XREAL Beam, Spatial Display Adapter/Dock, Portable TV Box for XREAL AR Glasses, Compatible with PlayStation 5/Xbox X/Switch/iPhone 15/SteamDeck/Mac/PC/Android/iOS/Video Glasses

I've had this beam for about a week now and we love it! Its much better than using a VR headset by far.... There are some critical details that other people missed... specifically the ability to install any android app to the device and how it wont charge while using it.Others mentioned that it only ships with netflix, prime, vlc and a file explorer app... and they'd be correct. However there is a super simple method used to install any apk file to this device that doesn't require anything other than the device itself. There's a youtube video from a few months back from Osama Alborbar that covers it.I do have some questions about charging, but my beam appears to charge while using it when plugged into devices like my steam deck. I believe the other reviewer is wrong about what he said entirely... xreal sells an adapter where you can charge and use video through usb-c at the same time. Either they had a terrible support agent or they simply made up this claim. I'm thinking its the latter.I was able to use and stream large 4k rips from my plex server directly to the beam. I was also able to install a comic book / manga reader and have it download new volumes directly to the headset.You can also plug the beam directly into your pc and drag files to it. It has about 20gb of storage available.CONS:The device can make a whining noise and get hot at times.. it makes me slightly concerned about its lifespan. I wouldn't drop it into a sealed pocket or backpack.Its a shame that the ability to resize and distance of the screen isn't built into the glasses.. that you need this $120 device to do it. HOWEVER, since I got these on sale during prime day for a total of $300 for the xreal airs and the beam.. its difficult to complain as the value is insane.

TL;DR: Skip this purchase unless you're using the glasses strictly for Netflix and/or Prime video, and don't mind low quality versions of that content. For everything else you'll probably happier connecting your glasses directly to your preferred video streaming/gaming device. Additional cables/adapters will likely be required, but they're cheaper than this device and work better in most respects in my opinion.Note most of the time I directly connect the glasses to a device without the Beam I won't have any audio. To correct this hold the brightness+ button for about 4 seconds. Once you've heard two beeps, release the button, the glasses go dark for a couple of seconds, and when the picture comes back you'll probably have audio, but it may be very low (this button press switches between USB audio and display/passthrough audio). To change the volume, press the brightness- button for a few seconds and then release. Now the brightness +/- buttons will controll the volume instead of the brightness. It's annoying to have to do this each time you use the glasses this way, but it only takes a few moments once you get used to it.--- Pros:I'll get the two good things I can say about this device out of the way first. The "smooth follow" mode definitely does make using the glasses while riding in a car nicer. Also, if you have the problem many of us do with the corners and/or sides of the glasses looking smeared or blury, then using the Beam to shrink the virtual screen down and away from the corners can help that a little.--- Possible Pros:If you have an iPhone, Samsung, or other Miracast compatible phone, then you can cast/stream video content from your phone to your glasses using the Beam. I don't have those devices so I can't say first hand how well that solution works. But I can say that my wife tried using her iPhone that way and really didn't see the appeal. The idea that you have to look under your glasses at your phone to tell where your touching to make something happen on the glasses seems much less elegant than using something like a Roku or Google TV where you have a remote with tactile feedback so that you don't need to look at it to navigate the content on the glasses.--- Cons:1) Unless you're in a cold room the Beam gets very hot to the touch during long sessions. And I mean HOT. So hot that I'm not sure how the plastic doesn't melt. (Definitely don't drop this thing in a backpack and just run the cables out) It even gives you a warning message on your glasses saying the unit is shutting down soon because it's too hot - then it shuts down pretty soon thereafter. If you were playing a game, you'd barely have enough time to get to a stopping point and save before it abruptly shuts off.2) There's only one USB-C input. That input can be used to either charge the device or take video input from another device, but not both (at least not very well). I've tried three different cables/solutions to combine charging and display input into that one USB-C port and so far the best I've gotten is the newer model Fairikabe HDMI to USB-C converter cable that has a USB-C cable for power input. But, even that cable only draws 4W from the USB-C to send down to the Beam. Considering the Beam draws 18W from a normal USB-C cable during charging, the power demands are still greater than the power being delivered to it by the Fairikabe cable. So, the Fairikabe cable can help, but the Beam is still going to run out of power eventually - if it doesn't overheat and shutdown first (they may have intentionally designed it with only one USB-C port just to avoid more heat from charging and video processing at the same time).3) Using the Beam by itself would be a good experience if there were more apps and they worked in a higher resolution. Currently there's only Netflix, Primve Video, and VLC player for those geeky enough to download videos to the device to play offline. And none of the usual Google services or components are included on the devices. So even side loading YouTube isn't really an option. On top of that, the Netflix and Prime Video apps play in lower than HD resolution (sometimes looking passible, but often looking like old SD television). From what I've read on the issue, it all stems from the fact that all the big players in streaming require special chipsets (DRM/Widevine) to prevent piracy before they'll allow HD content. Supposedly the Beam doesn't have those chipsets. If that's true, then streaming services are never going to look any better using the Beam on its own so it will never be an option for me. Now that I've noticed the low resolution I can't unsee it. I'd rather cram a bunch of cables, adapters, and power bank together to connect a Roku or Google TV to the glasses than to use the Beam for watching Netflix/Prime.4) Using the Beam with gaming is a bit laggy. Even using something as simple as a side scrolling platformer like Dead Cells, if you compare the experience of using the glasses directly connected to the console (using the previously mentioned Fairikabe cable), and then with the Beam connected between the console and the glasses, there's a slight delay between button presses and their respective actions on screen when you're using the Beam. There's also a bit of screen stutter during moments where the whole screen moves too quickly. This is no doubt due to the extra processing being done on the video source by the Beam to allow use of its "spacial display" features: slow follow, body lock, etc.--- Conclusion:I'm not sure what XREAL was thinking with this device. More baffling to me than selling it with all these shortcomings in place is that, knowing all these shortcomings, they didn't release an updated model of the Beam with the recent updated model of their glasses. If they do release a new version of the Beam with these issues corrected, I'd be happy to give it a try. But, I'd advise everyone steer clear of this version.I've spent almost as much on cables and adapters trying to power this thing while using it with a better streaming device than I did on the Beam itself. And, considering it overheats anyway, I think I'd rather just use those cables and adapters to connect a better streaming device directly to the glasses and leave the Beam at home. I wish I'd sent it back during my refund window.

First off, I mostly like the xreal pro 2 glasses. The beam is garbage. It does what is claims, but the experience is awful.I hate the fact that you have to connect it to the internet before you can even use it so it can download an update. I suspect it'll "require" timed reconnections for no reason in the future too.Why wouldn't this device have a normal hdmi input? That's pretty standard still. I didnt remove stars for this but it's annoying as hell finding the various cables and adapters to get it to work with different devices.The fan is extremely irritating. High pitched whine, sort of like a malfunctioning refrigerator. You can't really tuck it away either because the beam will start to overheat.The screen size adjustment works.Smooth follow and body anchor suck in my opinion. It is much better using devices and the glasses plugged in through a different hdmi to usb c display adapter (sold by other companies) connected to an external power brick. The default display mode is center fixed when done this way, and is better in my opinion. Even if it crops a bit.The battery drains pretty fast for how bulky it is. And no charging while connected to devices, why not add another port? idk.The click wheel and functions are just okay. There should be a switch for the mode function (body anchor, smooth follow) so it stays that way for good and can't get bumped. The power button is a joke, and feels like it will for sure break. But I'm certain the entire device will die first (and I expect relatively quickly based on the poor design).I would not buy again