TCL NXTWear G review: The Verdict
Futuristic tech is always entertaining, and in this case, it feels like I’m holding a future I dreamt of as a child in my hands. But with child-like dreams come child-like expectations. No child dreamt about the comfort of glasses, or how the tech would work differently across different devices. In child-like fantasies, tech just worked. TCL NXTWear G doesn’t just work. Not yet at least.
I like these glasses because they represent the promise of something better, and more exciting to come. The concept is fun, it is worth exploring, and I hope TCL keeps at it because they have potential. It’s just yet to be uncovered.
What we love
- Entertaining concept
- Viewing experience works well, on some devices
- Easy to use, especially on desktop
What could be improved
- Fit and comfort
- Not a totally immersive experience
- Would love to see a companion app or bespoke software for compatible devices
60/100
RRP $899
"Come here Jimmy, come sit on grammy’s lap. List here, the year 2021 will be a whole new world. There will be flying cars, solar power will have taken over, and you’ll have these special glasses that let you shop online without anyone seeing."
"But Grandma, what is online shopping?"
"Quiet Jimmy."
TCL's NXTWear G smart glasses read like tech from an early 90s sci-fi. Ostensibly, putting the glasses on allows you to see a screen that no one else can, whether it be connected to your phone, laptop, or tablet. It is kinda cool, but it definitely has a way to go before I could recommend it for any real-life applications.
Good Looking
Somehow this device has an air of nostalgia, even though I’ve never used it before in my life. Popping the glasses on feels familiar, and otherworldly all at the same time. Unfortunately, though, this non-stalgic novelty isn’t enough - the NXTWear G has to work well enough to make you want to wear them. Right now, that is simply not the case.
The best practical application for this iteration of the glasses is using them with a laptop. Ultimately, you just need to plug in the glasses and they will be enabled as another monitor. You can then use them in the same way you would any other monitor, but the kicker is that only you can see this one. It’s a sneaky way to check your socials at work, or hide a surprise from your partner. It is user friendly, and familiar on a laptop, but when we turn to mobile devices things take a drastic turn.
Depending which device you’re using you’ll get a different experience. Using the Samsung S21+ you get something similar to a desktop view of your device, this is powered by DeX and is unique to Samsung devices. You’ll still need to use your phone as a trackpad to navigate the screen, and to type, but what is staring back at you looks like a windows version of your operating system, and your phone itself will just be black.
The apps themselves are a combination between mobile, and desktop. They start off at the same size and orientation as mobile apps, and you can then force them to cover the full screen behind the glasses. In doing so you do lose some picture quality, and the images can look a bit blown out, especially when watching Netflix for example.
While on paper having a desktop version for the sake of the glasses seems like a great way to utilise the space, I cannot express just how difficult it was to navigate. Using DeX with the NXTWear G is the least intuitive user experience I have had in a long time. You need to constantly be switching between looking in the glasses, and looking down at the phone in order to type. Figuring out how to scroll using the trackpad took a hot minute, and the gestures you’d normally use on your handheld device simply didn’t work while using the trackpad. Not a fan.
Using the OPPO Find X2 Pro, you’ll simply get a copy of the screen to your glasses, and it will remain on the phone itself as well. Not quite as sneaky. I have to say though, the viewing experience is much better on the OPPO as opposed to the Samsung. Where the pixels seem to just be blown out to fill the larger space with Samsung, on the OPPO you’ll get comparable quality to what you see on your small screen. Admittedly it will be on both the glasses, and your small screen but if you don’t want to have to hold your phone it’s not the worst concept. The experience using an iPad Air was exactly the same, but the reflected screen was just bigger, because well it’s a tablet.
Regardless of which device you’re pairing the NXTWear G with, you’re not going to get the immersive experience spruiked by the brand. There is so much space between your eyes and the edges of the glasses that it is impossible to tune out the outside world. It can also be tricky to centre the device on your face to be able to see all the edges of the screen, especially using DeX.
It's also worth noting the glasses don't work with iPhones - they can only be connected to a device with a USB-C port. TCL has a full compatibility list on its website.
Looking Good
Let's look at practicality. The assumption with the TCL NXTWearG glasses is that you can pop them on and have a totally immersive, and private viewing experience. Whether you’re working, hiding what you’re browsing, or watching some content, no one else will be able to see what you see. This application implies that you’re going to have these babies on your face for a while, so I would have preferred to see more effort put into comfort.
The glasses are not at all customisable, with stiff temples and nose pads that, for me, squeezed my head and nose. With the amount of pressure put on my face while wearing the glasses, I couldn’t last longer than half an hour without getting a headache. This was further exacerbated by being unable to wear my reading glasses under the device.
Due to the Matrix-reminiscent design of the glasses, there isn’t any room for prescription lenses to fit underneath. It is clear that TCL wanted to make this device more streamlined and less VR-headset-esque, but for the purposes the glasses are designed for, it would have been better to go for function over form. Sure, a full headset wouldn’t look quite so futuristic from a 90s perspective, but it would have made the device more comfortable and practical to use for extended periods.
It would also be nice to see a wireless version. Don’t get me wrong, the cable coming out the back is very retro, and certainly adds to the strange nostalgia these glasses ensue, but wireless devices are just that little bit more convenient. While the NXTWear G glasses are compatible with a range of devices, switching over to Bluetooth or WiFi would make it more universal, and get one more cable off the desk. In saying that, there is a place for wired devices. Set up is easy - just plug in and go, and you don’t need to worry about the battery life of yet another piece of tech. However, considering the use-cases, a wireless version is very much a nice to have.
TCL NXTWear G - Final Thoughts
The NXTWear G glasses feels like they were imagined in the 90s and wasn’t developed any further after that. I’m absolutely sure that there is impressive tech behind these glasses, and that TCL has managed to make them feel simple, but the finished product still feels somewhat unfinished.
Strangely enough, the NXTWear G isn’t compatible with any TCL phones - it feels like a missed opportunity to combine this tech with bespoke software. I’d absolutely love to see what TCL could do if it created a specific user experience to go with NXTWear.
The potential for these glasses is so close, I can almost feel it but we’re just not there yet, and that is a shame. With more focus on practicality and comfort, and a lesser price tag it would be easier to recommend to people, even just to experience the novelty. As it stands, being unable to use the glasses with any prescription lenses, and the $899 RRP, I wouldn’t be putting them forward to my mates.
Anula Wiwatowska
Offsite Editorial Lead | Instagram
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