Intro
After nearly three years of almost daily service, my original X-REAL Airs have officially hit the end of the road.
Full Guide
Watch the overview video or keep reading the full article below
Table of Contents
I didn’t abuse these. This wasn’t a drop or an accident. This was a slow, structural failure. If you look at these hinges, the constant mechanical stress of folding and unfolding eventually fatigued the ABS plastic right past the metal reinforcement. Now the only thing holding it together are the cables that run to the speakers and controls.
Real-World Utility
These weren’t a novelty for me. When they broke, I realized just how much I relied on them, and probably not in the way most people would think. Throughout the day, I take breaks from staring at a computer screen and hop on my little treadmill or walk around my house to get my steps, and instead of staring down at my phone, which is the fastest way to ruin your posture and develop “tech-neck”, I wear these.
It allows me to stand up straight, shoulders back, looking forward while I catch up on YouTube or research scripts. It’s an ergonomic aid that just happens to be a high-end display. It has actually helped improve my posture while walking. I’m guessing many of you need to fix your tech necks, as well!
Now, though, they don’t fit properly anymore; they just keep sliding off. While I could probably superglue or hot-glue them together, they’ll just come apart again. It was time for an upgrade, and that’s where the VITURE Luma Pros comes in.
The Unboxing & Build Philosophy
Right as we open the box, we get all the instructions we’ll need to operate the glasses.
In the accessories box, we have a bunch of manuals in various languages. Just curious why everyone’s going back to the old school unfolding map style for their manuals. I guess it’s just cheaper to print? Then we have an assortment of magnetic nose pads and other accessories.
The hard case itself is quite beefy. I imagine this will survive some abuse.
In the top compartment, we have the hefty power slash display cable. One of the most impactful changes here is the magnetic Pogo-pin connector. On the old glasses, the USB-C port was a fixed point of failure. If you snagged that cable, you were putting all the stress on the frame. With VITURE, it’s a magnetic breakaway. If the cord gets snagged, it just pops off. That alone is a win for longevity BUT it also introduces a whole new set of problems that I’ll get into later.
Power connector and hinge build
On to the glasses. the build philosophy here is quite different, while the plastics on my X-REALS felt okay, the Luma Pros use a high-grade polycarbonate and has this interesting CyberPunk design along the arms.
We get a look at where the power cable attaches. I don’t know how I feel about exposed pins. I’ll probably keep the cable attached most of the time like I did with the old glasses.
One thing I’m immediately checking are the hinges. The XREALs used a thin plastic sleeve over a spring, which is exactly where they eventually broke away. The Luma Pros feel much more robust—they use a reinforced, aviation-grade material for the hinge mechanism. It also moves far more freely than the stiffer X-Real hinges, so hopefully that’ll put less stress on the frame when opening and closing them. It feels like it’s built to handle daily wear and tear, not just occasional use.
There’s also the thermal aspect. My X-REALS used to get quite hot on the left temple, which I think contributed to the plastic becoming brittle. VITURE says their design has improved airflow compared to the older versions. It should feel cooler to wear, which hopefully means the plastic won’t be “slow-cooked” over the next few years. Only time will tell.
Electrochromic glass and shades
The electrochromic glass is a very cool feature. Its power usage is fairly insignificant compared to everything else drawing power. My only minor gripe is that It doesn’t go completely black which you’ll notice if you’re in a well lit room, so I wish it came with a physical cover like the Xreals did. You can buy a pair of Kanye style “shutter shades” for $9 from Viture, which I did, unfortunately they seem pointless to me because you still have to turn on the electrochromic glass to block the light.
You can probably 3d print a real pair of shades, I may work on that if there’s not one already.
The electrochromic glass is a very cool feature. Its power usage is fairly insignificant compared to everything else drawing power. My only minor gripe is that It doesn’t go completely black which you’ll notice if you’re in a well lit room, so I wish it came with a physical cover like the Xreals did. You can buy a pair of Kanye style “shutter shades” for $9 from Viture, which I did, unfortunately they seem pointless to me because you still have to turn on the electrochromic glass to block the light.
You can probably 3d print a real pair of shades, I may work on that if there’s not one already.
For my fellow four-eyed viewers, we have built in individually adjustable diopter dials. My vision is right at the negative -4 limit of the glasses. What’s great about is that there’s no need for costly third-party inserts or eyelashes hitting the glass. It’s a much cleaner experience. Unfortunately, if you do need more adjustment than that, you’ll have to go with the Luma Ultra version, which can reach to -6.
As we adjust the dials, we can see the screens move up and down within the housing. It’s a clever, simple setup, even if it does mean these are a little bulkier to accommodate this mechanism. I still really appreciate it.
First-Hand Experience (Optics, Audio & Ergonomics)
What is it actually like to use? In a word: sharp. The image quality on the Luma Pros is a noticeable step up. Even small text is perfectly readable.
When it comes to movies and videos, it’s just a much more enjoyable, crisp experience. Subjectively, the image just looks better than what I was getting with the X-REALS. The sound is great, thanks to the Harman speakers. They are surprisingly well-tuned right out of the box for media consumption. You get a full, clear sound that really complements the visuals.
As for the Field of View, I’d describe it as “good.” I’m not going to say it’s “great”—we aren’t at VR levels of immersion yet—but it is definitely an improvement over the X-REALS. You just feel like you have a bit more screen room for videos to play across.
The fit is impressive. These stay put. Even when I’m on the treadmill at a jogging pace, they don’t slip or bounce around, without feeling like they are squeezing my head, your milage my vary. But there is one ergonomic “quirk” I’m still getting used to: the cable.
On the X-REALS, the cable came straight out the back of the arm, which felt very stealthy. On the VITUREs, the connector is on the right side and it’s a bit bulky. Depending on the shape of your ear, you may or may not notice it sticking out. (Show top-down view of xreel and fit your glasses next to each other.)
Overall, though, I’m really happy. Between the image quality, the fit, and the sound, these are going to be my new go-to for the treadmill or just walking around inside.
The Power & Thermal Reality
One issue I had with the X-Reals, aside from them rotting over time, was the power draw on my phone. Luckily, the Luma Pros are far more power-efficient. In my testing, while plugged into my Samsung S24 Ultra, watching YouTube on the treadmill for about 20 minutes dropped my phone’s battery by roughly 8%, which is much better than the 15% drop I saw with the X-reals. No bad at all, you still need to be aware of it if your battery is already low.
Connecting to a Phone
Now, on your smartphone, you can technically use the SpaceWalker app. But honestly, I just couldn’t get it to work properly for me
The biggest issue is what’s called “Sandboxing.” On Android, SpaceWalker can’t just “grab” your native YouTube or Netflix apps and put them into a virtual 3D space. It forces you to use its own browser instead and for me every time I tried to use it, none of my accounts would stay logged in plus the experience just felt “clunky” compared to what I’m used to.
So I’ll stick to just using the native Samsung DeX app. DeX works perfectly with every app I already have installed without making me jump through hoops.
I’ve read that iPhone users love SpaceWalker because it gives them the windowed desktop experience that iOS is missing. It also unlocks the 2D-to-3D conversion features. But for us Samsung users, we already have DeX. For me, the stability and app support of a native OS feature like DeX beats out a third-party app every time.
If you’re a non-Samsung or Apple user and you have a “killer use case” for SpaceWalker that I’m missing, please let me know in the comments.
Connecting to a laptop
Now on my laptop, that’s a different story; the SpaceWalker app is great! I can have a triple-monitor setup and launch it anywhere. For example, here I have my school setup with the book on one screen, a PowerPoint on another, and notes on a third. It’s very cool and surprisingly smooth, even at the lower 60 FPS I have here. The SpaceWalker app has a bunch of nice features like shortcuts to zoom in and out and lock certain tilts among others. I’m using this on my ASUS Zenbook which supports DisplayPort Alt Mode over USB-C, so it’s simply plug-and-play with the stock VITURE cable.
But here is where I hit a wall. As much as I like this laptop, it doesn’t have the horsepower for what I actually do most of the time. When I need to render in Blender, color grade in Photoshop, or scrub through 4K timelines in Premiere, I need my beastly desktop.
Connecting to a desktop
And that is where the “plug and play” dream dies, because most desktop GPUs like my RTX 3080 don’t have a USB-C port at all much less one that supports DisplayPort Alt mode, and my higher-end X570 AMD motherboard doesn’t have supporting ports either. Since the VITURE glasses have a proprietary cable, we need another way to connect the glasses to a desktop.
Closing
I’ve spent the last few weeks in “adapter hell” trying to bridge the gap between my RTX GPU and the proprietary VITURE cable. I’ve tested various couplers and expensive specialized cables and have had to troubleshoot through problems with all of them.
I eventually found a solution that kind of works for me and hopefully can work for you, but it’s a deep enough rabbit hole that it deserves its own video. In the next one, I’m going to show the almost “Golden Chain” of adapters to get that 120 hertz, triple-monitor, workstation running off your main rig, and take a deeper dive into the SpaceWalker app on desktop.
- 【A 1200P ULTRA SHARP DISPLAY YOU’LL NEVER FORGET — EVEN SHARPER THAN VITURE PRO】Step into a jaw-dropping 152” virtual screen with revolutionary 1200P resolution that feels like 4K — powered by VITURE’s proprietary optical “secret sauce.” Text is razor-sharp, delivering a clarity that’s even sharper than the award-winning VITURE Pro, making this the sharpest XR display ever created. * Important * Please remove the protective film from the front camera (located in the center of the frame) before use. ***VITURE XR Glass is compatible with virtually any USB-C device capable of video and power output.
Frequently Ask Questions
Yes! One of the biggest advantages of the Luma Pro is its built-in diopter adjustment. Both eyepieces have independent dials that let me dial in the clarity perfectly, meaning I don't need expensive prescription lense incerts (like the ones I had for my old X-REALs). It supports adjustments from 0.00D down to -4.00D.
While I’m coming from X-REAL, the Luma Pro represents the next generation of the VITURE ecosystem. The "Pro" model features significantly higher brightness (up to 1200 nits, compared to the One's 500 nits) and a massive 120Hz refresh rate capability, making it a much better option for gaming or HDR media.
This is a common point of confusion. Unlike previous models that used dynamic electronic dimming on the actual lenses, the "Luma Pro" model uses physical clip-on magnetic shrouds for total blackout. The physical button on the frame (sometimes called the 'Pro Button') on the Luma Pro is generally dedicated to toggling between 2D and 3D modes (SBS - Side-by-Side) or adjusting the display brightness. We will cover this physical interaction more in-depth in Part 2.
While the VITURE Luma Pro speakers are embedded near your ears for an immersive experience, they are still open-ear speakers. At high volumes, there will be some sound leakage, meaning someone sitting directly next to you (e.g., in a quiet library) might hear muffled audio. However, VITURE utilizes an acoustic structure to help direct sound toward your ears, making it significantly more private than simply using your phone’s speakers at the same distance. For total privacy, we still recommend using earbuds or headphones.
