Most apps should work fine, but intensive apps like video and photo editing services may struggle. I primarily used multiple Chrome browser windows and tabs, had the Telegram messaging client on top, and Slack over to the left. I even launched Zoom and had it on the right during video calls. I gave Adobe Lightroom Classic a shot, but the app began behaving strangely in Spacetop, so I didn’t use it. Sightful says as much on its website: “We are still working to make advanced applications like video editors or 3D graphics software run smoothly.” Gaming also falls into that camp.
No one can view your work, which is nice for handling sensitive information, and the only way around that on a traditional laptop is to use a privacy screen. At the moment, the laptop screen stays on when you’re in Spacetop, but people will only be able to see a blank desktop. Sightful says it’s planning an update that will turn it off to conserve battery life.
Speaking of which, I haven’t used the HP OmniBook Ultra Flip as a normal laptop, so I can’t confirm its regular battery stats, but HP claims “all-day battery life,” and various reviews of this laptop around the web seem to confirm this. With the AR glasses plugged in and Spacetop running, though, you’re more likely to get roughly three to four hours of use, depending on what you’re doing. Within an hour and a half of use, the laptop’s battery life was cut in half.
I don’t see this being a huge issue because most of the time you’d be using Spacetop will likely be in those short periods at a coffee shop or airport lounge, or heck, even on a plane. (There’s a travel mode that lets you use Spacetop on fast-moving transportation.) And usually, if that’s the case, there’s probably a spot you can plug in your PC.
On the Go
Photograph: Julian Chokkattu
So much of what makes Spacetop a joy to use is the glasses. The text is fairly sharp through the dual OLED display panels, though I wish the glasses had a wider field of view than 50 degrees. More importantly, this isn’t a bulky Apple Vision Pro—I wore Xreal’s glasses for more than three hours in one sitting, and I can’t imagine doing that with Apple’s VR headset. Mind you, my eyes did feel a little tired after that time, but I love that taking it off isn’t a chore; it’s just like removing a normal pair of glasses. I also don’t feel closed off to the rest of the world—the speakers built into the arms of the glasses make it so you don’t need to wear earbuds—and the whole system is far easier to travel with, complete with a glasses case.
