What if you could play Nintendo Switch 2 on the go in docked mode? What if the lacklustre LCD display gave way to the equivalent of a 146-inch OLED panel with 1600 nits of peak brightness? Well, it can be done. Granted, it's a somewhat extreme and expensive solution, but I've been trying out the new range of Viture XR glasses and they deliver just that - and more actually - depending on the configuration. It's a remarkable way to play Switch 2, and indeed original Switch games, on the go.

Let's get down to basics. Two new pairs of Viture XR glasses are available: the Pro 2 and the Beast, priced at $299 and $549 respectively. Despite the wide divide in pricing, the Pro 2 is actually lighter, along with diopters at the top of the glasses to compensate for short-sightedness - a feature missing from the Beast. Micro OLED panels deliver the image for both pairs of glasses, but you're getting 1600 nits peak brightness on the cheaper Pro 2 glasses vs 1250 nits on the Beast. Both accept USB-C inputs.

But you're going to need more hardware to use them with Switch 2. $99 gets you the Viture Mobile Dock Mini. Attach it to your Switch 2 via USB-C then plug in your glasses, remove the Joy-Cons from the console, don your specs and you're good to go. It's worth pointing out that we weren't sent this specific dock for review. Instead, I used the Pro Mobile Dock. This is much larger, adds an additional HDMI input, has a bigger battery and supports two pairs of glasses attached simultaneously. Despite the added bulk, the Pro Mobile Dock still straps neatly onto the Switch 2 via a supplied clip. The Mini ships with a circa 37Wh battery compared to the circa 20Wh battery Switch 2 ships with, while the Pro Mobile Dock gets a much larger 48.1Wh battery.

Battery life requires further explanation. In DF Direct (clipped above), I mentioned extended battery life over the existing mobile mode but it's not quite as good as it sounds. You'd like to think that the dock and Switch 2 batteries combine for more play time with your glasses, but that's not the case. With glasses play, the dock battery is drained and when it's empty, the specs power down and you're back to standard mobile play on the console LCD. Back of the envelope maths (Switch 2 draws around 17W to 20W in docked mode) suggests you'll get around two hours of play with the Mini and 2.5 hours with the Pro dock, but there's a twist: just like the normal dock, Viture's hardware charges the Switch 2 battery if it's not full, cutting into your glasses-based play time. Pro-tip: charge your Switch 2 before using your Viture dock.

Going into this, it's the dock that I was really interested in. In order to support Switch 2, Viture needs access to a video output feed from the console and the only way to do this is to tap into the USB-C output of the console itself in TV "docked" mode. And in doing so, you're liberated from the limitations of the handheld modes for each game. You're getting the full TV experience on a "virtually" massive OLED screen: the Pro 2 has an advertised 146-inch virtual display, rising to 174-inch with the Beast glasses. Yes, the console is now a lot bulkier owing to the strapped-on dock, but at the same time, there's no need to actually hold it any more. Just play with your Pro controller or detached Joy-Cons, just as you normally would with TV mode.

It's difficult to describe the experience and we can't really show it with video, for obvious reasons. We can't really point a camera at two tiny OLED panels and offer any kind of way to share the actual experience, but suffice it to say that the technology works. The OLED displays are pin-sharp and ultra-bright. From Switch 2, 1080p output is supported, VRR is not - but you do get 120Hz support.

However, while Pro 2 specs beat the Beast in several regards, the more expensive offering exhibits big advantages despite its lower peak brightness. The problem I had with the Pro 2 glasses is simply the nature of running a display that presents as if it is "jittering". Put simply, when you move your head, obviously the glasses move and therefore so does the virtual screen. For me, I found it caused fatigue. Secondly, while a 146-inch virtual display sounds great, the Pro 2 glasses present as if you have a high quality OLED screen in front of you surrounded by a noticeable black border on all sides.

The Beast addresses this by increasing the field of view and the perceived size of the image to 176 inches. Immersion is far, far greater compared to the Pro 2 and one step closer to the advertised virtual cinema effect. The more expensive solution solves the fatigue from the "jitter" via the use of a front-mounted camera that tracks motion and provides two modes: anchor and smooth follow, which present in a similar manner to virtual screens in VR headsets. There's also far greater configurability via a decent on-screen menu system.

So, the Beast loses some features compared to the cheaper Pro 2, it's more expensive and it's heavier too - 88g vs 63g. Even so, it solves most of the problems I had using the Pro 2 thanks to the perceivably larger screen and the stabilisation functions. It may not have the ultra-high peak brightness of the Pro 2, but it doesn't really need it. That said, the perceptually larger screen does make the fact that it's "just" a 1080p panel more noticeable. Appreciating how small the displays are in the first place, I really would like to see native 1440p as the next step. It is worth pointing out, however, that the Beast does support 16:10 1920x1200 for supported devices.

Returning to the Pro 2, you may also find that the diopters for correcting shortsightedness may not be entirely effective: perhaps owing to my astigmatism, the compensation didn't quite work for me. Viture was generous enough to send on prescription lenses for both sets of glasses, which - again - completely solved the problem.

I've discussed the Viture glasses here primarily with Switch 2 in mind, but the USB-C connection means that they can be connected directly to a range of devices without the need for the dock. So, from a gaming perspective, connecting to a gaming handheld should be a piece of cake, while laptops and MacBooks are also viable devices. With the Pro dock, HDMI input meant I could connect my other consoles with no problem. Series S on a flight, anyone? Direct USB-C to USB-C connection with my Samsung S26 Ultra also put the phone into DEX desktop mode, which was certainly interesting.

The Viture XR glasses are fascinating, viable ways to play and while slightly bulkier than typical eyewear, they do present more like standard sunglasses, so they do have a certain discreet nature to them in a way VR headsets don't. Power comes directly from the dock or the attached device, so there are no battery considerations either.

While checking out the latest in glasses-based display technology has certainly been eye-opening, it's the Switch 2 mobile gaming angle that remains most intriguing to me. Even in TV mode/docked play, the Switch 2 remains an incredibly power-efficient device, rarely troubling 20W in a world where PS5 consumes an order of magnitude more juice. Because of this, Viture has enabled docked play on the go by incorporating a battery into its down, along with video outputs for its impressive glasses. In theory, it's a simple approach, but in practice it's an excellent combination of technologies that transforms and improves mobile play on the Nintendo console. It's not cheap, but it's certainly impressive.