Spacetop AR Laptop Unlocked, Converts to Windows Software for Glasses

Earlier this year, I tested a Chromebook-like keyboard connected to AR glasses called Spacetopcreated by a startup called Sightful, which has developed a virtual device screen floating around the room. It used AR glasses as a display instead of a laptop screen. As a hardware product, it seemed ahead of its time.

Now, the founders of Sightful tell me that their real laptop will never arrive. The company canceled its plans for the device, sending pre-orderers a $1,900 Spacetop G1 and offering to refund the $100 deposit.

Instead, Sightful is switching to a software product for new Windows laptops that will provide the same experience associated with AR glasses. It will run Windows applications and connect to Windows’ CoPilot AI features.

Is the AR laptop dream dead? Not exactly. Now the laptop you already own might be ready for augmented reality.

By AR, Sightful means running multiple Windows applications on a glasses-based screen. What you see through the glass is a series of windows floating in the air. Not everyone needs that, but in some ways it can be very useful. It can be a privacy-oriented travel app, because no one can see your display.

By expanding your computer’s displays like what you can do with a Look for a headset or Apple Vision ProSightful keeps the sound very active. As the capabilities of the applications evolve, the company’s goals include being able to run full 3D AR applications as well.

The future of AR laptops is Windows AI

When I spoke with Sightful’s founders, Tamir Berliner and Tomer Kahan, they explained that the reason for switching to a software-based product comes down to two letters: AI. Microsoft’s new emphasis on system-wide artificial intelligence in Windows and improved AI laptop chipsets with neural processing features could mean connected AR glasses will work better in than Windows PC.

The improved hardware can take advantage of AI that would otherwise not be available in Spacetop’s web browser like Chrome. According to Berliner and Kahan, using AR glasses using a dedicated NPU AI processor can be done without draining battery life, something that was not easily achieved before.

Microsoft’s Windows CoPilot Plus PCs using ARM-based processors seem pretty close to where Spacetop was headed with its Qualcomm-based processors in its Spacetop devices, but in a stronger form.

“The time we saw [Microsoft’s] announcements about AI computers – that everyone’s computers, in the next few years, will be AI computers – it made sense to say that we could help the audience much earlier and faster if we create our own integrated solution,” they told me. .

The Windows-based software will be available by the end of the year, according to Berliner and Kahan, but they didn’t tell me the price. Sightful software for Windows will only work initially with certain types of Xreal’s AR glasseswhich were hardwired into the G1 Spacetop kit. On Windows, they will be connected via USB-C. I inquired about the possibility of this setup working with other glass displays such as those from Lenovo and TCL, but there are currently no immediate plans.

The pivot to AI, like many other areas of technology, is a common theme in startups and virtual reality companies over the past few years. Spacetop’s AI focus is consistent with the belief that what is happening now in computing is so vast that anything Spacetop does for business-oriented work needs to work with the latest AI tools. On Windows PCs, you can move the laptop screen at the same time, or remove it and use a glass-based screen for privacy.

Sightful’s founders have no plans to work with Macs yet, but they told me “we’re keeping our ears open.” The company plans to explore other ways to use the software it’s developing for non-laptop devices, including televisions and phones, but no other plans have been announced yet.

Berliner and Kahan see many future interactions between AI and XR, and it could change what Spacetop hears in the future. The demos I saw of Spacetop devices looked like a series of small 2D devices floating in windows next to a curved display. In future versions, more 3D settings and full XR-style tools may be possible with Windows, they told me.

Of course, glasses like Xreal’s can now connect to Windows laptops to display the display, and companies like Lenovo have PC solutions for adding windows to the glasses as well. In the end, Sightful still has to prove that its software for connecting laptops and glasses can bring something new and practical to the table.

Microsoft is already making its own mixed reality pivot to software, stopping at HoloLens 2 and moving away from Windows-based VR headsets. Instead, Microsoft is connecting many of its services and apps with Meta’s Quest headset, and will run 3D apps through Windows that way — though for now you’ll need a larger Quest headset. because the system will not work with a small, portable pair. of glass.

Sightful’s laptop-based AR software looks like it’s at the forefront of where future hardware and devices are headed. Apple’s Vision Pro works well with Macs, but is larger and more expensive. The next Spacetop solution would be very interesting, but I’ll have to wait until the software comes out to try it in Windows form.