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The smart glasses I’m comparing today are both at the far edge of what’s possible with consumer technology—both are like carrying a home theater around in a pair of sunglasses. But if you’re only going to buy one pair of future-looking smart glasses, should you choose the XReal One Pros or Rokid Max 2?
Display quality
Credit: Stephen Johnson
If you compare spec sheets, there seems to be a lot of similarities here: Both glasses have micro OLED displays at 1920 × 1080 per eye. Both claim a 120 Hz refresh rate. Both have similar brightness levels. But the line on the spec sheet that’s most important is the type of display. XReal glasses feature “flat-prism optics,” designed to provide edge-to-edge clarity and a larger field of view than Rokid’s “waveguide optics.” It makes a noticeable difference. While both glasses feature bright and highly defined visuals with rich colors, the Rokid’s display gets a little blurry around the edges, and the field of view is smaller. In terms of watching movies and gaming, the difference is negligible, but if you’re planning to use these glasses for work, not being able to see the corners of the screen makes many tasks impossible.
Bottom line: If you want sharper visuals and a wider screen that works for both entertainment and productivity, XReal’s optics are the choice.
Winner: XReal One Pro
Augmented reality capabilities
Both pairs of glasses have dedicated, extra devices you can plug in to add capabilities, but in a comparison of the glasses alone, the winner is XReal. One Pro glasses are built around an X1 chip that allows 3DOF augmented reality right out of the box. Rokid Max 2 glasses are straightforward display glasses, so there is no chip—you plug them into a USB-C device and mirror the screen. Even if you’re only planning to watch movies with these glasses, the 3DOF capability of XReals lets you anchor your screen in 3D space, an option that makes video-watching more natural (and is generally cool). Also: If you’re planning to use the glasses as a “second screen,” it’s not possible without the ability to place the display somewhere specific.
Bottom line: With 3DOF support out of the box, XReal glasses aren’t just for watching movies; they can act like a true AR workspace.
Winner: XReal One Pro
Style and comfort
Credit: Stephen Johnson
If they didn’t have ludicrous amounts of video and audio tech crammed in them, I wouldn’t wear either of these pairs of glasses. Neither is all that attractive, but neither is especially ugly or distracting either. Looks are subjective. I prefer Rokid’s slightly bug-eyed, Elvis-in-the-’70s look to the flat-fronted XReals, which my wife described as looking like the glasses you might wear after cataract surgery. In terms of comfort, both glasses are heavier than a regular pair of shades—XReals weigh about 87 grams while Rokids weight about 75 grams—but both companies have taken pains to design glasses that can comfortably be worn for longer periods of time despite their girth. Both are adjustable in various ways, and have soft nosepads, but overall, I found Rokid Max 2 glasses more comfortable.
Bottom line: If you’re planning on wearing these for hours at a time, the slightly lighter, more comfortable Rokids will be easier on your face.
Winner: Rokid Max 2
Audio quality
Credit: Robyn Simms Johnson
Both the XReal One Pro and Rokid Max 2 glasses feature built-in directional speakers, and open-air audio is never that great. Both are fine for uses like listening to podcasts or phone calls, but neither would be acceptable for really listening to music. Still, XReal’s sound was designed by Bose. Rokid’s sound is perfectly fine for casual use, but Bose’s tuning gives XReal a slight edge. No matter which pair you choose, you’ll need a pair of Bluetooth headphones or earbuds to use them on an airplane, or just to have a full cinematic experience.
Bottom line: You’ll probably want headphones either way, but if you care about onboard sound, XReal gives you the edge.
Winner: XReal One Pro
Connectivity and compatibility
Both devices instantly hook up to anything via USB-C; that includes newer iPhones and Androids and newer laptops, but doesn’t include current game consoles, except the Steam Deck. Both Rokid and XReal offer various adapters and ports to connect with devices that aren’t USB-C.
Bottom line: No matter which glasses you choose, they’ll plug into the same devices without fuss.
Winner: Tie
What do you think so far?
Vision correction
Credit: Robyn Simms Johnson
Rokid glasses feature onboard vision correction. XReal glasses do not. So people with vision problems will need a prescription insert (or contact lenses) to use XReals, but Rokid Max 2 users might need one as well. The idea of dialing in your prescription is cool, but neither my wife nor I were able to fully correct our vision with the Max 2’s diopters. This kind of thing will probably happen to many users.
Bottom line: If you don’t want to mess with inserts or contacts, Rokid’s built-in diopters might save you some hassle—though they won’t work for every prescription.
Winner: Rokid Max 2
Cutting edge-ness
Credit: Stephen Johnson
Despite the fact that both pairs of glasses were released at roughly the same time—Rokid Max 2 glasses came out in January 2025; XReal One Pros dropped seven months later—XReal’s specs feel more cutting-edge. XReal One Pros feature an onboard X1 chip, and a dedicated port for a small camera module that expands the devices to 6DoF, which is necessary for “true” augmented reality. Rokids, on the other hand, have more in common, in terms of possibilities and technical specs, with XReal’s Air Pro glasses, which came out in 2023.
Bottom line: XReal’s chip and expansion port make it feel like a step toward the AR future, while Rokid feels more like a great portable display.
Winner: XReal One Pro
Price
XReal One Pro glasses list for $649. Rokid Max 2 glasses list for $429. So it’s a big difference. It’s essentially the difference between a premium flagship device and a mid-range competitor. Are the XReals worth the extra $220? Depends on what you’re looking for. If you want the latest in AR tech, edge-to-edge clarity, and Bose-tuned sound, XReal is the obvious choice. But if your goal is to watch movies on a huge virtual screen without breaking the bank, Rokid delivers 90% of the experience for a lot less money.
Bottom line: Unless you need the latest AR features, Rokid gives you most of the experience for significantly less cash.
Winner: Tie
And the Winner Is…
XReal One Pro Smart Glasses
When you put all the categories together, the XReal One Pro glasses come out on top. They’re more expensive, but you’re paying for sharper optics with a wider field of view, a built-in X1 chip that makes augmented reality possible right out of the box, and Bose-tuned audio that edges out the competition. They feel more like a glimpse of where AR glasses are heading than just a portable movie screen. Rokid Max 2 glasses are still a great product, and the right choice if what you want is a big, bright virtual display for watching movies. But if you’re looking for the most capable, forward-thinking smart glasses available right now, XReal One Pro is the winner.