Rokid Station review: The first Android TV box for AR glasses is a no-frills affair

Even before Apple pulled back the curtains on its Vision Pro headset, there has been a surge in consumer-grade AR (augmented reality) glasses over the past few years, with brands like XReal (formerly nReal), TCL, Lenovo and Rokid leading the charge . Rokid’s Max glasses are my favorite of the bunch simply because it projects the largest screen.

But Max, like other consumer-grade AR glasses, can’t work alone. It must connect to a computing device such as a smartphone or laptop to output images. Rokid is looking to make the tether a bit more portable with the Rokid Station, a Google-certified Android TV box designed specifically for AR glasses. I’ve been using it on airplanes and around the house for a few weeks, and it’s my preferred way to watch YouTube videos as long as I have privacy and personal space.

About this review: Rokid sent me a Station to review and it had no input into its content.

Price and availability

The Rokid Station can be pre-ordered now directly from the Rokid online store for $129 and will ship in late August. Starting in September, the station will be available at retailers like Amazon for $139. Rokid also sells the Station along with the Max AR glasses in its online store for $529.

Design and hardware

Portable TV box

The Rokid Station is an Android TV box, but in a remote control-shaped plastic device meant to be connected to AR glasses instead of televisions or screens. Inside the device is an undisclosed 64-bit 4-core ARM CPU with 32GB of internal storage (20GB of which is free), 2GB of RAM and a 5,000mAh battery. There is no fan inside, so the unit may get hot during prolonged use. On the outside, there are buttons for control and power, an LED light battery indicator and two ports: USB-C for charging and a mini-HDMI port for display output.

The package includes a mini-HDMI to USB-C cable and a USB-C to USB-C cable for charging the device. And yes, the Station can also use its 5,000 mAh battery to charge devices in reverse.

The buttons are clickable, and I like the look of the large circular pad, which reminds me of the classic iPod click wheel. Unfortunately, it’s just a conventional four-way d-pad; you can’t scroll the wheel at all.

The buttons should be pretty self-explanatory: the left-pointing arrow is for backing up a screen, the home button goes home, etc. Android TV isn’t exactly a complicated interface, so you can do everything on it with just this remote.

How it works

Rokid Station is simply a plug-and-play device. Pop it into some Rokid smart glasses (either Rokid Max or Rokid Air), press the power button on the right side, and Android TV will boot up. The first thing you need to do is connect to an internet connection. Once connected, you have the option to log in to your Google account. You can still use Android TV without signing in, but if you want a more personalized YouTube feed or install more apps, you’ll need to sign in.

Although Rokid advertises that the station is intended for its glasses, it also worked perfectly on the XReal Air. However, it won’t work with a conventional television or display because the software is clearly optimized for dual-screen smart glasses using birdbath optics.

Performance and battery life

Doesn’t do anything a smartphone can’t do, but it’s smaller

The Android TV running in Rokid Station is Android TV 12, not the latest Android 13, but that’s OK since Android TV 12 was the one that got the biggest updates anyway, including support for 4K UI rendering and dynamic refresh rate. Unfortunately, the Rokid Max cannot take advantage of the 4K UI. It only outputs content at 1080p, but the refresh rate goes up to 120Hz.

The Android TV interface has YouTube and Amazon Prime Video pre-installed, and I was able to download Disney+, Hulu, Max, and half a dozen other streaming platforms available through the Google Play Store. Although Rokid doesn’t advertise it, I was able to save video files directly to the station’s internal storage for offline viewing. The process requires downloading a file transfer app to move files from my phone to Station and VLC Player, which is my video player of choice.

You can also install a web browser and surf the web that way, but controlling the on-screen keyboard with the remote was a bit cumbersome.

The Rokid Max pumps out images roughly equivalent to a 215-inch screen from 10 feet away, so the visuals can be very immersive. By default, you can “see through” the visuals, which allows someone to see content while walking around without bumping into things. Below you can see me watching an episode of the American sitcom Married … with children while the brick wall background is still visible.

I like to use the lens cover that comes with the Rokid Max to block out the outside world so I can watch content without distraction. It feels like a giant screen is floating in front of my face, and it’s been my favorite way to watch YouTube videos when I’m around the house.

However, there is absolutely nothing the Rokid Station does that couldn’t already be done with a smartphone that the Rokid Max can also connect to. There are two reasons why one might prefer to connect to the Rokid Station instead of a smartphone. The first is that not all phones have ports that support screen output. The Google Pixel Fold and some Xiaomi phones, for example, have USB-C 2.0 that do not support external displays. The second reason is that it is smaller and much lighter (75g) than most smartphones. So when I walk around the house and watch a video, it’s just easier to have the Station in my pocket or hand.

The 5,000mAh battery can power the station for about five hours, which is good enough for most scenarios, since you probably won’t be wearing AR glasses for more than five hours outside in any given day—at least I hope not.

Should you buy Rokid Station?

You should buy Rokid Station if:

• You own AR glasses from Rokid or XReal
• Want an independent device for content consumption

You should not buy Rokid Station if:

• You have used AR glasses tied to a phone and think that the experience is perfectly fine
• Can’t justify the price

Whether Rokid Station is of any use is a very black and white matter. If you own a pair of Rokid glasses and you’ve tethered them to your phone or laptop without frustration, then you don’t really need to buy a separate device just to watch YouTube or Hulu. But if you’ve been using Rokid glasses and don’t like how it drains your phone’s battery, or how an incoming phone call or text interrupts the action, then you might want a dedicated stand-alone unit. At $129, it’s cheap enough to recommend.