AC Thursday
In his weekly column, Android Central senior content creator Nick Sutrich highlights all things VR, from new hardware to new games, upcoming technologies, and more.
Choosing the right pair of smart glasses can be difficult, but if you’re looking at the “wearable TV” segment, no company has offered a better combination of products than Witcher. Sure,
Not only that, but Viture partnered with ABXY to release a new smart glasses gaming controller, giving users an upgrade The previous Viture x 8BitDo controller was released last May. When paired together, these turn your smartphone into the ultimate portable gaming machine, giving you ultimate comfort for your hands and neck, along with the power of a customizable controller.
witcher beast upgrades
The Witcher Beast got off to a great start with its early January release for early adopters, but they were missing out on some promised features. Now, with the full retail release underway, The Witcher has released a firmware update that delivers All Early promises, and that means it’s now on par with Xreal’s best offerings, and even better if you pair it with The Witcher’s excellent ecosystem. Everything is new here:
- No more 3DoF drifting: Yes, it’s true! 3DoF drifting has been fixed, meaning your virtual monitor will stay in the same place in anchored mode as if it were a real monitor or TV mounted on the wall. This was arguably the biggest weakness of The Witcher Beast at launch.
- 1200p resolution: The Witcher Beast launches with a 16:9 aspect ratio and 1920 x 1080 resolution. The specs now default to 1920 x 1200 at 16:10, making them identical to the Xreal 1S in this regard.
- Advanced Side Mode: Double-tapping the L1 button first will shrink the virtual display to the lower-left or lower-right corner, making it easier to see through the glasses without losing sight of what’s happening on your screen. You can now shrink the display to the top-left or top-right, which may be better for watching cooking videos while cooking, for example.
- Quick display mode switching: You can now hold down the left plus button to switch between Default, Ultrawide, 3D, and Side modes. Previously, you had to open the menu and scroll a bit to do this.
- Better memory: The annoying thing is that earlier the glasses used to forget important settings like refresh rate, resolution and positioning mode. Thankfully, The Witcher fixed this, and all these settings will now remain in place.
- Pro Neckband Compatibility: Witcher’s Pro Neckband There’s a wearable computer that connects to your glasses, and The Witcher Beast now fully supports it. This way, you don’t have to use your phone to use your glasses, which can be optimal for entertainment while traveling.
- Firmware changes and a new language: Firmware updates are now faster, although you will still need to use a computer and update Witcher’s firmware update website. Additionally, Mandarin is now available in the OSD menu of the glasses.
Abxylute-ly best controller
Abxylute has been making a name for itself recently with a number of fantastic, often unique controllers and Handheld gaming systems. From the Game Boy Advance SP-style controller to the new S9V, this company makes something worth seeing. The S9V is the first controller I’ve used from them, and it looks set to depose my previous favourite, the GameSir G8 Galileo.
The design is similar to other switch-style controllers, breaking a traditional controller into two “halves” connected via a spring-loaded bridge. That bridge has a nice rubberized coating to better hold your phone in place when connected to the flexible USB-C port, which helps take into account different phone shapes and sizes. There are also some adjuster pieces in the box to help level out phones with oversized camera islands or those that are too small to fit.
Abxylute has designed this controller ingeniously with many replaceable parts, including three different D-pads in the box (each with a very different design), the entire joystick, buttons, and even the left and right faceplates. They come with a simple set of faceplate magnets, but they’re designed in such a way that they won’t pop off while playing.
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The buttons, triggers, joystick height and stiffness, and outline of the controller are all perfect. The USB-C port that connects to your phone not only bends to accommodate different phone shapes, but it’s also long enough, so you can still use it with a case on your phone. Most mobile controllers forget this. Nothing feels cheap or half-heartedly designed, and that’s something that isn’t always the case with mobile controllers.
But enough about the design, what makes this controller even more unique: the ability to connect your Witcher glasses to it. This gives you the benefits of USB-C controllers – low latency, charging while playing, and no battery to charge thanks to Bluetooth connectivity – while also letting you use your Witcher glasses to get a giant floating screen in front of you, which helps avoid neck and back strain after long gaming sessions.
All you need to do is connect your phone to the controller, then plug your Witcher Glass into the Glass port on the inside of the right grip. No configuration, no nonsense. I found it worked better with some phone models than others – Samsung, Google and OnePlus phones all worked perfectly, while Nothing and Honor didn’t display video, so your mileage may vary there.
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In addition to the heckin’ nifty concept, you can remap the buttons and even set specific macros for each of the two back buttons Abxylute App. Amazingly, you can also turn on gyro aiming and customize the way it works, making this controller feel somewhat like a Steam controller.
It is currently available on the official Abxylute site for $79.99, making it about $15 more expensive than the standard one. Absolute S9.
