A 300-inch Interactive Virtual Display Experience

The main part of Rokid AR Spatial is the Rokid Max 2 AR glasses. At the end of the arm is a USB-C port where you connect to various devices that support DisplayPort USB-C video output, including mobile devices and laptops, as well as the bundled Rokid Station 2. Since the glasses have no battery of their own, they rely on the power from a connected device. As a first test, I connected the glasses to my Apple iPhone 16 Pro Max with the included USB-C cable. I immediately got both video and audio, confirming these glasses really are plug and play.

You need to choose one of the two included nose pieces that feels most comfortable for you. For me, either of the nose pieces allowed the glasses to sit comfortably at the top of my nose and close to my face and eyes, but I did find the alternative nose piece set a slightly better fit, so it’s worth trying both. You can then use the dial above each lens to adjust the diopter, or the unit of measure for how the lens focuses, from 0 to 600 degrees, with the higher number matching higher eye prescriptions. As someone with monovision from laser eye surgery, where my left eye is corrected for distance and my right eye is corrected for near vision, I appreciate the independent physical diopter adjustments, something you don’t always find in these types of glasses. If you need greater correction, you’ll need an insert and lens package solution through Lensology.

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On the interior right glasses temple is a proximity sensor. Below the proximity sensor is a volume button, a brightness button, and a right directional speaker. The volume button is on a rocker that lowers or raises the volume, respectively, in increments of one from 0 to 10. The brightness button goes from highest, 6, to lowest, 1, in increments of one. On the left glasses temple is the left directional speaker and the aforementioned USB-C port at the end. A pinhole microphone is found at the top center of the glasses.

A removable blackout cover, which helps block outside light for a better viewing experience, is preinstalled. If you remove the blackout cover, the virtual display will look like it’s floating in front of you, and you’ll have a view of your physical surroundings. Use cases for this blackout cover-free setup include any time where you might want to see the outside world, like working at your computer and wanting to use the virtual display as a type of HUD with physical displays.

The Rokid Max 2 glasses incorporate a birdbath optical solution that uses a curved mirror and beam splitter to direct light from a microOLED display to the wearer’s eyes. Depending upon the connected device, the glasses support a resolution of up to 1,920 x 1,200 at a 120Hz refresh rate and 600 nits of brightness, which, like its 50-degree field of view, is roughly in line with the capabilities of most other recent premium devices of this type, including the XREAL One AR Glasses. Rokid does promise double the virtual screen size, however, simulating up to a 300-inch display, albeit one that’s viewed from 20 feet away.

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Rokid Station 2, which measures roughly 4.8 x 2.5 x .59 inches and weighs 6.4 ounces, runs YodaOS-Master, a mostly Android app-compatible operating system centered on spatial interaction, which includes positioning, interaction, audio, rendering, and display. It features 8GB of RAM, 128GB of storage, and a 5,000 mAh battery for up to five hours of usage. It allows the Rokid Max 2 glasses to display their maximum resolution of 1,920 x 1,200 rather than their usual 1,920 x 1,080, along with a 90Hz refresh rate.

At the top of the Rokid Station 2 is a power button, which is next to battery level indicators. On the right side is a menu key and a home key. On the front of the device is a touch panel, along with an indicator light that’s on when the device is operating and dim when the device goes into standby mode. At the bottom of the device are two USB-C ports.

Either of the two USB-C ports on the Station 2 can be connected to a compatible power supply for up to 18W of charging. USB-C port 1 can be connected to the Max 2 glasses, while USB-C port 2 can optionally be connected to a power supply for simultaneous charging and extended use.

Since HDMI doesn’t supply any power, neither the Station 2 nor the Max 2 glasses directly support interfacing with devices, like the Microsoft Xbox Series S/X or Sony PlayStation 5 series consoles, with that output. Instead, for those types of devices, you’ll need some form of HDMI to USB-C adapter that also supplies power, although compatibility can sometimes be spotty.

Rokid Station 2 and YodaOS-Master

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After you connect Rokid Station 2 to the Max 2 glasses and power on, you’re asked for your language and then greeted with a quick tutorial on the buttons and how to use the touchpad surface. Once that’s finished, you select your wireless network and enter its password with the virtual keyboard and touchpad, which works similar to what you’d find on a typical laptop, right down to multi-finger gestures. After confirming acceptance of the user agreement and privacy policy, you’re then prompted to log in. You can skip this part for now and do it after the home screen is shown, or you can go to the Rokid site to create an account.

YodaOS-Master is an Android-like operating system and desktop. In fact, you can log into both the Google Play Store and Google Chrome on the main page. Rokid has its own app store as well. What makes YodaOS-Master just a bit different is that it’s optimized for a spatial experience, meaning windows can float, the display can follow your head, you can view multiple virtual displays at once, and more.

It’s slow to enter text on the device, of course, but you can also switch to a laser pointer-like mode similar to what’s on many VR headsets and is typically referred to as raycasting, or ray control. Once you’re at the home screen, you can also connect a Bluetooth mouse and keyboard for even easier input, as well as a gamepad, which is useful not only for Android gaming but also for streaming apps like Xbox Game Pass, which is available from both app stores.

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The Rokid Station 2 has a handful of features worth noting, including theater mode, multi-screen, and reading mode. Selecting theater mode displays a single application within the full viewing area of the glasses, effectively giving that 300-inch virtual screen size promised, which is great for watching videos, but of course, you can similarly adjust how most app windows appear. Multi-screen lets you have up to three desktop applications open at once, side-by-side, as if you had a three-monitor setup. It’s a neat way to work, particularly when paired with a good mouse and keyboard.

Reading mode shrinks and zooms a single application’s window, simulating a book-reading state. These types of displays aren’t the most comfortable on the eyes for hours of reading, but I did enjoy looking at Amazon Kindle books for short bursts in reading mode with a narrow window setting and turning the page by tapping the touchpad as I lay back.

There are four sample spatial apps pre-installed. Dejavu lets you view panoramic and 3D images and videos. Tomorrow Back is a 360-degree immersive video. Tinangong Space Station lets you interact with the titular spacecraft, moving modules in 3D space and learning about the various capabilities. AR Pet gives you a virtual 3D pet to play with, but unfortunately has Chinese text, so I couldn’t get very far. While none of these apps are compelling enough on their own, they do give a good idea of the potential capabilities and limitations of the device when it comes to 3D, immersion, and interactivity.

You can also cast the Rokid Station 2’s display to a web browser on a different device, or, if you have an Android or iOS device, project or mirror those screens wirelessly back to the glasses. The relatively low resolution of the glasses makes this type of screen mirroring a bit less effective than it otherwise would be, but it can be more productive than directly connecting either an Android or iOS device to the glasses over USB-C due to the versatility of the multi-screen option.

Unfortunately, the Rokid Station 2 is also the only way to adjust the IPD, or Interpupillary Distance, which lets you align the lenses with your eyes for better clarity and comfort. Considering the thoughtful diopter adjustments on the glasses, it’s a shame that this, too, wasn’t a physical option.

Finally, there’s the Rokid app for Android and iOS devices, which is meant to allow you to manage your account, add and manage devices like the Rokid Station 2, and access exclusive content. For iOS 15 and later devices, it can even convert spatial videos into 3D content. Regardless of platform, however, it’s not well-reviewed at present, and I similarly found it quite buggy and difficult to use on my iPhone. If Rokid continues to update the app it could prove useful, but in its current state, it’s not worth bothering with.

Display, Sound, and Performance

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Whether viewing content at 1,920 x 1,080, or 1,920 x 1,200, I found clarity and color to be excellent, even with some minor blurriness on the extreme edges of the image and without the vibrancy of HDR. While Rokid promises up to a 300-inch virtual display, my brain was never fooled into thinking it was that big. With that said, I did get the impression the virtual display was at least slightly larger than what I experienced on other such glasses.

Although 3D content provides a convincing effect, it’s not quite as immersive as it could be since the field of view is only 50 degrees. Still, it’s great for occasional 3D content consumption and less involved than putting on a typical VR headset.

The speakers remain distortion-free even at maximum volume levels, although overall clarity could be better. Bass is minimal, but there’s enough there for the sound profile not to feel particularly hollow. Overall, these are good speakers given the form factor, although for more immersive audio, you’ll want to use a good pair of headphones with whatever device is driving the glasses.

The built-in microphone works, but doesn’t seem to have any built-in voice isolation or background noise filtering. As such, it’s really only good for issuing voice commands or taking a quick call, rather than for any type of recording purposes.

The glasses weigh about 2.65 ounces, but remain comfortable to wear even after several hours of usage. There’s a good balance in the design and not a lot of extra material to make them feel unnecessarily chunky.

The Station 2 performs well, like you would expect for a mid-tier Android smartphone or tablet, with no notable lag or stuttering. Its compact size doesn’t seem to allow for much airflow, however, as the fan is audible even after a few minutes of normal usage.

Should You Buy Rokid AR Spatial?

The Rokid AR Spatial is a solid attempt at streamlining some of the complexity behind getting the most out of video glasses by including a compact, customized Android-like companion device. Everything needed is present, with the added bonus of the entire system fitting inside the included, and only slightly oversized, glasses case.

If you’re looking for good video glasses, the Rokid Max 2 delivers with a comfortable design and quality output. Unfortunately, not every feature is accessible without the included Rokid Station 2, but even without that boost, the Max 2 glasses at least match what’s on offer elsewhere. If you’re just looking for good video glasses, these certainly deliver, but you can also pay less than this bundle if you don’t want the easier access to the spatial features.

Connective Technology

USB-C

Speakers

Stereo

Weight

2.65 oz.

Dimensions

8.35 x 4.96 x 3.82 in.

Rokid AR Spatial combines Max 2 glasses and the compact Station 2 for interactive spatial multi-screen experiences on a large virtual display, creating an immersive way to work and play.