Goodbye Meta, hello XREAL Asus announces ROG XREAL R1 AR gaming glasses following termination of its Horizon OS headset

Date:
Tue, 06 Jan 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Description:
We finally know who Asus dumped Meta for, but its not quite the XR
partnership of my dreams.

FULL STORY ======================================================================Asus announces ROG XREAL R1 AR gaming glasses at CES 2026 These glasses will pair with its ROG Ally handhelds, plus PCs and consoles They'll land in the first half of 2026, but no price has been announced yet

Reports of the death of Asus' XR plans have been greatly exaggerated, and at CES 2026 it announced a partnership with XREAL to deliver the ROG XREAL R1 AR gaming glasses giving the Asus ROG Xbox Ally X a run for its money in the naming department.

These smart glasses are what weve come to know from XREAL, but this time there's a focus on Asus PC tech. You can connect them directly to a
compatible device (such as a ROG Ally) using the USB-C cable to have that devices display shown on a giant virtual screen (171 inches at 4m), or use
the included ROG Control Dock.

This dock includes DisplayPortTM 1.4 and two HDMI 2.0 ports so you can seamlessly switch between using the glasses with your PC or your console.
Asus promises this will happen with a single click.

As for the glasses themselves, it looks like were in for a treat. They boast full-HD (1,920 x 1,080) Sony 0.55-inch micro-OLED displays with a 700 nits peak brightness and 57-degree field of view. This is identical to the XREAL One Pro glasses I loved , so I imagine the XREAL R1 glasses also rely on the same optical engine which is sleek and boasts a crystal clear image better than other similar smart specs Ive tried Ive contacted XREAL to clarify this however as the press release Ive been sent doesnt confirm my suspicion. The Xreal One Pro glasses fat CES 2025 (Image credit: Future)

The big upgrade for these specs, however, is their 240Hz refresh rate the highest so far from this kind of wearable display. This plants the specs firmly in the 'made for gamers' camp, as a buttery smooth frame rate is required for any kind of elite-level player.

Youll also get the usual Bose-tuned audio and the electrochromically dimmable lenses were used to seeing from XREAL. Based on my experience that means headphones are useful but not a must-have unless youre travelling, and these specs should be suitable to a wide range of environments.

Lastly, we know the new Asus ROG XREAL R1 AR gaming glasses will ship
globally in the first half of 2026, but neither XREAL nor Asus has revealed how much they'll cost when they do. Based on their similarity to the XREAL
One Pro specs, I wouldnt hold my breath for anything less than $649 / 579,
but well have to wait and see.

And thats not all we might have to wait and see about when it comes to Asus
XR plans (Image credit: ASUS) A sign of more to come?

The press release I received ahead of todays Asus XREAL announcement makes no mention of Android XR at all so there isnt yet a link between Asus and the new kid on the block in the XR space but the degree of separation between Asus and Android XR is a lot less than it was.

Thats because XREAL has announced Android XR specs are on the way, and given the utility Android XR looks set to bring to smart glasses of all kinds I wouldnt be surprised if Asus has some Android specs on the way either
through working with XREAL on another ROG-branded pair, or a more in-house design. The only Meta Asus XR collab image we have (Image credit: Meta)

While we can only speculate, it wouldnt be surprising if this ROG Xreal R1 product is what played a part in the divorce of Asus and Metas Horizon OS.
For Asus, glasses perhaps make better sense as an addition to its ecosystem than a whole VR headset existing as an upgrade for its ROG handhelds rather than a headset replacing them in some way (kinda like how the Steam Frame headset is sort of a wearable Steam Deck).

For Meta, it could be that the Asus Xreal partnership especially due to the Xreals proximity to Android XR stepped over a line where was no longer comfortable.

We likely wont ever know why Asus and Meta split up. Instead, we can just get excited for the Asus ROG XREAL R1 AR gaming glasses, and patiently hope this is the first of many Asus smart specs.

TechRadar will be extensively covering this year's CES , and will bring you all of the big announcements as they happen. Head over to our CES 2026 news page for the latest stories and our hands-on verdicts on everything from wireless TVs and foldable displays to new phones, laptops, smart home
gadgets, and the latest in AI.

And dont forget to follow us on TikTok and WhatsApp for the latest from the CES show floor!



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Link to news story: https://www.techradar.com/computing/virtual-reality-augmented-reality/goodbye- meta-hello-xreal-asus-announces-rog-xreal-r1-ar-gaming-glasses-following-termi nation-of-its-horizon-os-headset


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