XREAL xbx a01+ AR Glasses: A Smart Steam Deck Companion

Verdict: A Big Screen For Your Steam Deck, Not a Full VR Upgrade

The XREAL xbx a01+ are lightweight XR glasses that project a large virtual screen in front of your eyes, turning handhelds and phones into an immersive floating display for gaming and media without the bulk of a traditional VR headset. As a Steam Deck accessory, they work well: plug in via USB‑C and your games appear as if you’re in a private mini theater, whether you’re lying in bed or slumped on the couch. At this price tier, you’re paying for a convincing big‑screen illusion rather than room‑scale XR magic, and for that goal the xbx a01+ mostly succeed. Comfort quirks, so‑so extra features, and fiddly prescription inserts mean they are not for everyone, but handheld‑first players who care more about screen size than full AR interaction will find them surprisingly compelling for AR glasses gaming.

Design, Comfort and Everyday Use

For something that lives on your face, the XREAL xbx a01+ start strong with weight. The glasses are only around 62 g, which feels light on the ears even in longer sessions. That makes them a better match for a portable gaming workflow than heavier XR headsets that turn quick Steam Deck sessions into a neck workout. The trade‑off is in the arms, which can feel a little tight and need occasional adjustment before they stop digging in. Build quality is mostly confidence‑inspiring: the casing around the lenses and arms feels solid and smooth, while the removable front frame is thinner and more fragile in the hand. Heat is managed thoughtfully. The left arm near the USB‑C port and speaker can get hot, but that hotspot does not rest against your head, and only the area above the lenses becomes mildly warm.

Where these AR glasses pull ahead of many Steam Deck accessories is personality and practicality. The entire front cover is interchangeable, and XREAL provides 3D print files so you can design and snap on your own faceplates. Because the image is projected into the lenses, even bold custom covers do not affect the picture as long as you aren’t walking around. In practice, the glasses fit best when you experiment with the three included nose pads; choosing the right size fixes a common AR problem where part of the screen disappears when you tilt for comfort, and with the xbx a01+ the small pads made the entire image visible in a natural position. Once dialed in, they feel purpose‑built for relaxed, stationary XR handheld display use: lie down, look up, and your handheld’s tiny panel becomes a cinema‑sized overlay anchored to your view.

Display and Audio: Great OLED, Mixed Advanced Modes

The headline reason to use the xbx a01+ as a portable gaming headset stand‑in is the picture. The glasses use OLED panels with a 2,000,000:1 contrast ratio and coverage of 145% of the sRGB gamut, which makes games and films look colorful, with deep blacks and punchy highlights. Playing Steam Deck titles through them feels closer to a compact home theater than a handheld screen, especially when you pair them with the light shield that blocks incoming light from the front so the image stays clear even with bright illumination on your face. For visual tuning, you can cycle between Standard, Cinema, and Eye Comfort modes depending on content. Standard keeps things neutral, Cinema leans toward movie‑style viewing, and Eye Comfort tones things down for long sessions. There’s also a 3D mode for stereoscopic videos, though it never quite delivers that “reaching into the screen” effect and image quality drops compared with 2D playback.

HDR support sounds impressive on paper but feels situational. You get SDR alongside two HDR options, AI‑HDR and HDR10. In testing, AI‑HDR made colors look too intense while playing Wuthering Waves on an Odin 3, almost like contrast and saturation sliders were pushed a bit far. The same mode, though, looked far better in Resident Evil Requiem on Steam Deck, where it seemed to sharpen detail and deepen contrast without that over‑processed look. Audio follows a similar pattern. The glasses provide Standard, Cinema, Whisper, and Surround modes. Standard is the most balanced, delivering clear, crisp sound that suits most games and videos. Cinema adds some drama for cut‑scenes and dialogue‑heavy titles and ends up a good second choice. Surround is less convincing and was rarely worth using over the more natural options.

Steam Deck Integration and AR Glasses Gaming Experience

As a Steam Deck accessory, the xbx a01+ score high on simplicity. They connect over USB‑C and are immediately recognized by the Deck, as well as by devices like the Odin 3, ROG Ally‑style handhelds, and an iPhone 15 Pro Max that mirrors its screen. That “plug in and play” behavior matters more than any single spec if you want XR glasses that keep up with a handheld‑first lifestyle. Once the nose pads are dialed in, gaming through the glasses is described as a wonderful experience, and starting a session on Steam Deck is as quick as plugging in and continuing your game on a floating display. The effect is ideal AR glasses gaming: you stay aware of your physical surroundings if you use the standard front cover, yet your game appears much larger than the Deck’s built‑in panel, making longer RPG sessions or remote play streams more comfortable.

These glasses sit in the middle ground between a small handheld display and full VR immersion. They behave like a personal XR handheld display that follows your head, which is perfect for static tasks like watching films on a plane or grinding through a JRPG in bed. Some of the more advanced stabilization features, which aim to keep the image pinned in space, end up less helpful: slight blurriness with tiny movements and occasional moments where the image cuts off while it recenters make them harder to enjoy than accepting small jitters. In other words, treat the xbx a01+ as a high‑quality portable gaming headset for your eyes that moves with you, not as a full mixed‑reality workstation. Combined with ongoing Steam Deck software updates that improve remote play limits and controller support, they fit neatly into a modern mobile gaming setup that favors flexibility over complexity.

Accessories, Prescription Support and Real‑World Trade‑Offs

The xbx a01+ bundle is thoughtful if you plan to use the glasses as your primary travel screen. Alongside the glasses you get three nose pad sizes, a light shield front piece, a carrying case, and a lime‑green USB‑C cable. The light shield is a standout: it fully replaces the front cover and blocks light from the front, making the projected screen easy to see even when bright light shines directly at your face. For those who wear prescription glasses, optional prescription lenses can be fitted near the nose pads so you can see the projected screen clearly without stacking frames. However, repeated removal and reinsertion makes those inserts feel flimsy, and they become easier to pop out over time, which is not reassuring if you plan to pass the glasses around or share them frequently.

Buy if / Skip if

• Buy the XREAL xbx a01+ if you want AR glasses gaming on Steam Deck that feels like playing on a private big screen without owning a bulky VR headset.
• Skip the XREAL xbx a01+ if tight frames or pressure on your temples easily cause discomfort and you need all‑day wearable comfort above all else.
• Buy the XREAL xbx a01+ if you already use handheld PCs or phones as your main gaming devices and want an XR handheld display that makes long sessions easier on your eyes.
• Skip the XREAL xbx a01+ if you care most about 3D movies or advanced AR features, because their 3D mode and stabilization feel underwhelming in practice.
• Buy the XREAL xbx a01+ if you want a portable gaming headset replacement that plugs straight into Steam Deck and other devices with almost no setup.
• Skip the XREAL xbx a01+ if you plan to swap prescription inserts frequently or share them often, since the lens mounts can loosen and feel unreliable over time.