5 Reasons Why Gaming on AR Glasses is Awesome

Console gaming still involves sitting down in front of a TV with a controller, but that doesn’t mean gaming hasn’t changed dramatically in recent years. With AR glasses, you can now play games in your own home, anywhere, anytime. Here’s why gaming on AR glasses is awesome!

1. (Virtual) screen is bigger than TV

Growing up, big-screen TVs seemed like the epitome of video game luxury. Now, that’s all but gone. Sure, there’s still something impressive about a game running in 4K resolution on a big screen, and TVs have gotten a lot bigger over the years. But with AR glasses, think even bigger.

The XReal Air 2 Pro, which plugs into the USB-C port on your phone or laptop, can also provide a similar experience to the TCL NXTWEAR. The screen in front of you will look more like a projector than a TV. Like a projector, the image quality is not as sharp, but the image is huge. When you wear the headset while sitting in front of your TV, the virtual screen stretches across most of the wall.

2. You can take this monitor anywhere

An 80-inch TV isn’t a good fit for many homes. It can be too big for an apartment, and even in a large, open-plan home, you’ll have to decide whether you want to dedicate that much living space to a screen that you’ll spend most of your time inactive. Plus, you can only fully enjoy the screen from one specific location, meaning that anyone living with you may have to “enjoy” whatever you’re watching, whether they like it or not.

AR glasses are much more versatile. You can freely leave your living room and play games wherever you like. Play while sitting on a bench outside. Play while burning calories on a treadmill. You can even continue playing games on the couch while someone else watches TV, as long as they’re okay with you losing focus a little.

3. Games are more immersive

Watching a game on a big, theater-like screen is a different experience than playing the same game on a laptop screen. It doesn’t matter what kind of game you’re playing. Mobile titles like Iron Marines seem better suited to AR glasses than the awkward aspect ratio of the Z Fold 5. Sea of ​​Stars might have a classic look that wouldn’t look out of place on a Super Nintendo, but it looks great on a virtual screen. Even Monument Valley looks more impressive when stretched across a wall.

However, the cinematic gaming experience is on a whole other level. Playing Twin Mirror with AR glasses feels like a different game than playing it directly on your phone.

4. It's a way to save money

Console gaming requires both a console and a TV. This is the cheapest way to get into gaming for many people because they already have a TV. Without a TV, you start from scratch. In either case, buying a big TV, even one as big as the virtual screen in a pair of AR glasses, isn’t cheap.

What about PC gaming? That requires powerful hardware. You may need to buy a new laptop or build a desktop rig, with powerful CPUs and GPUs driving up the cost. A high-quality gaming monitor can cost even more.

On the other hand, cloud gaming on your PC or phone is currently the cheapest option, especially if you’re using NVIDIA GeForce Now to stream Steam games you’ve seen on sale. Buying a pair of AR glasses to plug into your current phone (assuming they’re compatible) is about the same as buying a TV or monitor. Can you get a cheaper TV and monitor? Sure. But if you want the giant OLED version of either display, you’ll have to spend around $450.

5. Compatibility with multiple devices

AR glasses work with any device that can output video via USB-C, like a phone, Steam Deck, or Nintendo Switch . Cloud gaming is acceptable, or not necessary if you have a large game library on any device.

You can even plug your AR glasses into your PC if you’re comfortable gaming at your desk and want a different visual experience. Or, if you’re already committed to your console game library, you can even unplug the system from your TV and use an adapter to connect it to your AR glasses.

Some of these setups are obviously more cumbersome than others, but there are options. Once you’re wearing the headset, you won’t really be looking at your awkward arrangement of devices and cables. Some AR headsets have a dedicated hub that can stream games if you don’t want to bother connecting to your existing hardware.

Gaming on AR glasses isn’t for everyone. Wearing glasses can be tiring, especially if they don’t fit properly. The display doesn’t offer high resolution, and image quality can suffer if the alignment with your eyes isn’t quite right. And 4K gaming is out of the question.