2023-04-28 15:02:00
TCL announced at CES 2023 its NXTWEAR S eyewear as a new wearable to its product portfolio. It promises a movie screen without you having to leave your couch or your bed.
Do you want to know everything the wearable is capable of delivering to the user? TudoCelular tested a unit and tells you all the details in this complete review.
design and build
The TCL NXTWEAR S doesn’t have a giant design like we usually see in common virtual or augmented reality glasses. It has a look that resembles conventional sunglasses, which makes the appearance more discreet when you have one on your face. And if you have myopia, you can use the lenses with a degree in it.
This is thanks to the cover with a darker lens that can be attached to the main part, through magnetic connectors. It also helps to not give so much reflection of the environment to whoever is consuming the content. That is, it gives that strength to increase the user’s immersion.
The product has a mostly plastic construction, which allows for a weight of less than 90 grams, to be comfortable when worn. The support for the nose is made of a kind of rubber, but you can change it for a frame that resembles common glasses, using the tools that come in the box.
Each rod has speakers and a rotary knob, with a different function on the other side. On the right, you can adjust the screen brightness. On the left, is the volume adjustment scroll.
Between the lenses, there is a centralized sensor that is responsible for recognizing that the glasses are placed on the face and starts displaying the images. Already at the tip of the straight rod, there is the connector with magnetic pins, for the USB-C cable.
What was missing here was an IP certification that grants basic protection to liquids. That’s because, following some time of use, you can leave the inside of the glasses with a little sweat. Even more so because the place where the components are usually warms up following a few minutes on.
connectivity
As we talked regarding just now, it is important to note that this wearable only works when connected wired to the USB Type-C output of a device, be it a compatible cell phone or notebook. If you want to put it on an iPhone, you’ll need an adapter for the Lightning port.
It is worth explaining that we are not talking regarding a virtual or augmented reality headset here. The NXTWEAR S is more of a projection screen in a wearable format.
In other words, this product basically mirrors the image of the device it’s connected to. Without any built-in software or other proprietary platform that allows independent operation.
The manufacturer even provides an application called TCL AR, which promises to project 3D images on the glasses. However, we didn’t have a good experience with him. In addition to not seeming to be ready yet, it even generated slowness on the smartphones we tested it on.
image and sound
Through the lenses of the NXTWEAR S, it is possible to obtain a screen of up to 130 inches of the Micro-OLED type, with Full HD resolution. To reach the maximum size, you will need to stay at a distance of regarding four meters. Something we didn’t get in the small environment we tested it in. But even at half that distance, you can already have something similar to a TV of approximately 55 inches.
TCL doesn’t disclose the amount of nits delivered by the wearable, but the level of brightness we saw is quite satisfactory. You can have a good view even if you are far from the maximum. The overall quality is also good. The Micro-OLED type provides great color reproduction and doesn’t disappoint in contrast.
In the audio part, the sound system that we found proved to have an interesting power, due to the size of the speakers. The maximum volume generates a very loud sound, but with a little distortion.
The quality is only decent and it doesn’t provide a good balance between bass, mids and highs. If you want to have the best sound experience, the way is to connect a Bluetooth headset to the device where the NXTWEAR S is plugged. Especially if you are using it through a cell phone, which causes difficulties to transfer the audio to the glasses.
practical experience
After all, if this is not a virtual or augmented reality headset, what are TCL glasses for? This product works well as a big screen for you to work, study or even enjoy movies and series with greater immersion.
We connect both on smartphone and notebook, to understand the experience in practice. On cell phones, we used a Galaxy Note 9 and a Galaxy S22 Ultra. In both cases, we noticed that the immediate reaction when plugging in the accessory was Samsung DeX opening by itself.
It made perfect sense. The big screen experience combines with a feature that turns your phone into a portable PC. The tendency is to work in the same way with Ready For by Motorola. In this function, you can open your smartphone’s apps and have a wide view of the contents, without needing a monitor or a TV to take up more space.
If you turn off the feature, the mirrored screen of the device appears. Here it will only be satisfactory if you already have an application open to play videos. That’s because you won’t be looking at the cell phone’s display when you need to use the touchscreen to access a tool.
On the notebook, the operation is similar to plugging an external monitor through HDMI. It allows you to duplicate, extend or just project the screen onto the glasses. This is an interesting case for anyone who needs a large screen to work with greater focus and immersion.
You can even run PC games and enjoy on a big screen. We tested Fall Guys on it and didn’t see any lag or stutter in response to commands. A clear advantage of making the connection by cable, not wireless.
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Final considerations
The TCL NXTWEAR S caters well to anyone who wants a discreet device to serve as a screen projection for their cell phone or notebook. You may have been disappointed not to find a VR headset on this device, but what it sets out to do is masterfully accomplished.
The light and at the same time more casual design makes the appearance very discreet. It’s not a product that you can go out on the street with without any problems. But at least you can use it for many hours without feeling uncomfortable. The only point that might be improved in this regard is his heating, which can leave your forehead a little sweaty.
If we consider the multimedia part, the balance was positive. The Micro-OLED type screen proved to be a wise bet for TCL, not only for the well-calibrated colors, but also for the measured brightness level. The sound may be far from perfect, but it is still a present feature for those who don’t want to keep headphones on the entire time they are wearing the wearable.
Of all the types of use that this model allows, we highlight two main ones to make the most of it. One of them is watching movies and series on the big screen. You feel part of the scenes and allow you to have a cinema experience without having to leave the couch.
The other is in games. The high quality panel generates an excellent visualization of the titles, besides not having any delay in the commands, since the image is mirrored by cable. But not all game genres will provide a good experience here, as there are no high rates for greater fluidity.
The NXTWEAR S was available on the international market at a price of US$ 349. TCL intends to launch the product in Brazil in the second half of 2023, with no figures disclosed or a specific date confirmed. But don’t expect a cheap product when you get here.
This product will be worth the purchase if it is a necessity for you to have a bigger display for your routine task. If it is not an indispensable product, it is worth waiting for an interesting cost-benefit ratio, or even a more complete product on the market.
What do you think of the brand’s new wearable? Would you buy a unit of it? You can tell us everything in the space below.
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