After a full month of using the Xreal One AR glasses as my daily work setup, I'm sharing my honest review of whether they can truly replace a traditional multi-monitor workspace.
The Good: These are hands down the best AR glasses currently available for single monitor replacement. The display quality is impressive and they excel at entertainment - movies and gaming are absolutely fantastic on these.
The Reality Check: While the technology is impressive, there's one major limitation that makes them fall short as a multi-monitor work replacement - the field of view.
Here's what I discovered that I never realized I relied on so heavily:
PERIPHERAL VISION IS EVERYTHING
-
I constantly use my peripheral vision to catch incoming emails on side monitors without breaking focus from my main task
-
Spotting my mouse cursor when it wanders off requires that wider visual field
-
Quick glances to secondary displays happen dozens of times per hour
-
With AR glasses, if it's not directly in front of you, it simply doesn't exist
THE WORKFLOW IMPACT
-
Email notifications that would normally catch my eye go completely unnoticed
-
Finding a lost mouse cursor requires deliberate head turning and searching
-
The seamless multi-tasking flow I'm used to gets constantly interrupted
-
These small friction points add up to make the glasses less appealing for daily work use
THE VERDICT
For entertainment: Absolutely incredible
For work: Not quite there yet, but close
The technology just needs that crucial field of view improvement to truly revolutionize how we work. Until then, they're an amazing single-monitor solution and entertainment device, but can't fully replace a proper multi-monitor setup.
What's your experience with AR glasses for productivity? Let me know in the comments!
