Laptops have had the same clamshell form factor since they were first introduced. This design has proven to be a good solution that has stood the test of time. However, tech startup Sightful is looking for a different way by virtualizing the screen.
The company recently launched the Spacetop, a laptop that includes nothing more than a keyboard attached to a customized pair of NReal augmented reality (AR) glasses.
Wearing the glasses allows users to see a huge, 100-inch AR screen that only they can see. Multiple windows can be opened at the same time as the screens curve in all directions around your perspective. To see a specific window, all you have to do is turn your head to the application. You don’t have to worry about windows moving, either, as the projected screens stay still. In addition, these screens do not completely block the real space in front of you, and you can still see the world around you.
Spacetop runs on the proprietary Spacetop OS, but can also run some third-party software like Microsoft Word and Spotify.
Looking at the hardware specifications, we see that Spacetop is not among the most powerful laptops and apparently runs on smartphone hardware from 2020. Spacetop uses the Qualcomm Snapdragon 865 chipset, Adreno 650 GPU and 8GB of RAM. It has a keyboard that is 10.47 inches wide, 9.8 inches deep, and 1.57 inches high (266 x 249 x 10.5 mm). NReal weighs just 1.5kg in total without the glasses, and the glasses add an additional 90 grams. It only has five hours of battery life on a single charge and supports fast charging, but only offers two USB-C ports and 256GB of storage. In short, you should not expect a performance like running the latest games from this computer.
Sightful presents Spacetop as a new way to work remotely. However, The Verge, in a recent report, says that the laptop does not perform that well. The post says that the computer “crashed early in the demo session and needs to be restarted.” They also note that navigating between windows is slow and resizing windows also takes some time. In fact, the browser, which appears to be the company’s first-party software, is said to crash while trying to play YouTube videos.
Still, the computer is said to have an enjoyable and “acceptable” overall performance. The computer is available for sale on Sightful’s own website and has a price tag of $2,000.
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