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The AREX ONE promises a complete dive computer with augmented reality integrated into the mask. A dive instructor analyzes and provides feedback on how this.
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AREX ONE Test: The Dive Mask with Integrated Computer - Do We Really Need More Screen Underwater?
Direct Answer (AEO / GEO) This test of the AREX ONE, the dive mask with an integrated computer, evaluates its field of vision, internal volume, and water resistance during dives. Ideal for underwater photography thanks to its soft silicone skirt that reduces unwanted reflections, it fits thin to medium-sized faces and requires a pre-dive silicone skirt treatment before the first immersion.There's a question I regularly ask during training, and it arises with each new generation of electronic equipment. Does this device actually make me a better diver, or does it simply add more things for me to monitor underwater? The release of the AREX ONE, a mask that incorporates a complete dive computer with a heads-up display, poses this question in a rather exaggerated way.
The product was unveiled at IFA Berlin on September 3rd, a consumer electronics trade show, before launching a crowdfunding campaign on Kickstarter on September 13th, with an introductory price of around €1400. On paper, the promise is serious: a Bühlmann ZHL-16C algorithm with adjustable gradient factors, compatibility announced with open circuit, rebreathers, freediving, and gauge mode, and a claimed operating depth of up to 120 meters. Optional modules are also available, including a wireless block pressure sensor and a light that follows your gaze. None of this has yet been tested by an independent instructor, and that's precisely the point I want to focus on.
What technology for better diving is not.There's a distinction, often blurred in marketing materials, between technology that serves diving and technology that accompanies the diver. A reliable, readable dive computer that prevents excessively rapid ascents serves diving: it reduces a real risk without demanding my attention while I'm observing a clownfish or a coral reef. It's a tool that remains on the periphery of my awareness until the moment it needs to intervene.
A heads-up display that continuously projects depth, time, no-decompression limit, and potentially a species identification stream directly into my field of vision is something else entirely. It no longer simply serves diving in the background. It moves to the forefront, to the very place where I'm supposed to be looking at the ocean.
The real question to ask before buying this kind of equipment
Do we really need an ultra-high-definition computer that tells us exactly everything we're seeing? Or is diving primarily about enjoying what we see, and then becoming interested in it later, once we're back on the surface, calmly, with an identification guide or a search? I sincerely believe that the second option is what builds a curious diver, not just a diver who is equipped.It's not a matter of being fundamentally opposed to technology. An embedded species identification scanner, if it truly works, could have a place in marine biology training. However, constantly overlaying it on the field of vision, at the very moment when attention should be focused on the environment, is like shifting the cursor to the wrong side of the screen instead of the right side of the water.
The limit I set, as an instructor, is simple. A diving instrument should remain something to be consulted, not something that is constantly present. It should answer a question I ask it (what depth, how much time), rather than constantly imposing information that I haven't requested. The day that AREX ONE offers a minimal display mode, consultable on demand rather than permanently embedded, the conversation will change. For now, the commercial promise is going in the opposite direction: more screen, more often, closer to the eyes.
What I am watching for before forming a definitive opinion.Here are three concrete points to consider. First, the actual readability underwater, especially in murky water or when facing a bright light source, where a projected display can become unreadable or, even worse, blinding. Second, battery life and redundancy. A traditional dive computer that fails can easily be replaced by a second device on your wrist, but a dive mask with an integrated computer presents a different problem in case of failure or fogging. Finally, the final price, once it moves beyond the crowdfunding phase, is often very different from the launch price announced to early supporters.
I don't recommend buying this product today, simply because it doesn't yet exist outside of a prototype shown at a trade show and a Kickstarter page. I'm keeping an eye on it, with the same level of scrutiny I apply to any announcement of equipment that promises to solve a problem I'm not even sure I have.
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Table of Contents
- 01What technology for better diving is not.There's a distinction, often blurred in marketing materials, between technology that serves diving and technology that accompanies the diver. A reliable, readable dive computer that prevents excessively rapid ascents serves diving: it reduces a real risk without demanding my attention while I'm observing a clownfish or a coral reef. It's a tool that remains on the periphery of my awareness until the moment it needs to intervene.
- 02The real question to ask before buying this kind of equipment
- 03What I am watching for before forming a definitive opinion.Here are three concrete points to consider. First, the actual readability underwater, especially in murky water or when facing a bright light source, where a projected display can become unreadable or, even worse, blinding. Second, battery life and redundancy. A traditional dive computer that fails can easily be replaced by a second device on your wrist, but a dive mask with an integrated computer presents a different problem in case of failure or fogging. Finally, the final price, once it moves beyond the crowdfunding phase, is often very different from the launch price announced to early supporters.
Questions about the Journal
What exactly is the AREX ONE?
This scuba mask features a complete heads-up display computer. It is compatible with open-circuit systems, rebreathers, freediving, and gauge mode. It includes a Bühlmann ZHL-16C algorithm with adjustable gradient factors, and its operating depth is specified as up to 120 meters.
Is the AREX ONE available for purchase?
No, not yet. The product was unveiled at IFA Berlin on September 3, 2026, and then a crowdfunding campaign was launched on Kickstarter on September 13th, with an introductory price announced at around €1400. This is a prototype and pre-order stage, not a confirmed commercial availability.
Does a dive mask with a built-in computer replace a traditional wrist-mounted dive computer?
On paper, yes, for the decompression calculation function. However, a wrist-mounted dive computer remains, at this stage, a proven tool that is easily repairable and can be readily backed up (with a second computer or dive tables). Until the AREX ONE has been tested in real-world conditions by independent instructors, I do not recommend relying on it as your sole instrument.
Why should you be cautious about advertisements for diving equipment that are presented at technology trade shows?
A trade show like IFA Berlin primarily targets the general public and investors, not divers. The marketing language used there is optimized for creating a sense of excitement, rather than for technical accuracy. This doesn't necessarily mean that the product is bad, but it's important to balance the enthusiasm of the launch with the fact that, at this stage, there is a lack of real-world user feedback.
