Canon MREAL X1: New AR headset with impressive performance and high FOV

With the Canon MREAL X1, the manufacturer known primarily for its cameras has unveiled a new augmented reality headset . It’s not the first one the company has offered. But the most technically advanced. It is said to be characterized mainly by a wide field of view (FOV) and tremendous sharpness.

Canon MREAL X1 unveiled

The Canon MREAL X1 mixed reality headset presents itself as upgrades to the S1 released last year and enables passthrough AR displays. The field of view in particular has been significantly increased in direct comparison and is now said to be 2.5 times larger.

Thanks to Canon’s in-house display panels and optical technologies, a field of view of 58 x 60° is now offered – compared to 45 x 34° on the S1. The resolution per eye has also been significantly increased. This is now 1,920 x 2,160 pixels, compared to 1,600 x 1,200 pixels on the predecessor. The refresh rate is said to be 120 Hz.

Connection via terminal

In addition, the X1 will apparently be offered with a hand mount to hold the VR headset comfortably in front of the head. The headband, on the other hand, is clearly based on that of the predecessor. The weight is supposed to be around 158 grams (without cable). With cables and headband, the composite weighs just under 359 grams.

The headset is connected to a terminal via a dedicated, ten meter long cable, which forwards the image to a PC or notebook via Mini Display Port. Unlike standalone AR headsets such as the HoloLense 2 or Magic Leap 2, the Canon MREAL X1 is able to merge images from the real world directly with virtual images from the user’s eyes through two front-facing camera sensors thanks to passthrough.

Price and Availability

It is currently completely unclear when and at what price the Canon MREAL X1 will be available. The predecessor model S1 was offered at an MSRP of the equivalent of around 31,700 euros. It can be assumed that the X1 will probably exceed this price once again.