After Apple’s Vision Pro announcement, I wanted to learn more about AR/VR glasses options. So, I asked my old friend Jared Kuroiwa to join me for this podcast to educate me about the glasses he has bought and tried (so far):
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Meta Quest 2 $299.99
Xreal AIr $379
Rokid Max $439 (was $599)
Jared explains that the Xreal and Rokid use the “birdbath optics”. He has ordered the $109 Xreal Beam for the Xreal Air to add a “spatial display experience”.The Meta Quest 2 and the Xreal Air each required its own prescription lens.
However, the Rokid Max (see photo #2) includes a Diopter Adjustment for each eye to allow individualized adjustment for people who wear prescription glasses. Jared let me try the Rokid Max. If I buy an AR/VR glasses, it is definitely the one I would consider first. Each of these non-Apple glasses are smaller than the Vision Pro. You can see Jared wearing the Rokid max in the second photo here.
Regarding the Vision Pro, Jared noted that:
There is no denying the software will be amazing with the immersive experience. The HUGE improvements over the gear I’ve been using are the cameras/detectors Vision Pro uses for things like eye tracking and hand tracking. Xreal Air and Rokid Max have no cameras, so it can’t capture the real world or detect your hands for control. This means input into the Vision Pro could be completely virtual using eye and hand tracking. That is a game changer. Those cameras/detectors also can change your experience from what is happening in the environment. There’s one scene in Apple’s announcement where the display becomes the passthrough when someone enters the space near you.
We also briefly discussed Meta’s earlier than expected release of its Threads service and app on July 5.
Note that this podcast was recorded outdoors using a pair of ABSGEEGA wireless lav mics recording to a Google Pixel 7a phone. A pair of ducks sat with us through the entire podcast recording session but did not add any commentary. We were also visited by a mongoose several times.
Available via Google Music Podcasts and Apple iTunes.