The Ultimate Compact Spatial Computing Solution

This setup is about building a real-world usable XR system using modular components, XR glasses paired with devices like the InAir Pod or XREAL Beam Pro to create an immersive experience similar in concept to the "Apple Vision Pro", but in a way that is:

• Far more portable

• Much less expensive

• Socially usable in public

• Flexible depending on your workflow

Rather than relying on a single all-in-one headset, this approach focuses on combining the best parts of different devices to achieve a balanced experience. 

• XR Glasses Comparison (Real Use Differences) 

XREAL Air (Original / Nreal)

• 1080p per eye

• Lower brightness and smaller field of view

• No onboard processing for stabilization

In practice, these feel like a first-generation experience. They still work, but:

• Dimmer image

• Less immersive

• No true screen locking without software

They rely heavily on apps like Nebula, which is no longer well supported making them less viable today.

XREAL Air 1S (Key Standout)

• ~1200p per eye

• ~52° field of view

• Built-in chip for stabilization and tracking

• Native 2D → 3D conversion

This is where the experience changes significantly.

The onboard chip allows:

• Rock-solid screen locking

• Minimal jitter or tearing

• A display that feels like a real physical monitor in space

Compared to software-based solutions, this is noticeably better. It works consistently across devices like:

• MacBook (even older M2 systems)

• Samsung DeX on phones

For productivity and stability, this is currently the strongest option.

VITURE Luma Ultra

• Similar resolution and field of view

• Multiple cameras for spatial tracking

• Relies on external software (SpaceWalker)

On paper, it should compete directly, but in real use:

• More screen tearing and flicker

• Less smooth tracking

• Frequent crashing (Mac + mobile)

• Audio inconsistencies

Because it depends on software instead of onboard processing, the experience varies by device and often feels unstable compared to XREAL 1S.

Spatial Tracking & 6DoF

• XREAL Air 1S + XREAL Eye:

  • Reliable 6DoF with good lighting

  • Stable tracking due to onboard processing

• VITURE Luma Ultra:

  • Uses multiple cameras

  • Still limited by software performance

Key takeaway:
Hardware-based tracking beats software-based tracking for consistency.

• Setting the Immersive Stage

XREAL Beam Pro

• Built specifically for XREAL ecosystem

• Supports spatial UI and multiple windows

• Can record spatial overlays (useful for demos)

However:

• Performance drops with multiple windows

• Noticeable jitter during video playback

• Limited to ~2 usable windows smoothly

It looks good in theory, but lacks the smoothness needed for real productivity.

InAir Pod (Most Practical Option)

• Works across multiple XR glasses

• More stable overall performance

• Flexible ecosystem support

Limitations:

• Some features not fully implemented on all glasses

• Window system isn’t fully “true spatial” yet on XREAL 1S

Example limitation:

• You can lock a screen in space

• But multiple app windows stay inside that fixed frame instead of spreading across your environment

Despite this, it still delivers the best overall balance today.

Pointer Functionality: The Missing Piece

While neither the XREAL Beam Pro nor the InAir Pod currently offers full hand tracking, both devices do allow you to use them as effective pointer tools. In practice, this means you can navigate and control apps using a virtual cursor, so, in some cases, it actually works even better than hand gestures. You point with the device in front of you, and the cursor moves smoothly on the screen, allowing you to interact with your virtual desktop.

That said, the lack of hand tracking is a real limitation, especially if you’re looking for something like Apple’s Vision Pro, which has advanced hand gestures. Right now, the VITURE Neckband Pro is the only one offering hand tracking, and from what I’ve heard, it’s pretty good though still not on par with the Apple Vision Pro.

Onboard 3D Cameras

Another note: the XREAL Beam Pro, with its onboard 3D cameras, does produce impressive color and contrast 1080p side-by-side recording. But despite claims of 60 frames per second recording, it breaks down. In some parts of the file, you get more like 15 or 20 frames per second, which is a real letdown. Even switching to 30 frames per second, you still see lost frames. So, while it sounds great on paper, the Beam Pro’s hardware just doesn’t always deliver that smooth, consistent frame rate, leaving a bit to be desired.

What Actually Matters (Real Insight)

After testing multiple setups, one thing becomes clear:

Smoothness is more important than features

You can have:

• 6DoF tracking

• Multiple floating windows

• Spatial UI

-but if the experience:

• Jitters

• Tears

• Crashes

-it immediately breaks immersion. That’s where the XREAL Air 1S stands out—it consistently delivers a stable visual experience, which is more important than having every feature. 

• Real-World Use Cases

This setup is not just for experimenting, it’s actually usable day-to-day:

Portable Workstation

• Samsung DeX = full desktop environment

• Phone screen becomes trackpad

• Add a foldable Bluetooth keyboard for complete system

Coffee Shop / Travel Setup

• No bulky laptop required

• Fits in a small bag

• Easy to set up anywhere

Content Consumption

• Large virtual screen anywhere

• Built-in 2D → 3D conversion (XREAL 1S)

• Works well for video, browsing, and media

Cost vs Value

Typical setup:

• XREAL Air 1S

• InAir Pod

Approximate cost:

• ~$1,000 USD

• ~$1,300 CAD

Compared to:

• Apple Vision Pro: $3,000–$4,000+

You’re getting:

• A similar concept of spatial computing

• At a fraction of the cost

• In a far more portable form

How Close Is It to Apple Vision Pro?

Similarities:

• Floating UI in space

• Layered windows

• Immersive content viewing

• Optional 3D experiences

Differences:

• Smaller field of view

• No full passthrough immersion

• Less advanced interaction (no eye tracking, limited hand tracking)

Advantages:

• Lightweight and discreet

• Usable in public

• Modular and flexible

• Significantly cheaper

Final Recommendation

Best Overall Setup (Right Now):

• XREAL Air 1S

• InAir Pod

Why:

• Most stable experience

• Best balance of features and usability

• Works across multiple scenarios

Final Takeaway

If your goal is:

• A compact, immersive XR experience

• That you can actually use daily

• Without spending thousands

• And without wearing a full headset in public

This modular approach delivers one of the most practical and realistic alternatives available right now. While it may not surpass high-end headsets in every technical measure, it excels in real-world usability, portability, and affordability, giving you a believable XR workspace wherever you go.

Xreal 1S Unboxing and Use Case Review

This is an unboxing and product-awareness post - not a deep tech review.

I’m far from a dedicated tech reviewer, and that’s on purpose. Years ago, I did more fitness tech, but the review world has become insanely detailed. People invest massive time into specs, lab tests, and comparisons. That’s not really my lane.

What I do like to share are products I actually buy for myself, things I’m genuinely interested in using. If something feels useful, fun, or potentially helpful for day-to-day life, I’ll bring awareness to it. Maybe it’s something you’ll find interesting too.

The Wearable Tech Spectrum (And Why Glasses Are Getting Interesting)

Right now, there are a few different “paths” wearable tech can take:

• Smart glasses with cameras and AI (like Ray-Ban Meta): great video, AI features, and convenience—but no display inside the lenses.

• Simple display-style glasses: usually a small display in one eye. Handy for framing, quick info, maybe navigation, but not something you’d want to use to watch a ton of content.

• Full VR headsets (like Meta Quest or Apple Vision Pro): incredible immersion and field of view, but not practical for walking around daily life. You’re not doing your grocery run with a headset on your face.

What’s exciting is where all of this is heading. Eventually, we’ll likely see glasses that combine the best of everything, camera, AI, display, comfort, and practicality, without looking weird in public.

Why I’m Interested in XREAL

If you want a wearable display that still looks like “normal” glasses, X-Real is one of the more interesting options. The model I’m unboxing here is the XREAL 1S, the latest version from a company that originally started as Nreal, then rebranded to XREAL.

I’ve owned earlier versions, including the original XREAL Air (basically the first “Air” generation). At a glance, the new ones don’t look wildly different, but there’s clearly more tech baked in now, as you’d expect after several years of development.

These are essentially display glasses, you plug them into something (phone, computer, console), and you get a massive screen in front of you. Think: your own private theater. Sitting on the couch, it can feel like you’re looking at a 100–200 inch screen.

They aren’t powered on their own. They draw power from whatever device you connect to via USB-C.

The Big Upgrade: Smooth Display and Screen Locking

With my older glasses, the experience was simple: the screen moved exactly with my head. If you turned your head, the whole screen came with you. No smoothing. No anchoring.

To get a more advanced experience, I used the XREAL Beam Pro, which is basically a dedicated device that adds features like:

• smoothing

• screen pinning/locking

• pointer-style interaction

• a more “spatial” interface

It’s essentially an Android-based device with a VR-like interface, not an Apple Vision Pro experience, but definitely more advanced than “just a screen on your face.”

Unboxing the XREAL 1S

The box itself doesn’t have much info on it, pretty minimal. Inside, you get:

• a flat-bottom hard case (nice because it sits stable on a table)

• a USB-C cable

• no power adapter (because, again, these are powered by your connected device)

• Extra nose pads (Small & Large as the Medium ones are on the glasses)

• Manual

When I pulled the glasses out, a few things stood out immediately.

1) Thinner, cleaner screen design

The front section looks noticeably slimmer compared to my older pair. Less bulk, more refined.

2) Auto-tinting lenses

This is a big one. The S1 lenses can electronically tint even automatically

With my older glasses, if I wanted to block out the background for better immersion, I had to attach a physical cover/shade over the lenses. It worked, but it added thickness and felt a bit clunkier. The new auto-tint idea is cleaner and more “future tech.”

3) Audio upgrade

The 1S has Bose speakers built into the arms, which should improve sound quality compared to earlier models.

The “Eye” Accessory and Why It Matters

Along with the 1S, I also have the XREAL Eye, a small camera module that plugs into the glasses through a dedicated port under a cover.

This adds a major capability: 6DoF (six degrees of freedom) tracking.

Here’s the difference in plain language:

• 3DoF = the system knows your head rotation (left/right, up/down, tilt). It can lock the screen in place in a basic way, but it doesn’t truly understand depth.

• 6DoF = the system understands position in space, so the screen can stay anchored even as you move closer, farther, or shift around it.

That matters for real-world use. Example:
If you’re working on text, you can set a comfortable screen size… and then lean in closer to “zoom” naturally. It feels more like a real screen sitting in space rather than a flat image floating with your head.

One note: this type of tracking usually needs decent lighting to work well.

Quick Spec Comparisons (Old vs New)

Just comparing what I’m working with here:

• Field of view: about 46 on the older setup vs about 52 on the new one (as I understand it)

• Resolution: older is 1080p, new is 1200p (as I stated in the video)

• Brightness: about 400 nits vs about 700 nits

• Audio: Bose speakers on the new

• Processing: new has built-in chip features, including 2D-to-3D conversion and screen-locking features without needing the Beam device.

• Ability to add the Eye camera for taking videos and photos, along with 6DoF (six degrees of freedom)

Why Demos Are Hard (And My Plan)

Here’s the problem with reviewing display glasses: you can’t easily show what the wearer sees. There’s no simple “point the camera at it” solution that accurately represents the experience.

The workaround I’m planning is to use the Eye camera and the XREAL Beam Pro's ability to record what I’m seeing, combining:

• what the Eye Camera sees

• what the interface is showing in the glasses

That should make a future video far more understandable, because you’ll be able to see the “real world + the overlays” together.

Final Thoughts (For Now)

This was an unboxing and first look, just getting the hardware out, showing what’s included, and explaining what I’m aiming to use it for.

Next steps for me:

• firmware updates (usually required)

• real-world testing

• practical usage examples (work, media, travel scenarios)

Once I’ve had time to actually use the 1S properly, I’ll come back with a more grounded opinion on whether it’s worth it and where it fits into a realistic “over-40 lifestyle” use case.

For now, I’m going to play with it, set it up, and have some fun with it.

How to Upload 3D Videos to YouTube That Actually Play in 3D (Meta Quest - Vision Pro & Most VR Headsets)

After Lots of Trial and Error I Finally Figured It Out!

After a lot of experimenting and troubleshooting, I finally figured out how to take 3D videos recorded on my XREAL Beam Pro and make them play back properly in 3D on YouTube, viewable through devices like the Meta Quest, Apple Vision Pro, and most other VR headsets.

It took quite a bit of trial and error, but the good news is that I’ve discovered a workflow that actually works, and it’s not that difficult to follow once you know the steps.

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Mac & Android Perspective (But Works on iPhone and PC Too)

This guide is based on my workflow using a Mac and Android devices, but there are plenty of crossovers if you’re using an iPhone or Windows PC.

• I use the XREAL Beam Pro as my main 3D camera, but this method also works with iPhone Pro models that record Spatial Video.

• The only difference is that iPhone Spatial Videos first need to be converted to SBS (side-by-side) format, and I’ll show you a super easy way to do this.

• While my process uses Mac software, you can easily find similar tools for Windows PCs to accomplish the same thing.

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The Core Problem: 3D Isn’t Standardized Yet

One of the biggest challenges with 3D content is that it’s still not standardized.
YouTube, in particular, has changed its 3D and 360° upload process multiple times over the years.

They used to offer options to mark your video as 3D or 360° during upload, but those have since been removed.
Even worse, the metadata codes that used to work no longer do. You now need very specific 3D metadata instructions for YouTube to properly recognize and play your video in 3D.

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Working With ChatGPT to Crack the Code

Over the past week, I’ve spent a lot of time testing different methods, even working with ChatGPT to figure out what actually works today.

At first, ChatGPT gave me instructions that seemed confident but didn’t produce the right results. After trying several variations (and combining them with some of my own ideas), I finally got YouTube to recognize and correctly play back 3D videos on most devices.

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Device Compatibility (What Works and What Doesn’t)

This workflow ensures your 3D videos will play properly on most 3D-capable devices, including:

• Meta Quest headsets

• Apple Vision Pro

• Other VR headsets and 3D displays

The only limitation I’ve found is with XREAL glasses (and similar AR glasses with built-in LCD panels).
These devices currently don’t support 3D playback through YouTube, though you can still watch 3D videos locally if the file is stored on the device you are playing it from.

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Step-by-Step Guide: Making YouTube 3D Videos That Actually Work

Step 1: Record Your 3D Video

Start by recording your content in 3D using:

• XREAL Beam Pro

• iPhone Pro (Spatial Video mode)

• Any other 3D camera

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Step 2: Convert Spatial Video to SBS (Side-by-Side) Format

If you’re using an iPhone, you’ll need to convert your Spatial video into SBS format.

• On a Mac, I use a program called Spatial Media Toolkit for Mac.

• If you’re on a PC, you’ll need to find a similar alternative (but the process is the same).

Spatial Media Toolkit offers a free 7-day trial, and it’s worth checking out because it also has a cool extra feature:

You can convert regular 2D videos into very believable 3D videos, which alone might justify purchasing the full version.

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Step 3: Inject the 3D Metadata Code and Save as MKV

This is the critical step that allows YouTube to recognize your file as 3D.

To do this, you’ll need to inject specific 3D metadata into your SBS video file using MKVToolNix, available for both Mac and PC.

Here’s what you do:

1. Open your SBS video in MKVToolNix.

2. Under the Properties section, set:

   • Display width/height to 1920x2160.
     (It might seem strange, but this ensures the correct aspect ratio when YouTube plays it in 3D.)

3. In the Stereoscopy dropdown menu, choose:

   • “Side by Side (left first)”

4. Save your file in MKV format — this container is required because it holds the 3D metadata YouTube needs. (You may need to manually retype the file extension ".mkv"at the end of the video name before saving if it exports as something other than ".mkv").

Without these metadata details, YouTube will treat your upload as a regular 2D side-by-side video.

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Step 4: Upload to YouTube

Once you’ve completed the steps above, you’re ready to upload your MKV file to YouTube.
YouTube will now properly recognize your video as 3D, allowing supported devices to automatically play it back in 3D mode.

And that’s it, your workflow is complete!

Watch my video for even deeper instructions on how to Upload 3D Videos to YouTube That Actually Play in 3D.

Watch in 3D

Watch in 2D