Xreal Eye
More actions
| Xreal Eye | |
|---|---|
| Basic Info | |
| VR/AR | Augmented Reality |
| Type | Accessory |
| Subtype | Camera |
| Developer | Xreal |
| Manufacturer | Xreal |
| Announcement Date | 4 December 2024 |
| Release Date | 27 June 2025 (Japan); US pre-orders from 18 June 2025, with shipping expected in July 2025 |
| Price | US$99 (Xreal US store); 13,980 yen including tax (Japan launch price) |
| Website | https://www.xreal.com/eye |
| Requires | Xreal One series glasses (Xreal One, Xreal One Pro, Xreal 1S) |
| Storage | |
| Storage | None in the module; captures are saved to 2 GB of storage in the glasses |
| Tracking | |
| Tracking | 6DoF spatial anchoring (single camera, processed by the X1 chip in the glasses) |
| Hand Tracking | Experimental gesture control (firmware feature) |
| Audio | |
| Camera | 12 MP RGB camera, f/2.25 aperture |
| Connectivity | |
| Connectivity | Dedicated port in the bridge of the glasses |
| Power | Powered through the glasses; no battery |
| Device | |
| Weight | 1.35 g |
| Material | Engineering plastic |
The Xreal Eye (styled by the manufacturer as XREAL Eye) is a detachable camera module made by Xreal for its One series AR glasses. It plugs into a port in the bridge of the glasses, between the nose pads, and has two main functions: first-person photo and video capture with a 12 MP camera, and 6DoF "Spatial Anchor" tracking, which keeps a virtual screen fixed in place as the wearer walks around it.[1][2] Without it, the One series glasses track only head rotation (3DoF). Xreal calls the Eye "the world's first 6DoF spatial enhancement module for AR glasses".[3]
Xreal announced the Eye on 4 December 2024 together with the Xreal One and Xreal One Pro, at first as a point-of-view camera.[1] At a launch event in Japan in May 2025 the company confirmed that the module would also give the glasses 6DoF positional tracking. UploadVR reported that this uses a single camera (monocular SLAM), and that Xreal warned it would not work well in low light, outdoors, or where objects are far away.[4] Xreal opened US pre-orders at US$99 on 18 June 2025, and sales in Japan were set to begin on 27 June 2025 at 13,980 yen including tax.[5][2]
Announcement and release
Xreal introduced the Eye in the press release for the One series on 4 December 2024. It described the Eye as "an optional and modular RGB camera" and "a first-of-its-kind detachable accessory" that takes 12 MP photos and records video at up to 1080p and 60 fps. The release said the camera sits below the bridge of the nose, between the nose pads, and is started with a button on the temple of the glasses. Xreal also said that a later update would add "multimodal AI capabilities", such as image recognition and voice commands working with an assistant on the host device. Used with the Xreal Beam Pro, the Eye would let owners combine first-person photos and video with the virtual screens they see in the glasses.[1]
At CES 2025 in January 2025, Xreal showed "the One Series' modular XREAL Eye camera" alongside the One Pro and the One. Its CES press release called the Eye a "Modular Multimodal AI Camera" and said it would be updated "later this year" to enable multimodal AI capabilities.[6]
On 14 May 2025 Xreal's Japanese arm announced a late-June release in Japan at 13,980 yen and opened pre-orders the same day.[7] At the launch event it explained the 6DoF function, the "Spatial Anchor" mode and recording with the Beam Pro.[8] UploadVR and MIXED reported the 6DoF confirmation in English on 19 and 20 May 2025. Both reported a planned late-June launch at US$100; UploadVR said this covered the regions where the Xreal One is sold.[4][9] After UploadVR's article was published, Xreal clarified that only the Eye, not the Beam Pro, is needed for 6DoF.[4] MoguLive reported on 26 June 2025 that Japanese sales would begin the next day, 27 June, at 13,980 yen including tax.[5]
In a press release dated 18 June 2025, Xreal said the Eye "brings native six degrees of freedom (6DoF) anchor capabilities to both the One and One Pro". Pre-orders opened on XREAL.com that day at US$99, with shipping expected to begin in July. The release said the Eye would later let Xreal add "gesture control, live streaming via XREAL Beam Pro, and adding multimodal AI and mixed-reality view stitching".[2] When Xreal launched the Xreal 1S in January 2026, it said the 1S also supports the Eye, "a camera module that enables 6DoF spatial anchoring, POV photography and video recording with virtual environment overlay capabilities".[10] On 29 September 2026 Xreal's US store listed the Eye at US$99.[11]
| Date | Event |
|---|---|
| 4 December 2024 | Announced with the Xreal One and One Pro[1] |
| January 2025 | Shown at CES 2025[6] |
| 14 May 2025 | Japanese launch event; pre-orders open in Japan at 13,980 yen[7] |
| 18 June 2025 | US pre-orders open on XREAL.com at US$99; shipping expected in July 2025[2] |
| 27 June 2025 | Scheduled start of sales in Japan[5] |
| 4 January 2026 | Xreal 1S announced with Xreal Eye support[10] |
Design and hardware
The Eye is small enough to rest on a fingertip. To fit it, the owner removes the plug that covers a port in the bridge of the glasses, between the two display units, and pushes the module into the connector with the lens facing outward.[12][13] MoguLive's hands-on noted how many electrical contacts the connector has, and suggested that the module exchanges data closely with the glasses' X1 chip instead of only sending images.[12] The module has no battery or storage of its own. It is powered by the connected device through the glasses, and its photos and videos are saved to 2 GB of storage in the glasses.[14] According to Keitai Watch, Xreal said that fitting the Eye raises the One's power consumption by less than 3%.[7]
Xreal gives the weight as 1.35 g.[14][15] MIXED and Tom's Hardware reported 1.5 g.[9][16] MoguLive weighed the combination at 83.35 g, against 82 g for the One on its own.[12]
White LED strips on each side of the lens act as tally lights and light up during capture, and the camera also plays a shutter sound. MoguLive reported that the tally light is the same on Japanese and global units, and Digital Camera Watch reported that the LED and the shutter sound cannot be switched off.[12][8][7]
| Item | Specification |
|---|---|
| Model | X7011[14] |
| Camera | 12 MP, f/2.25 aperture[14] |
| Image processing | EIS stabilization, noise reduction, anti-aliasing[14] |
| Photo | JPG/JPEG, up to 2016 x 1512[14] |
| Video | MP4, 1600 x 1200; 30 fps default, 60 fps optional; clips of 15 s by default, 30 s or 60 s optional[14] |
| First-person video | 1080p at 30 or 60 fps when connected to the Xreal One[14] |
| Storage | 2 GB in the glasses; files exported through a data transfer mode[14] |
| Power | No battery; powered by the connected device through the glasses[14] |
| Weight | 1.35 g[14] |
| Package dimensions | 83 mm x 65 mm x 19 mm[14] |
| Material | Engineering plastic[14] |
| Durability | At least 2,000 insertion cycles[14] |
| Warranty | 1 year[14] |
Xreal's specification page lists features the camera does not have: ultra-wide angle, night mode, macro, voice-controlled shooting, portrait mode, manual settings, 3D video, gimbal stabilization, hot swapping and continuous shooting. The module also cannot be updated on its own. Its firmware arrives with Xreal One system updates.[14] MoguLive explained that video resolution is lower than photo resolution because of the electronic image stabilization, which also makes the video field of view narrower.[12]
Compatibility
Xreal's specification page lists the XREAL One and XREAL One Pro series as compatible devices, and the company's product page describes 6DoF spatial anchoring as "Exclusive only to XREAL One Series".[14][15] Xreal's January 2026 press release added the Xreal 1S.[10] Xreal's SDK documentation lists an RGB camera as a "Detachable accessories" item for the One, One Pro and 1S.[17] In its July 2026 review of the ROG XREAL R1 gaming glasses, which it described as a collaboration between Asus and Xreal, Tom's Hardware wrote that the R1 supports the existing Xreal accessory ecosystem, "namely the Xreal Eye camera".[18] The Eye cannot be used on its own.[7]
Software and features
Spatial Anchor (6DoF)
The One series glasses track head rotation natively with Xreal's X1 chip.[2] With the Eye fitted, an owner can turn on "Spatial Anchor" in the on-screen menu. The mode then takes the place of the normal "Anchor" mode, and the glasses toggle between "Follow" and "Spatial Anchor". A short view calibration runs first.[19] Keitai Watch reported that the X1 chip combines the camera image with data from the inertial measurement unit to measure depth.[7] Xreal gives a motion-to-photon latency of 3 ms and says the feature works with any source device that has DisplayPort output, with no extra hardware or apps.[15] In the June 2025 press release, Xreal North America general manager Ralph Jodice said owners could "anchor a virtual screen anywhere in your environment and move around it just like a physical screen, walk past it, view it from behind, or get closer to expand the size".[2]
Because the tracking uses a single camera, it depends on visible features in the room. UploadVR noted that monocular SLAM "doesn't offer the same tracking quality" as devices with several tracking cameras.[4] Xreal's guide says the system switches back to "Follow" mode when the camera cannot track the scene, for example after the wearer has stayed still for a long time, in low light, or in front of a plain or textureless background. To avoid drift, the wearer should not move the head while turning the mode on, and should not face moving scenes such as a playing video.[19]
Xreal's earlier Xreal Air 2 Ultra, which has built-in grayscale cameras, already offered 6DoF.[17][12] In May 2025 Xreal told MoguLive that 6DoF apps built for the Air 2 Ultra are not compatible with the Eye. It also said that 6DoF was locked in XREAL SDK 3.0.0, the development kit for the Eye, and that opening it to developers would depend on user feedback. A camera API for image recognition and tracking apps was to be made public.[12]
Photo and video capture
Photos and videos are taken with the glasses' buttons. With the default settings a press takes a photo and a long press records video, and the owner can reassign the Quick Button in the menu.[14][20] There is no photo viewer on the glasses. To view or copy files, the owner turns on a transmission mode, after which the glasses appear as an external drive on Android, Windows and macOS devices, or as an import source in the iPhone Photos app.[20] Xreal's US store says that the Eye can take pictures with the One, but that the Xreal Beam Pro is needed to record mixed-reality video.[11]
AR screen recording with Beam Pro
When the glasses are connected to the Xreal Beam Pro with the Eye attached, the Beam Pro can record the camera view and the virtual content together, a form of mixed reality capture. The recordings are saved on the Beam Pro. Xreal notes that apps which do not allow screen recording, including DRM-protected apps, may record as a black screen or not at all.[21] Keitai Watch reported that before the Eye, recordings of virtual content made with the One and the Beam Pro had a black background, and that the Eye adds the real background to them.[7]
Gesture control
Xreal later added hand gesture control that uses the Eye's camera. The feature turns hand gestures recognized by the camera into mouse and button signals and sends them to the connected device. A pinch of thumb and index finger acts as a click, and moving the hand while pinching drags. Xreal describes the feature as experimental. It is off by default and is turned on under a "Lab" section of the on-screen menu.[22][23][24] Xreal recommends a well-lit room without strong backlighting. On an iPhone or iPad the cursor only works after AssistiveTouch and Zoom are turned on in the accessibility settings.[22] Gesture control and the glasses' 3D mode cannot be used at the same time.[25]
Reception
Jason England of Tom's Guide tried the Eye with the One Pro before 6DoF support was available. He called its photos "decent (but not great)", found that "the color balance is there, but the low-light performance is just not", and listed as a con that it was "just an average camera at the moment". He advised readers to wait for a "killer app" before buying it.[26]
Brandon Hill reviewed the Eye with the One Pro for Tom's Hardware in June 2025. He found low-light photos "drab and dark" and wrote that videos looked "more akin to something from an iPhone 4 than something more modern". With 6DoF turned on, a YouTube video "remained fixed in space" as he walked around his living room. He found the tracking less steady and more jittery than on the Meta Quest 3 or Meta Quest 3S, and called the feature "a nice party trick to show friends". He concluded that the image quality and 6DoF features "aren't worth the price of admission without a killer app to take advantage of the camera".[16]
In MoguLive's hands-on before the Japanese launch, Ryota Musha did not notice the extra weight. He wrote that moving closer to an anchored screen enlarges it at a visible cost in sharpness, because the One's panels are 1920 x 1080. He judged this no problem for text-based web apps, wrote that the freedom to enlarge any part of the screen far outweighed it, and felt that productivity rose considerably in video editing and design apps. He noted that his sample photos and videos were taken with development firmware.[12]
See also
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 "Introducing XREAL One Series: World's First Cinematic AR Glasses with X1 Independent Spatial Computing Chip for Complete Spatial Screen Control". PR Newswire. XREAL. 2024-12-04. https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/introducing-xreal-one-series-worlds-first-cinematic-ar-glasses-with-x1-independent-spatial-computing-chip-for-complete-spatial-screen-control-302322181.html. Retrieved 2026-09-29.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 "XREAL One Pro Begins General Availability as Company Expands AR Glasses Capabilities with Modular Camera". PR Newswire. XREAL. 2025-06-18. https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/xreal-one-pro-begins-general-availability-as-company-expands-ar-glasses-capabilities-with-modular-camera-302484585.html. Retrieved 2026-09-29.
- ↑ "XREAL Eye User Guide". XREAL Tutorials. XREAL. https://tutorials.xreal.com/docs/accessories/eye/. Retrieved 2026-09-29.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 David Heaney (2025-05-19). "Xreal One Glasses Will Become 6DoF With The Xreal Eye Addon". UploadVR. https://www.uploadvr.com/xreal-one-glasses-become-6dof-with-xreal-eye-camera-xreal-beam-pro/. Retrieved 2026-09-29.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 MoguLive editorial staff (2025-06-26). "「XREAL One」専用アクセサリ「XREAL Eye」27日に販売開始 6DoF対応、カメラで写真撮影もできる". MoguLive (Mogura VR). https://www.moguravr.com/xreal-eye-launch/. Retrieved 2026-09-29.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 "The Next Big Upgrade for Augmented Reality Glasses is Here as Market Leader XREAL Brings Largest Field of View and First-of-Their-Kind Modular AR Glasses to CES 2025". PR Newswire. XREAL. 2025-01-06. https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/the-next-big-upgrade-for-augmented-reality-glasses-is-here-as-market-leader-xreal-brings-largest-field-of-view-and-first-of-their-kind-modular-ar-glasses-to-ces-2025-302342781.html. Retrieved 2026-09-29.
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 7.3 7.4 7.5 7.6 Kento Kitagawa (2025-05-14). "ARグラス「XREAL One」を6DoF化する「XREAL Eye」、6月下旬発売". Keitai Watch. Impress. https://k-tai.watch.impress.co.jp/docs/news/2014096.html. Retrieved 2026-09-29.
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 Shinichi Sekine (2025-05-15). "ARグラスにカメラと6DoF機能を追加する「XREAL Eye」。発売は6月下旬". Digital Camera Watch. Impress. https://dc.watch.impress.co.jp/docs/news/2014545.html. Retrieved 2026-09-29.
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 Tomislav Bezmalinovic (2025-05-20). "Xreal Eye launching soon, bringing 6DoF tracking to Xreal One". MIXED. https://mixed-news.com/en/xreal-eye-launch/. Retrieved 2026-09-29.
- ↑ 10.0 10.1 10.2 "XREAL Expands Its Dominant One Series AR Ecosystem with New 1S Glasses Boasting 1200p Optics and Neo Power Hub". PR Newswire. XREAL. 2026-01-04. https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/xreal-expands-its-dominant-one-series-ar-ecosystem-with-new-1s-glasses-boasting-1200p-optics-and-neo-power-hub-302651929.html. Retrieved 2026-09-29.
- ↑ 11.0 11.1 "XREAL Eye". XREAL US Shop. XREAL. https://us.shop.xreal.com/products/xreal-eye. Retrieved 2026-09-29.
- ↑ 12.0 12.1 12.2 12.3 12.4 12.5 12.6 12.7 Ryota Musha (2025-05-14). "「XREAL One」を6DoF化するカメラユニット「XREAL Eye」発表 実際に試してみた". MoguLive (Mogura VR). https://www.moguravr.com/xreal-eye-review/. Retrieved 2026-09-29.
- ↑ "Unboxing". XREAL Tutorials. XREAL. https://tutorials.xreal.com/docs/accessories/eye/how-to-use/unboxing/. Retrieved 2026-09-29.
- ↑ 14.00 14.01 14.02 14.03 14.04 14.05 14.06 14.07 14.08 14.09 14.10 14.11 14.12 14.13 14.14 14.15 14.16 14.17 "Xreal Eye Specifications". XREAL Tutorials. XREAL. https://tutorials.xreal.com/docs/accessories/eye/spec/. Retrieved 2026-09-29.
- ↑ 15.0 15.1 15.2 "XREAL Eye - Floating Visuals, Just within Reach". XREAL. XREAL. https://www.xreal.com/eye. Retrieved 2026-09-29.
- ↑ 16.0 16.1 Brandon Hill (2025-06-18). "Xreal One Pro Review: Segment-leading AR glasses with 6DoF support - but high price limits appeal". Tom's Hardware. https://www.tomshardware.com/peripherals/wearable-tech/xreal-one-pro-review. Retrieved 2026-09-29.
- ↑ 17.0 17.1 "XREAL Glasses". XREAL SDK documentation. XREAL. https://docs.xreal.com/XREALDevices/XREAL%20Glasses. Retrieved 2026-09-29.
- ↑ Brandon Hill (2026-07-16). "Asus ROG Xreal R1 Review: Gaming-focused AR glasses deliver 240 Hz performance and RGB style". Tom's Hardware. https://www.tomshardware.com/peripherals/wearable-tech/asus-rog-xreal-r1-review. Retrieved 2026-09-29.
- ↑ 19.0 19.1 "Spatial Anchor". XREAL Tutorials. XREAL. https://tutorials.xreal.com/docs/accessories/eye/how-to-use/6dof/. Retrieved 2026-09-29.
- ↑ 20.0 20.1 "Capture and File Management". XREAL Tutorials. XREAL. https://tutorials.xreal.com/docs/accessories/eye/how-to-use/capture-and-file-management/. Retrieved 2026-09-29.
- ↑ "AR Screen Recording". XREAL Tutorials. XREAL. https://tutorials.xreal.com/docs/accessories/eye/how-to-use/mixed-reality-recording/. Retrieved 2026-09-29.
- ↑ 22.0 22.1 "Before You Begin". XREAL Tutorials. XREAL. https://tutorials.xreal.com/docs/glasses/one-series/gesture/before-you-begin/. Retrieved 2026-09-29.
- ↑ "Enable Gesture Control". XREAL Tutorials. XREAL. https://tutorials.xreal.com/docs/glasses/one-series/gesture/enable-gesture-control/. Retrieved 2026-09-29.
- ↑ "Cursor Control". XREAL Tutorials. XREAL. https://tutorials.xreal.com/docs/glasses/one-series/gesture/cursor-control/. Retrieved 2026-09-29.
- ↑ "Frequently Asked Questions - Gesture Control". XREAL Tutorials. XREAL. https://tutorials.xreal.com/docs/glasses/one-series/gesture/faq/. Retrieved 2026-09-29.
- ↑ Jason England (2025-01-08). "I flew 10,912 miles with Xreal One Pro AR Glasses - here's why they are the best (but at a steep price)". Tom's Guide. https://www.tomsguide.com/computing/vr-ar/smart-glasses/xreal-one-pro-ar-glasses-review. Retrieved 2026-09-29.