XREAL Beam Pro debuts as Android phone-like spatial computing terminal for AR glasses

The XREAL Beam Pro is the next-gen spatial computing terminal for the company’s AR glasses. It was just unveiled in China, and is available for preorders at a starting price of CNY 1,299 (around $179). The non-Pro variant, which launched last year, goes for $119, and the Pro variant should land in the international markets soon.

That said, compared to the non-Pro variant, the Beam Pro brings a good number of upgrades to the table, and these have made the spatial computing terminal more like a phone. For example, it comes with a 6.5-inch screen on the front, which the non-Pro didn’t come with. It’s an LCD screen with a refresh rate of 90 Hz.

Under the hood, the XREAL Beam Pro packs an unspecified Snapdragon 4 nm SoC with 8 cores. It’s said to be a spatial computing processor, so it’s likely from the XR series. However, it’s definitely not the XR2 Gen 2 or XR2+ Gen 2, as they are 6-core processors.

Nonetheless, the Snapdragon processor is paired with up to 8 GB of RAM and 256 GB of storage. Currently, only the WiFi variant of the Beam Pro is available, but XREAL plans to launch the 5G version in August. The similarities with a smartphone don’t end there, though.

This new spatial computing terminal is powered by Nebula OS based on Android 14. The OS even offers the ability to install Android APK, much like a regular smartphone. Other than that, there’s Bluetooth 5.2, 27W fast charging, WiFi 6, 4300 mAh battery, and a microSD card slot.

Now, one of the aspects that sets the XREAL Beam Pro apart from a smartphone is the dual camera setup on the back that’s for capturing spatial videos. These sensors are said to be the Samsung ISOCELL JN1, and they have a distance of 50 mm among them to ensure the best spatial stereoscopic effect.

The camera setup also has anti-shake technology and is backed up by a proprietary algorithm to capture optimized 3D videos. Another notable differentiating factor is the dual USB-C ports, one for charging and the other for connecting a pair of AR glasses. Also, there are many software features that are tailored for spatial experiences.