Hardware XREAL Beam Pro Review

A year after launching the XREAL Beam, consumer augmented reality (AR) specialist XREAL is back with a revamped version of its spatial computing accessory, the XREAL Beam Pro. It's essentially a phone-sized tablet that pairs perfectly with XREAL AR glasses for AR (or spatial computing) experiences, without the need for your phone or very pricey goggles. We'll take a closer look at what it has to offer in this review.


The XREAL Beam Pro starts from $199 and pre-orders have already been shipped. The package comes with the following items:



Compared to the original XREAL Beam, XREAL has made some drastic changes with the Pro variant. It's larger; it has a screen; and it functions completely as a standalone device. In contrast, the original Beam would need to be paired to a phone and most controls would still be done on the phone's screen.


You could easily mistake the XREAL Beam Pro for a smartphone because it is shaped and sized just like one. This adds some familiarity to interacting with the device, even if it provides a novel experience. This can ease the transition to interacting with apps in a new way, unlike more radical approaches like the Humane Ai Pin. In this aspect, the XREAL Beam Pro is successful as it does not alienate but rather offers a familiar form factor and initial interaction.

For a $200 device, the accessory is well built. It's sturdy and the all-white back with the XREAL logo adds a minimalist touch that I really appreciated. Weighing 208g, it is also relatively lightweight and easy to carry around.

Even if the device looks like a phone, it does have some standout features. Among those are its two USB-C ports: one for charging and one for plugging in a pair of XREAL AR glasses. On the right side, you'll find a power button, a volume rocker and a red button that is mapped to the camera when no AR glasses is attached and can toggle between spatial display modes when a pair of AR glasses are attached. At the back, the XREAL Beam Pro does not have one but two cameras which allow for 3D photo and video capture.


Overall on the hardware front, XREAL does not disappoint with the XREAL Beam Pro. It's well designed and packs a quality finish, akin to the company's AR glasses. That said, it's quite noticeable that the XREAL Beam Pro package is quite barebones. There's no USB-C cable nor a charger included; likely to keep costs down. But a bumper or a screen protector would have been welcome additions.


XREAL is marketing the Beam Pro as a spatial computing device. What this means is that it provides AR experiences when a pair of XREAL AR glasses, like the XREAL Air 2 Pro, is connected to it. It's a plug and play affair once you plug in the AR glasses' USB cable to the clearly marked port on the Beam Pro. This will mirror the apps on the device but instead of simply mirroring them as the original Beam did with a smartphone, the Beam Pro does so in a 3D space superimposed over your actual environment.


Thanks to the nebulaOS that takes over when AR glasses are connected, apps will hover in front of you, with no virtual background. The effect is a futuristic one but not unfamiliar if you've used AR glasses before. With the XREAL glasses' micro-OLED displays, visuals are crisp and fluid. You can navigate intuitively with the Beam Pro which acts as a pointer, without the need to take your eyes off the virtual display (although you might need to get used to the controls when starting off).

This addresses one of the major downsides with the original Beam. The latter could not be used as a pointer, so you still had to use the paired phone for controls. With the Beam Pro, the experience is somewhat akin to using the Nebula app. You can perform actions such as recentering the screen as well as the pointer position and adjusting the position of AR windows via the touch screen. It's an intuitive process that works well in an AR environment.


Another downside I had with the original Beam was that it would display only one window. With the Beam Pro, two apps/windows can be open simultaneously and they can be individually resized and have their orientation adjusted. This enhances the multitasking and productivity aspect of the device. For example, you can work on a document in one window and search on your browser in another.


I am a firm believer that the "killer app" for tethered AR glasses like those from XREAL are the suite of apps we are used to but in an AR environment. I was delighted to experience this with the original Beam and the Beam Pro improves on it as a standalone device that allows you to use any Android app in an AR manner. Thanks to its access to Google Play Store, you literally have millions of apps at your disposal which can be experienced in a novel way. From streaming videos to games, you can enjoy them on a compact, spatial display. Having a dedicated port for charging addresses the issue of battery life, so you can enjoy AR environments for as long as you wish. And if you no longer need to use apps in AR, you can still use them on the Beam Pro's built-in screen, as you would on a phone. The OS is virtually that of vanilla Android 14; so interaction will be familiar for Android users.



Other than being a gateway for AR experiences, the XREAL Beam Pro also allows you to take spatial pictures and videos. Thanks to its dual 50MP 3D cameras, you can capture full HD spatial images and videos in 3D. Essentially, they take the same image/video but spaced 50mm apart. When superimposed and viewed with a pair of XREAL glasses, the effect is that of viewing a 3D image/video.


It's a fun and unique aspect of the device, which makes spatial photography accessible and affordable. Images are clear and detailed, although I found that taking spatial images in bright lighting conditions delivers a better 3D effect.


While the Beam Pro addresses the issues of its former model, it adds some restrictions of its own. Firstly, there are only two windows/apps that can be open at a time with nebulaOS. This feels somewhat restrictive and having several windows open could make a better case for productivity. Furthermore, the two apps are stuck side-by-side. It looks rather odd and being able to move the windows freely and individually would make for a more compelling AR experience.

Then there's the fact that not all two apps can be open at the same time. Only one "high performance" app can be in use at a time. For example, YouTube and Brave Browser cannot run at the same time in Spatial display. You'll have to close one and then open the other. It is also not clear what nebulaOS deems to be a "high performance" app either.

Such limitations are likely due to the specs of the device itself. To keep costs down, XREAL has opted for modest specs on its spatial computing accessory. The processor is termed as a "Snapdragon spatial companion processor" but GeekBench 6 scores position it towards the lower end in terms of performance. So having demanding apps might slow the device down and impede the AR experience.

However, it performed better than I expected for Android gaming and emulation. Less demanding games such as Dead Cells run fine as do emulators like Dreamcast. PS2 games such as Shadow of the Colossus at 2x resolution would run at 30fps and Switch games like Cuphead and Untitled Goose Game are also very playable at 60 fps and 35-40 fps respectively. But when emulators are run via nebulaOS (or when a pair of glasses are plugged into the Beam Pro), performance does drop, indicating the limitations of the processor.


On the gaming side, when used with XREAL glasses, the Beam Pro still functions as a pointer. This makes on-screen controls very challenging, especially for games that require multi-finger input. One way to address this issue would have been to turn the Beam Pro's screen into a virtual controller whenever you play a game. There could be a "game mode" where you can tag apps as games and this will turn the touch screen into a virtual gamepad. For now, you can pair a Bluetooth controller to the Beam Pro to play games in spatial display, provided the game recognizes controller input.


On the hardware front, while the phone-sized tablet approach works in easing the transition to working in spatial environments, the touch screen can feel too large for its own good. Some of the on-screen controls can require a reach and having a smaller display/touchscreen could have addressed this.

Another note on the hardware is that the Beam Pro features only a single speaker. It is easily covered with your finger/palm if you are gaming or just holding it between your palms in landscape. It's not ideal for using as a tablet but when paired with XREAL AR glasses, the sound is mirrored via the latter's speakers. This somewhat hammers in the fact that the device is intended to be used with AR glasses.


Despite some downsides, the XREAL Beam Pro does elevate the experience with XREAL AR glasses. It is a net improvement over the original Beam and makes spatial computing and photography accessible and affordable. It's the perfect companion for owners of XREAL glasses and a promising step for consumer-ready spatial computing.