for two players, and enjoy one of the best mobile gaming experiences ever. I now prefer to play games on my Switch using the Viture One XR glasses, unless I am playing with family using the TV dock.
The Apple Vision Pro does a great job with offline content for airplane use, but the Meta Quest 3 falls down in this department with very limited available content or barely legal methods to get offline content on the headset. With the Viture One XR, whatever you have on your device works with the headset, with some exceptions.
I tried viewing content from Apple TV, Hulu, Amazon Prime Video, Netflix, HBO Max, Disney Plus, Movies Anywhere, and Google TV. Apple sometimes required me to download compatible content while Hulu, Amazon Prime Video, Netflix, and HBO Max worked flawless offline with iOS and Android. Disney Plus, Movies Anywhere, and Google TV did not work on iOS as errors popped up that an external monitor was being used and not allowed by the content provider. Thus, most content works in online streaming mode with some limitations with offline content due to media rights.
Specifications
Specifications alone don’t mean much, but they are useful for comparing similar devices and checking that you are getting value for your money.
Weight: 78 grams
Nose pads: Four sizes included
Video output quality: 1080p at 60 fps on 120-inch display, 55 pixels per degree
Apple Spatial Video support: Capture content with your compatible iPhone and use the proper USB-C adapter
Myopia support: Adjust the virtual image up to -5.0D (500 degrees) for users with myopia (nearsightedness).
Bottom Line
If the Apple Vision Pro was $2,000 or less then I may have kept it for the experience and working on the road, but I couldn’t justify double the price, the heavy weight, and limited battery life. I am thrilled that I discovered the Viture One XR glasses just a couple of weeks before my long international flight and the flight was made enjoyable thanks to Viture. I cannot imagine taking a 15-hour one way flight using the terrible seat video monitor or just watching my iPad display.
The Viture Mobile Dock accessory also took my Nintendo Switch gaming experience to the next level and has me playing the Switch more than I have over the past couple of years. Watch out folks, I am getting better at gaming thanks to Viture.
The SpaceWalker app has real potential and I am excited about its development. I travel for work with a single display on my laptop and my productivity definitely takes a hit when I am used to using two or three displays in the office. Even without SpaceWalker, I can extend my display on a Surface Pro 9 with the Viture One XR glasses.
If you travel regularly, commute via public transportation for extended periods, or need to improve your remote work experience then I highly recommend you check out the Viture One XR glasses. They are fantastic and I will not ever travel again without them.