Right now is an utterly fantastic time to get into head-mounted displays (HMDs). Whether we’re talking immersive VR experiences, lightweight smart glasses, or the new world of Android XR, there’s something for everyone. And as I learned while visiting XREAL at CES 2026 last week, this hardware has come a long way.I first got started with HMDs about 30 years ago, thanks to the VictorMaxx Stuntmaster for my SNES. It offered a private viewing experience, supported limited game input… and was very, very bad. Heavy, uncomfortable to wear, and worst of all, featuring a low-res, blurry screen, it coasted by on sheer novelty. Obviously, things have gotten a lot better since then, but until XREAL handed me its latest AR glasses, I really had no idea just how far we’d come.