VITURE Pro XR Glasses

Written by John Yan on 7/12/2024 for MOB   PC   PS5   XSX  

About six months ago, I took a look at the VITURE One, a set of XR glasses that really became my go to peripheral for travel and private consumption of media. It has a great ecosystem of peripherals and the software for it has continued to improve allowing you to even use it in some productivity settings. I use it a lot with my Steam Deck so I could have a huge screen in front of me virtually and be fully immersed in whatever game I was playing.

A month or so ago, VITURE announced the VITURE Pro XR glasses, an upgrade that looks to fix some of the issues I had with the VITURE One. If VITURE corrected a few of the things with the previous model, we’d have one very solid pair of AR glasses that would be on the top of the list of the ones out right now. The VITURE Ones were solidly built, didn’t look out of the ordinary, and had plenty of great peripherals that could accompany it.

Unboxing the VITURE Pro XR glasses, the experience is top notch with a fun fold out box and an Apple-like presentation of the device. If you’ve seen an unboxing of the VITURE One, it’s pretty much the same. But for those who have never opened one up, the first impression you’ll get is that this is a quality product from the way you take it out of the box. The instructions on the box for the VITURE Pro have a lot more devices that they show it’s compatible with.

Inside you are presented with the hard carrying case with the VITURE Pro XR glasses within. It’s the same case as the VITURE One, which mine seems to have some issues with the zipper after six months of usage. On my old one, some of the zipper teeth won’t lock in or are very weak. It wasn’t something that I saw the first few months, but there are times where I had to zip it up a few times in order for the zipper teeth to engage. That’s not to say it will happen to the case on the VITURE Pro XR and it could just be mine as I haven’t seen anyone else have this issue. That said, the carrying case does a good job at protecting the VITURE Pro XR and offers space to carry both the glasses and the USB cable.

Ah yes, the magnetic USB-C connecting cable is also the same here as the VITURE One so if you didn’t like the one in the previous version, you won’t like the one included with the VITURE Pro XR. I personally thought the cable was fine and I had no issues with it keeping connected with the glasses. In my previous review, I did prefer a normal USB-C cable so that if the magnetic cable does become damaged, it would be easy to replace. VITURE did release an adapter that let you use any USB-C cable so there is at least that option, which is an extra $19. That said, I’ve come around to liking the magnetic cable more and more and seeing there’s the adapter or full replacement cable available, you should be covered in case your cable does wear out.

Taking the glasses out of its carrying case, the look of the VITURE Pro XR is really close to the VITURE One. Sitting side by side, you can see that VITURE changed the logo’s color on the upper right of the glasses from silver to orange. Also, the hinges are no longer a silver color as they are now a solid black along with the ends of the temple arms. The removal of the two tone color scheme does make the glasses stand out less and for those who want to be a little more inconspicuous when wearing them, this does help.

On the arms are still the rocker switch for volume and brightness adjustment and another single button that’s used to switch modes as well as change the darkness of the electrochromic lenses. The pogo pins are also located on the same place on the VITURE Pro XR glasses. Control and connection locations haven’t changed from the previous version.

And as far as the lens shape and frame design goes, they are also essentially the same as the VITURE One glasses. Without the color scheme change, it would be hard to know if the pair were the One or the Pro XR. But let’s talk about what has changed.

A brand new Sony micro-OLED screen provides an increase in size, brightness, and clarity to the XR Pro glasses. Where the VITURE One creates a virtual 120” screen at a distance of 3 meters, the VITURE Pro XR increases the size about 10% with a virtual screen of 135” from 3 meters away. Is it noticeable from the original glasses? It took me a few times switching between the two, but yes it is noticeable.

Field of view has increased slightly to 46 degrees compared to the 43 degrees of the VITURE One. While far from what you would get in say a VR HMD, it is large enough for the full screen to appear in your view. That said, I am hoping for a larger increase in this area sooner rather than later as I would love to be more immersed when wearing a set of AR glasses and not have to deal with borders and cut off images when using the 3DOF features of the VITURE Pro XR.

The new screens are now 90Hz and 120Hz capable, something I lamented on with my review of the VITURE Ones since their competitors had software updates to update their products to 120Hz screens. But finally, we have 120Hz here and you can change to it by selecting 120Hz on the device you plug it into. The new dock, which I’ll talk about later, supports up to 120Hz as well and I tested this with the Steam Deck. The old dock wouldn’t let me choose 90Hz or 120Hz when I had the VITURE Pro XR’s connected to it so if you are thinking of using these with the previous dock, know that faster than 60Hz isn’t possible with it. 120Hz is possible with the USB-C charging adapter as that refresh rate was available when I used it with the Steam Deck. All told, the availability of the faster refresh rate is greatly welcomed here and puts the Pro XRs in line with other more recent XR glasses out there.

I wasn’t ready for the brightness that the new micro-OLED panels were capable of, but boy did the picture pop so much more compared to the VITURE One. VITURE says the panels are capable of 4000 nits of brightness compared to the 1800 nits of the Ones. Perceived brightness has gone from 500 nits in the Ones to 1000 nits on the XR Pro and for me, it’s really hard to go back to the Ones after seeing how bright and clear the picture is. I’ve had to turn down the brightness here a few times depending on the environment where I always kept max brightness up on my previous set of glasses. The one niggle now is there’s no official HDR support in the XR Pro, but that’s something I hope can be addressed in the next set of VITURE AR glasses in the future.

Clarity is something VITURE really wanted to stress with the Pro XR. For my face shape, I had pretty good clarity on the Ones except for the corners.This was really evident when I would play a game like Vampire Survivors where there’s icons on the upper left corner of the screen. The weapon icons when I would pick up a new weapon were blurry and while I knew what they were, it was a minor annoyance they weren’t clear to see. The Pro XR, though, was 100% clear for me in those areas. I did have to find the right set of nose pads and height to make it so, but once I got it dialed in, I was super impressed with how clear the entire virtual screen was and that’s with the increase in screen size from the previous glasses. The caveat though will be the size and shape of your head so while I’ve read a few people saying they still are seeing some blur in some areas, I can say the new lenses have fixed this problem for me from the Ones. And to me, it does seem like the overall picture is clearer, but that could also be because of the increase in brightness as well. When playing Vampire Survivors now, I am really happy with the entire picture and I don’t find myself distracted with any unfocused icons or text in the corners of the display.

For helping with clarity, the Pro XR does have a slight increase in IPD range compatibility. The Pro XR supports an IPD range of 56.5mm to 70.5mm compared to the range of the One, which goes from 57.5mm to 69.5mm. While not significant, it does make these more accessible to a wider audience.

Like the Ones, the Pro XR features two myopia adjuster dials on top to adjust from 0 to -5 for those with nearsightedness. I also have the magnetic prescription lens attachments from the VITURE Ones and they work exactly the same on the Pro XR. My eyes are pretty subpar having astigmatism that was corrected for a bit a long time ago with lasik and a retinal detachment in one eye that’s now experiencing wiggly vision (probably not the correct medical term). While I had to use the prescription lenses on the Ones, I found I could use the adjusters on the Pro XR and get a pretty clear picture. Surprisingly, I’ve been using the Pro XR this way while going back to the Ones, I would use the attachment. I don’t know why this is the case and I’ve seen others also verify the same, but I was pleasantly surprised that this worked considering I need prism lenses in my glasses. I didn’t read anything about improvements in the myopia adjusters from the previous glasses, but it works better for me on the Pro XR.

One of the things I really liked about the VITURE Ones were the electrochromic lenses that let you lighten or darken with a push of a button. There’s only two levels, which I wished you could darken the lenses in multiple levels, but it did work pretty well depending on how bright your surroundings were. The Ones had an option of purchasing a black out shade that completely removed any light from penetrating into your view, but for the Pro XR you can pretty much ditch those. VITURE has made the Pro XR have the ability to block out almost all light with their much darker electrochromic lenses. It is surprising how much darker they can get and they worked really well even when I was standing outside with a completely clear sky and the bright sun shining down on me. Of course, you’ll still see a little bit if you look at a really bright light and (not recommended) the sun, but in normal circumstances even when you are outside, you should be able to get away with pushing the button to darken the electrochromic film and be immersed in the display of the Pro XR. The old black out shades will fit on the Pro XR as well should you want to use it, but the new film darkens so much now that I haven’t found myself using the shades even once.

Moving from the display, one of the things I found with the VITURE One glasses were the nose pads would easily come out and I would lose them. VITURE seems to have addressed this with the Pro XR. For starters, I think they made the connection of the nose pads to the nose frame a little more secure. I’ve yet to have them fall out and I’ve also seen a few people say they are seeing this as well. But, should one fall out, VITURE now includes two replacement pads with the glasses. Luckily, I haven’t been in need to use them and I’ve also been lucky that I haven’t lost any of the ones from the Ones after they fall out, but it looks like VITURE has corrected this minor issue on the new glasses. As before, there are various sizes of nose pieces included for you to try so there’s a good chance you’ll be able to find one that allows for the screens to sit exactly where they need to be on your face.

Those are pretty much the differences between the VITURE One and the VITURE Pro XR. Audio seems comparable to the VITURE One and that means they work well for what they are. The sound emits from two small speakers on the temples and they’ve partnered with Harman in this area. The volume is pretty good and was recently updated to even be louder, although I do think it could use just a little bit more increase in loudness. That said, I do use the built in audio solution of the Pro XR a lot and even with the nature of being open, it does a pretty good job at making sure the wearer hears clearly while those around you will really need to be up close to hear what you hear. Sound is clear even at its highest levels, but don’t expect too much in terms of bass. Mids and highs are pretty good however. On flights, I have used headphones in conjunction with the Pro XR to be completely private on both audio and video blocking anyone trying to see or hear what I’m watching.

In my review of the VITURE One and a competitor, I lamented on the fact that you can see a reflection of your shirt that can sometimes interfere with projected image on the birdbath lenses depending on how your environment is. It’s still here in the Pro XR and when it does happen, it’s distracting and annoying. Is it less prominent than the VITURE One? It does seem so as I don’t find myself as bothered by it as much. I don’t know what can be done to eliminate the glare that can happen, but I was disappointed I could still see myself when VITURE stated the glare was eliminated.

Heat on the right temple is still a factor and it does get a little warm when in use. VITURE has stated as of this posting that they have some optimizations coming that should improve that. I would say the warm temple isn’t something I noticed unless I put my hand up on there, but lowering the heat would be great if VITURE can accomplish this in a firmware update.

Speaking of firmware updates, I think this is one of the things that helps set the VITURE XR glasses apart from others. I’m on the VITURE Discord channel and subreddit page and they do a pretty good job at communicating with the customers and providing firmware updates to their glasses to improve performance and add features. Just recently, a firmware update added the ability to change color profiles, which I know many people have been asking for. Good software does wonders with good hardware, improving the user experience and making customers highly consider your future products when you support them. Seeing the few firmware updates released since I was sent these glasses has given me a lot of confidence in a company like VITURE that looks to improve the product for their audience and one that makes it a lot easier to recommend to people than other companies who lag behind in providing that level of support.

VITURE also recently released their app called Spacewalker on the PC, which can simulate screens pinned to a virtual space for productivity and play. They already have a Mac and Android release of the software. Now, I do a ton of programming and I tried using the Pro XR for this exact scenario that Spacewalker is made for. Unfortunately, I found the small FOV to be distracting and I didn’t like that depending on where I am looking, parts of the screen’s cut off. I’ve used full VR HMDs as well for productivity and really like that much larger field of view, but don’t enjoy the size and weight of it compared to the Pro XR. If one day AR glasses can get another 50% in FOV or come close to what we have in VR, I would highly consider using it over a computer monitor or laptop screen. Until then, I’ll stick to just gaming or media consumption with AR glasses, but VITURE is doing great with Spacewalker as a lot of people do enjoy using it.

Now let’s move on to some of the peripherals. For those who own the neckband, the VITURE Pro XR works with it flawlessly. I was able to use the same neckband and play games as well as play media off of it on the Pro XR. While I like the neckband’s execution, the 32-bit Android setup along with the short battery life does hinder the usefulness of it a bit. As one who likes to save the battery on his phone, having the neckband to use with the glasses is something I do like and I hear a new version is being worked on. I’m hoping it addresses the battery issue as well as making it use the 64-bit version of Android, which should fix some issues I had with it.

As mentioned earlier, you can use the old dock, but I think you’ll definitely want the new one with the Pro XR glasses. Not only does it support 120Hz, the new dock can now support passing through 3D video from an attached device. It’s a great device if you want to extend the usage of say a Steam Deck, Switch, or a phone. Something really cool is that the dock now supports AR glasses from other manufacturers. I was able to successfully connect both the VITURE XR Pro and an Xreal Airs and use them both at the same time with the dock as well as just having the Xreal Airs connected by itself. Being hardware agnostic, the dock is now useful for more than just VITURE owning folks and it’s a great peripheral that allows for connection of any HDMI source as well as hardware that has DP Alt Mode capabilities.

VITURE has also partnered with 8BitDo, makers of some great third party game controllers and produced an Ultimate controller with the same color scheme as the Steam Deck OLED Limited Edition. Connection to a device is done via Bluetooth or a wire. The semi-transparent shell with the orange accent underneath the thumbsticks goes perfectly with the Limited Edition Steam Deck should you have one. The controller is pretty good except I did wish the triggers were analog rather than digital tap triggers. For driving games, it’s always nice to have various degrees of acceleration using said analog triggers. The rest of the controller though feels great in the hand and all the buttons felt responsive. Moving the thumbsticks around, they felt quick and solid and offered up a good feel for resistance. One great thing about the controller is you can get it for free for a limited time in a bundle with the dock and glasses so you can’t go wrong with that.

I love using the VITURE Pro XR even when I’m not traveling. If someone’s taking up the large TV in my living room, I can just pop these on and enjoy a simulated large screen with the deep blacks of OLED and smooth motion when connected to a 120Hz source. As a gamer, this is one of the best things to pair up with say a Steam Deck or an ROG Ally. You can sit in any position really to see what you’re playing and not have to be hunched over or have your arms tired by holding the mobile device up. Connect the 8BitDo or any Bluetooth controller to it and you can even lay down and play games that way without having to hold a larger handheld to play. I’ve watched many shows this way too with my phone connected to the VITURE Pro XR, laying down on my bed. I don’t bother anyone at night since everything is self-contained to my eyes and ears and I can really relax and enjoy my movies or TV shows with an incredible picture quality to boot. But if you travel a lot, the VITURE Pro XR is a fantastic traveling companion that will let you enjoy movies, games, and video no matter where you are.

There’s still going to be a contingent of people who can’t see the entire screen though. Going back to my VITURE One, I have a small part of the lower corner of the screen cut off at times. This is helped with the Pro XR having a larger FOV, but it would have been nice to have the ability to adjust the size of the screen a little bit. Having the ability to shrink it just a little with the increased FOV would help eliminate blocked areas I would think. Having any part of the display being blocked really does hinder the enjoyment of the product and takes you out of just sitting back and watching the content on display.

Now if you have the VITURE One, is it worth it to upgrade to the VITURE Pro XR? That’s tough to answer. For me, picture quality is at the top of the list and the Pro XR is definitely a big step up over the One. I really can’t go back to the One and that’s not for the lack of trying. If you already spent the money on the One though, I would only pick up the Pro XR if you can find someone to purchase the One so you can recoup some of the money. But, if you’re coming in clean with no AR glasses, hands down the VITURE Pro XR is the model to get. Right now, the glasses alone sell for $459, which is $70 more than the One when that was released. It’s definitely worth the extra money when compared to the original One price. In fact, I don’t even see the VITURE One on their webstore, just the Lite version and the Pro XR. Amazon does have the VITURE One for $439 and at that price, you’d be a lot better off spending the extra $20 to get the Pro XR because it’s such a great jump in picture quality it’s a no brainer between the two.

The VITURE Pro XR has many great improvements over the VITURE One, especially in the important areas such as picture quality and performance. It’s my current go to AR glasses and I highly recommend them if you’re on the hunt for a pair to use.