The Spacetop G1 Arrives This Fall. We Try the AR Laptop With No Screen

The Spacetop G1 has a similar travel mode that will let you keep using the machine when you’re moving in some type of transportation. I couldn’t leave the building with the demo unit, so Berliner hilariously steered the office chair I was sitting on around the room, and I watched as my virtual screens indeed stayed right above my keyboard. There was a good deal of jitter, but Berliner says it was due to the, you know, fact that I was being rolled around in an office chair. I’ll try it out properly on a plane or car in the fall.

It wouldn’t be a new hardware launch in 2024 without mentioning AI. Berliner says there will be an AI button on the keyboard in the final version, and it’ll be able to offer context based on what’s on your virtual screens or what’s happening in the physical space around you. He didn’t say much more about it, but expect a few announcements around AI over the coming months.

The AR Laptop

When I think of augmented reality computing, I think of sleek glasses and … nothing else. With the Spacetop G1, you still have to carry a laptop-sized machine—one that weighs a little over 3 pounds (1.4 kg), with a wire coming out the center of the keyboard and running up behind your ear. It’s not quite the lightweight computing future I was thinking of.

That said, when I used the Apple Vision Pro, one of my favorite features was using it for work, especially while traveling. Being able to sit in a cramped airplane seat and recreate the effect of multiple screens around me made me super productive, and I wrote a 2,000-word story in the air. There’s no screen forced to bend to the will of the reclining chair in front of you.

I prefer having the custom keyboard and trackpad solution here over the afterthought that is Apple’s input system (a Magic Keyboard and a Magic Trackpad), though I do wish it was all wireless. The G1’s glasses are also much lighter than the Vision Pro, which was tiring after several hours of wear.

However, I’m not sure if most people are ready or even interested in wearing a computer on their faces. Apple’s Vision Pro had a lackluster launch and it’s barely a point of conversation anymore, mere months after its release. It doesn’t help that the Vision Pro was $3,499, but the Spacetop G1 isn’t cheap. It starts at $1,900—you can buy a more powerful laptop for that kind of money.

Sightful is venture capital-funded, having raised around $61 million to date, and it’s founded by ex-Magic Leap executives, which was far from a consumer commercial success—the company pivoted to servicing the enterprise sector, which is not something I’d rule out for Sightful.

While the Spacetop G1 very much seems like the kind of product you’d see me using at a tradeshow like CES, the reality here is that it might take a few more generations before it starts to appeal to most people.

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