ASUS announced its AirVision M1 glasses a year ago at CES. They’re now available for pre-order on the company’s official website almost twelve months later.
You can buy the AirVision M1 for $700, or one-fifth of the $3500 that Apple wants for its Vision Pro headset. The comparison is somewhat disingenuous because Vision Pro is a spatial computer that can run apps in augmented reality. In contrast, AirVision M1 mirrors your computer, acting as an alternative to portable monitors.
To that end, ASUS has equipped the device with a pair of micro-LED displays that support 1080p resolution per eye and power a large vertical field of view up to 57 degrees. “Most people have a natural vertical visual angle of about 55 degrees, yet some competing AR glasses constrain your vertical field of view to about 40 degrees, which can feel restrictive to many users,” ASUS explained. The company says these tiny micro-LED displays can simulate a 100-inch display with 1,100 nits brightness and 95% DCI-P3 color gamut.
Unlike Vision Pro, which works as a fully functional standalone computer, AirVision M1 must be tethered to a computer for processing power. You can move up to six app windows around in your space or eight virtual desktops, with head tracking ensuring they remain in place as you tilt and move your head around. You can adjust screen and pupil distances separately, but hand gestures are unsupported. The glasses integrate with ROG Ally, giving you a huge virtual screen for gaming.
The device integrates proximity and ambient light sensors and tracks your head’s movement in 3D space. There’s a USB-C port, and the underlying software provides presets for use cases like watching movies, playing games, reducing exposure to blue light, and more.
You can pre-order your AirVision M1 glasses for $700 from the ASUS website. The glasses are only available in black and include a two-year warranty and cross shipping serviced. Asus also threw magnetic blinders for a clean black backdrop in the box, as well as a pair of nose pads for a proper fit, a cleaning cloth, and a prescription insert for people with vision problems.
Source: ASUS
