At CES 2025, Brelyon showed off its latest immersive display called the Ultra Reality Extend, and even after seeing it in person, my brain still can't quite wrap its head around a monitor that looks bigger and deeper on the inside than it does on the outside.
Billed as the world's first commercial multifocal monitor, the Ultra Reality Extend combines the ease-of-use and simplicity of a traditional desktop display with the kind of spatial depth typically only possible with a VR headset. Of course, the maximum simulated depth that Extend provides is only 2.5 meters, which is nowhere near as far as devices like Meta Quest 3S or Apple Vision Probut considering that Brelion's monitor does not require any additional hardware (other than a connected PC), the effect is truly impressive. It's also much easier to use: all you have to do is position yourself in front and the monitor does the rest, resulting in far less eye strain or potential nausea that many people experience with modern VR headsets.
This allows the monitor to defy its size because although it is much bulkier than a typical display, the view inside is simply monstrous. The 30-inch Ultra Reality Extend delivers a VR display equivalent to a 122-inch curved screen. Meanwhile, its 4K/60Hz resolution uses a 1-bit monocular to deliver spatial content that looks closer to 8K, with scene elements able to look closer or further depending on the situation.
When I watched the game clip from Spider-Manthe trees and lampposts rushing past my face seemed so real that I began to shudder subconsciously. Then, in other scenes, Brelion's monitor was able to separate different layers of content so that snow in the foreground appeared blurry as it flew across the screen, while characters in the distance remained clear. It's quite strange because the effect is so visceral that games and movies on flat screens simply can't compare.
Meanwhile, the monitor is powered by the Brelyon visual engine, which allows the display to automatically assign different depths to elements in games and videos on the fly without additional programming. However, developers can further optimize their content for Brelion technology, allowing them to add even more depth and immersion.
Unfortunately, the downside is that Ultra Reality Extend's unique approach to spatial content is quite expensive. That's because while the monitor is already available, the company is targeting a price of between $5,000 and $8,000 per unit, with the exact numbers depending on the customer and any partnerships with Brelyon. Unfortunately, this means the display will only be available to enterprise buyers who will use it to create hyper-realistic flight simulators with depth-enabled user interfaces, rather than to everyday people who might want a fancy monitor for movies and games. But if Brelion's technology becomes successful, perhaps one day…