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| Asus claims that the ROG Xreal R1 create up to 171-inch projections from a 4 metre viewing distance. |
LAS VEGAS – CES 2026 is in full swing, and Asus is here to play. While the tech giant is showcasing a slew of new gaming monitors, including the highly anticipated ROG Swift OLED PG27UCWM, the real surprise is sitting on your face—or at least, it will be soon. In a strategic collaboration with augmented reality specialist Xreal, Asus has unveiled the ROG Xreal R1 AR glasses, a wearable designed to untether PC and console gamers from their desks.
Gone are the days of being shackled to a monitor. The vision? A massive, portable screen that fits in a case small enough to slide into a backpack. But does this partnership deliver a true game-changer, or is it just another pair of smart glasses with a gaming veneer?
Not Your Average Smart Glasses: A Pure Display Powerhouse
First things first: let’s clear up what the ROG Xreal R1 are not. They are not a direct competitor to the Ray-Ban Meta smart glasses. You won’t be taking calls or snapping photos with these. Instead, Asus and Xreal are targeting a very specific audience: the performance gamer.
As the companies explain in their announcement, the ROG Xreal R1 glasses are essentially a high-refresh-rate wearable display. They follow the blueprint of previous Xreal models like the Xreal One Pro, acting as a private, giant screen that projects in front of your eyes by connecting to an external device like a gaming laptop, console, or phone.
Specs & Compromises: The 240Hz Advantage
Peering under the hood reveals a familiar spec sheet with one monumental exception. The glasses feature micro OLED displays with a 1920 x 1080 (FHD) resolution per eye, a 57-degree field of view (FoV), and offer 3 degrees of freedom (DoF) tracking. For AR veterans, these numbers might feel like déjà vu—they represent the current mainstream limitations for consumer AR wearables, offering a decent, cinema-like screen experience but not a fully immersive, room-scale augmented world.
However, Asus and Xreal are betting big on one feature to win over gamers: speed.
The ROG Xreal R1 shatters the refresh rate ceiling with a blistering 240Hz across its dual displays. This doubles the peak 120Hz rate found on most contemporary AR glasses and even surpasses many desktop monitors. For competitive esports titles where every millisecond counts, this could be a legitimate tactical advantage, offering smoother motion and potentially sharper reaction times.
Enhanced Audio and the Crucial Control Dock
Recognizing that immersion is more than just pixels, Asus has also addressed a common pain point of wearable displays: audio. The R1 glasses come equipped with Bose-tuned speakers built into the temples, promising richer, more spatial sound than the tinny speakers often found in similar devices.
The real key to the system, though, is the ROG Control Dock. This isn't just a cable; it's a dedicated hub. Featuring DisplayPort 1.4 and HDMI 2.0 inputs, the Dock is your bridge to connecting the glasses to a gaming PC, PlayStation, Xbox, or compatible laptop. It handles the signal processing and likely houses the battery, keeping the glasses themselves light and comfortable for extended play sessions.
As Asus details in its launch article, the ROG Xreal R1 is designed to bring big-screen PC and console gaming in a small, wearable package. The goal is to replicate the immersive feel of a high-end monitor, anywhere you have your gaming rig.
Availability, Price, and The Bottom Line
Asus is targeting a launch before the summer of 2026. The final price for both the ROG Xreal R1 glasses and the essential Control Dock remains tightly under wraps, as do full technical specifications. This puts them in direct comparison with existing models like the Xreal One Pro, which currently retail for around $649.
The Verdict: The ROG Xreal R1 glasses aren't trying to revolutionize AR. Instead, they're refining a specific use case—portable, high-performance gaming—to its logical extreme. By combining Xreal's display expertise with Asus's gaming pedigree and that headline-grabbing 240Hz refresh rate, they have a chance to capture the attention of a niche but passionate audience. If the comfort, latency, and final pricing are right, these glasses could become the secret weapon for gamers on the move, turning any couch, hotel room, or lan party station into a personal command center.