At CES 2024, ASUS appears to have surprised with the announcement of its AirVision M1 glasses, with some seeing them as an alternative to Apple's Vision Pro headset. But I found that ASUS glasses are much more of a new alternative to portable monitors than something aimed at spatial computing.
The big difference between the AirVision M1 glasses and something like the Vision Pro or even Xreal's Air 2 Ultras is that they don't really support anything in terms of interactive AR. Sure, the glasses are capable of projecting your desktop or multiple windows into space, but they need to be connected to a nearby device and don't recognize hand gestures or other virtual objects.
Instead, I found that its main purpose is to give you extra screen space, but without the need to carry around bulky and bulky portable monitors. Featuring integrated microLED displays with Full HD resolution, AirVisions can display up to six or seven windows or virtual desktops. You can also choose between
and a handful of aspect ratios (16:9, 21:9, 32:9 and more), with the three-degree-of-freedom glasses allowing you to either pin those displays in virtual space or track your head when you move.
Instead, I found that its main purpose is to give you extra screen space, but without the need to carry around bulky and bulky portable monitors. Featuring integrated microLED displays with Full HD resolution, AirVisions can display up to six or seven windows or virtual desktops. You can also choose between a handful of aspect ratios (16:9, 21:9, 32:9 and more), with the three degrees of freedom glasses allowing you to either pin these displays in virtual space, or to follow your head when you move. around.
Instead, I found that its main purpose is to give you extra screen space, but without the need to carry around bulky and bulky portable monitors. Featuring integrated microLED displays with Full HD resolution, AirVisions can display up to six or seven windows or virtual desktops. You can also choose between a handful of aspect ratios (16:9, 21:9, 32:9 and more), with the three degrees of freedom glasses allowing you to either pin these displays in virtual space, or to follow your head when you move. around. Instead, I found that its main purpose is to give you extra screen space, but without the need to carry around bulky and bulky portable monitors. Featuring integrated microLED displays with Full HD resolution, AirVisions can display up to six or seven windows or virtual desktops. You can also choose between a handful of aspect ratios (16:9, 21:9, 32:9 and more), with the three degrees of freedom glasses allowing you to either pin these displays in virtual space, or to follow your head when you move. around.
In my first demo, I used the AirVision M1s while tethered to a laptop, in which it behaved almost exactly as if I had a somewhat floating desk that seemed to hover six feet in front of me. At first, the virtual displays were a little blurry, but after a short adjustment period and some time dialing in my IPD (interpupillary distance), I was pleasantly surprised by how sharp everything was. Compared to something like Sightful Spacetop, which is billed as the world's first AR wearable, not only did it have a much larger vertical field of view (up to 57 degrees), but it also didn't require any hardware Extra special, because the glasses are essentially plug and play. Although I didn't need them, it's important to note that the glasses come with a pair of nose pads to ensure a good fit, as well as a prescription insert for people who wear glasses.
Once configured, it was quite simple to create additional virtual workspaces. All I had to do was open a small menu of commands, hit the plus sign where I wanted a new window to appear and that's it. You can also freely adjust the overall size of the virtual display by zooming in or out. And one of the best things about the AirVisions is that using the laptop's touchpad or typing wasn't difficult at all. Because you can see through the virtual screens, I just looked down and focused my eyes where they needed to go. That said, if you're distracted by something in the background, the ASUS glasses also come with magnetic blinders that clip onto the front and provide a crisp, black backdrop.
However, my favorite use case was when I tried another pair of AirVisions connected to a ROG Ally, where the glasses provided me with a massive virtual screen for gaming. In this way, it's a bit like wearing a headset like the Meta Quest 3, but for non-VR gaming. This is the kind of device I'd like to have on a plane, where space is limited, especially for something like a portable monitor. That said, I'm not sure I can stand the embarrassment of being a modern-day glass hole, at least not until devices like these become a little more popular.
But perhaps the biggest difference between the AirVision M1s and Apple's Vision Pro is the price. Although ASUS has yet to provide an official figure, a company spokesperson told me that ASUS is aiming for around $700, compared to $3,000 for Apple's headset. And when you compare that to the price of a portable monitor, which often costs between $250 and $400 and offers much less screen real estate, that price suddenly doesn't seem too ridiculous.
So if you're looking for a travel monitor alternative, keep an eye out for ASUS' AirVision M1 glasses when they become available in Q3 2024.
We're reporting live from CES 2024 in Las Vegas from January 6-12. Follow all the news from the show here.
This article was originally published on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/the-asus-airvision-m1-glasses-give-you-big-virtual-screens-in-a-travel-friendly- package-234412478.html ?src=rss
Source link