TCL NxtWear S

The TCL NxtWear S is a pair of tethered display glasses — a wearable external monitor, not a true AR headset — that TCL released in June 2023 at $399. Dual Sony Micro-OLED panels push a 1920x1080 per-eye picture through birdbath optics, the mirror-and-lens design most display glasses of that generation used, onto what reads as a 130-inch virtual screen. Nearly every TCL NxtWear S review in the 2023-24 record lands the same way: a genuinely good picture wrapped in dated everything else. This review aggregates that record: How-To Geek’s scored review, MakeUseOf’s scored review, Popular Science’s review, iMore’s long-term review, and Handheld Space’s handheld-gaming writeup. AR Compare has not performed hands-on testing of this device; every observation below is attributed to the cited sources, and the category scores are an editorial aggregate of cited reviewer sentiment. Product facts were cross-checked against AR Compare’s spec record for the NxtWear S (a recorded 45-degree field of view, a recorded 400 nits, a recorded 60Hz refresh rate, roughly 89 grams, $399).

How This Review Was Compiled

How-To Geek’s Tyler Hayes published the fullest US review, scoring it 6/10 after running it against multiple phones, a MacBook Air, and an iPad. MakeUseOf’s James Hirtz scored it 7.5/10 and dug deepest into the specs and the compatibility fine print. Popular Science’s Eric Alt judged it as a travel gadget, iMore’s Stephen Warwick reviewed it across weeks of travel with iPhones and iPads, and Handheld Space ran it against handheld gaming PCs like the Steam Deck. Where the sources disagree — mostly on comfort and on how much the picture’s limits matter — both readings are reported below rather than smoothed over.

The Picture: Why the NxtWear S Existed

The display is what every reviewer liked. Popular Science calls image and sound quality excellent, with the 1080p projection particularly impressive, and iMore’s reviewer describes being properly blown away by how good regular 2D shows and movies look. Handheld Space is the most vivid: “The colours pop, the blacks are deep, and it really does look like a big screen hovering a few metres away.” The sharpness comes from a recorded 49 pixels per degree — a density that keeps text and fine detail crisp — and AR Compare’s record also lists electrochromic dimming, lenses that tint electronically to darken the world behind the picture.

The limits drew just as much agreement. The recorded 400 nits is modest by later standards and suits indoor viewing, and the recorded 60Hz refresh rate reads as a real ceiling for gaming next to the 120Hz panels that arrived soon after. Popular Science found the see-through quality of the image a little distracting during movies, How-To Geek noted slight blurring around the top corners, and Handheld Space could never get the image perfectly aligned to the reviewer’s eyes. None of these complaints overturns the consensus that the picture is the product’s best argument; they explain why the argument only goes so far.

Comfort: The Record Splits at the Hour Mark

On paper the recorded 89 grams sits mid-pack, and MakeUseOf judged the weight light enough that fatigue never really registers. Worn for a while, the record turns. iMore’s reviewer reported a sore nose before a single 47-minute TV episode had finished, How-To Geek describes discomfort around the ears and nose creeping in near the hour mark, and Handheld Space mentions a slight pinch, creaking temples, and warmth after about half an hour — MakeUseOf logged heat in long sessions too. So comfort is a genuine split: fine in short sittings, wearing over a movie’s full length. The frame folds flat for travel, the magnetic USB-C cable snaps on cleverly, and that cable adds about 30 grams to the carry weight per AR Compare’s record. Prescription support is a quiet strength: inserts are supported in the spec record, and Handheld Space’s reviewer had custom corrective lenses made and used them successfully.

Audio: Quiet to Neighbors, Thin to You

The speaker story has one clever trick and one flat consensus. MakeUseOf credits the dual speakers’ phase-cancellation design with significantly reducing sound leakage, so seatmates hear little of what you play. What reaches your own ears is the weakness: iMore calls the sound very shallow and thin, bearable for dialogue-heavy shows but a poor match for anything cinematic, and recommends pairing noise-canceling earbuds instead. Handheld Space additionally hit occasional static and popping that broke immersion. Reviewers converge on the same advice — treat the built-in speakers as a fallback, not the plan.

Compatibility: What the NxtWear S Actually Plugs Into

This is where the record gets conditional. MakeUseOf puts it directly: compatibility centers on owning a USB-C device with DisplayPort Alt Mode. Laptops are the happy path — How-To Geek’s MacBook Air picked the glasses up instantly as a second display, and Popular Science reports the same immediate handshake. Handheld Space found they work fine with laptops, some Android phones, and handhelds like the Steam Deck and ROG Ally, which matches the compatibility list in AR Compare’s record. Everything else took dongles in 2023: an adapter for iPhones of that era, another for the Nintendo Switch, and an extra purchase for phones without DisplayPort output such as Google’s Pixels. Software was the sorest point. How-To Geek’s reviewer churned through three phones before the TCL AR companion app worked on a fourth, and iMore notes the 3D extras were Android-first, leaving iPhone owners with plain mirroring. There is no onboard battery — the glasses draw power from the host device over the cable, and iMore points out they occupy and drain the phone’s only port — so the battery score of 5 follows this site’s category convention for tethered display glasses rather than a standalone runtime.

Where the NxtWear S Stands in 2026

Honestly: superseded, twice over, mostly by TCL itself. In early 2024 TCL shipped the NXTWEAR S+, which per AR Compare’s record moved to 120Hz, raised brightness to 600 nits, trimmed the weight slightly, and now lists at $250 — the side-by-side comparison itemizes the gap. Since then TCL’s consumer display-glasses effort has carried the RayNeo badge, and a current pick like the RayNeo Air 3s Pro delivers 1,200 nits and 120Hz for $299 in AR Compare’s record. Against that field, the original NxtWear S survives only as clearance stock, and Handheld Space’s summary — not awful, just not quite ready for prime time — was written before either successor existed. The consensus follows the hardware: nothing here is broken, but every reason to buy it now depends on a steep discount.

Value

At $399 the aggregate was already unenthusiastic in 2023, and time has not helped. How-To Geek called the glasses largely a novelty at that price and argued the conversation would change only if it fell closer to $150; Popular Science reached the same shelf, filing the device as an expensive novelty that early adopters would enjoy and most people should wait out. MakeUseOf’s friendlier 7.5/10 came with the caveat that value hinges entirely on already owning the right USB-C hardware. With TCL’s own NXTWEAR S+ listing $149 less in AR Compare’s record, the value case at full price has effectively closed.

Who Should Buy the TCL NxtWear S

Per the aggregated consensus: bargain hunters who find it well below list price and want a sharp, private movie screen for a laptop, Mac, or Steam Deck; travelers who mostly watch dialogue-light content in short sittings and already own good earbuds; and prescription wearers drawn by workable corrective-lens inserts. Who should skip: gamers, for whom the recorded 60Hz trails every 120Hz successor; anyone shopping at or near the $399 list price, since TCL’s own NXTWEAR S+ is newer and cheaper; phone-first buyers whose devices lack USB-C DisplayPort output; viewers sensitive to nose or ear pressure over feature-length sessions; and anyone counting on the built-in speakers for more than dialogue.

Scores are aggregates of the cited reviews and hands-on reports, not AR Compare hands-on results.

Sources

• How-To Geek — TCL NXTWEAR S Review: Smart Glasses With Simple Vision
• MakeUseOf — TCL NXTWEAR S Review: Affordable, Compact Portable XR Display
• Popular Science — TCL NXTWEAR S XR glasses review: A smart wearable with an emphasis on wearability
• iMore — TCL NXTWEAR S review: Fun and futuristic, but not without drawbacks
• Handheld Space — TCL Nextwear S review