Forget Apple AR glasses, Sightful, a new Israeli company has launched Spacetop, the world’s first augmented reality laptop. It is in an early access program and the company considers this as a first step towards “reinventing” the laptop experience. But, it is packing a 3+ years old chipset meant for Android smartphones. So, the question is whether it’s powerful enough to be the future of computing. Let’s check out its full specs and features to get an idea about the same.
Spacetop comes with a 13-16” display (1080p resolution per eye) and a 100-inch canvas. Canvas is what the brand calls its virtual work environment for AR projection. You get to see the AR elements through a pair of AR glasses.
Above the panel, there is a 5MP webcam with an FHD+ resolution.
Beneath the display, there is a full-size keyboard and touchpad combo.
The software onboard is called Spacetop OS. This is laid on top of Qualcomm Snapdragon 865, 8GB RAM, 256GB storage, and a battery rated to run for 5+ hours.
You get 2x USB-C (PD and DisplayPort-supported) ports which can be used for charging. The laptop is 5G compatible and you also get Wi-Fi 6 and Bluetooth 5.1 for wireless connectivity.
The machine weighs 1.5 kg and its dimensions are 1.57”x10.47”x9.8”.
That’s about it with the available spec details of the device.
Now, from the looks of it, we are a bit sceptical about whether this assortment of specs is powerful enough to run cutting-edge tech like an AR laptop. But, we can only know for sure when we use it.
For now, let’s see how it works.
You boot the laptop and wear AR glasses. The AR goggles also support prescription lenses. So, you can get custom AR glasses made for you from the brand.
Next up, the Spacetop OS appears as a projection in the air.
You interact and control the AR elements on the virtual screen (pinned on the air) with a keyboard and touchpad. The virtual screen doesn’t move with you but thanks to the camera tracking your head movements, you get to see different parts of this Canvas with slight movements of your head. Likewise, the AR environment can zoom in and out based on your head movements.
The goggles also project sound for immersion and this will be audible to the wearer only.
That’s the basic lowdown of how the thing works.