I test XR glasses for a living, and this $35 accessory is a must-buy if you hate how quickly your device’s battery drains

Xreal 1S
(Image credit: Lance Ulanoff / Future)

If, like me, you have a pair of XR glasses, you’ll know how superb they are for entertainment – both at home when you want to lie back in bed with your screen hovering effortlessly above you, or when you travel and you’d like to stay entertained with a big screen experience that’s like your own private movie theatre.

You’ll also know, however, that XR specs can have a major drawback: battery life.

The non-standalone glasses I’m talking about – from the likes of Xreal, RayNeo, Virtue, and the like – don’t have a battery of their own. Instead, they suck the juice out of the phone / laptop / console they’re connected to, and severely limit how long your tech can last.

The solution is simple: you’ll need something like this RayNeo USB-C to Glasses Charging Adapter.

RayNeo USB-C to Glasses Charging Adapter
RayNeo USB-C to Glasses Charging Adapter: $34.90 at Amazon

This cheap charging adapter will let you enjoy content through your favorite XR specs while simultaneously charging your phone / laptop / handheld console so that you can enjoy the virtual big screen experience without constantly worrying your battery will run dry too soon.

While designed for RayNeo specs, it should work just fine with other glasses brands, and it introduces an essential second USB-C port. This means you can have your glasses and a charging cable (up to 100W) connected to your gadget at the same time – rather than having to choose one or the other.

As someone who regularly tests XR specs, an adapter like this one is an essential add-on as it makes your home theater experience last for much longer, provided you have a power source available. Before owning one, I found my phone might lose its charge after only a few hours, which isn’t ideal (either for keeping entertained or being able to use it at my destination).

There are other gadgets too, like the Xreal Beam Pro that offer a similar utility, but it is a fair bit pricier, starting at $199 at Amazon, as it’s more than an adapter – it’s a full-on smartphone-like device powered by Android.

Though you could also instead opt for the XREAL Hub, which is just $39.99 at Amazon – it can only support 45W charging, but boasts 120Hz refresh rate passthrough – or hold out for the Xreal Neo.

Xreal 1S

(Image credit: Lance Ulanoff / Future)

This adapter-meets-battery-pack means you can keep charging your connected device while not near a power source, and introduces support for the Nintendo Switch 2 – a handheld which isn’t compatible with standard smart specs and the other two adapters I’ve listed.

Unfortunately, the Neo isn’t available yet, but should be landing in late February at a price of $119 at Xreal's store – unless its early bird $99 cost sticks around a little longer.

Whichever option you go for, I’m certain you won’t regret it.


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Hamish Hector
Senior Staff Writer, News

Hamish is a Senior Staff Writer for TechRadar and you’ll see his name appearing on articles across nearly every topic on the site from smart home deals to speaker reviews to graphics card news and everything in between. He uses his broad range of knowledge to help explain the latest gadgets and if they’re a must-buy or a fad fueled by hype. Though his specialty is writing about everything going on in the world of virtual reality and augmented reality.

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