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I ditched my laptop for a pocketable mini PC and a pair of AR glasses

tomsguide.com

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Re: I ditched my laptop for a pocketable mini PC and a pair of AR glasses

#21

Post by jwr »

mrbonner wrote: post #17

The Xreal is a nice device. I got the first gen for $199. I'm able to plug this into the MacBook pro and watch Netflix in bed. The fonts do look a bit blurry and small. I don't think I can work with it full time. I don't have myopia (or my number is small to notice).

Thanks for posting this! I'd be very interested in more real-life usage comments from people, I don't trust YouTube "reviewers" (who get stuff for free and want cosy relationships with companies).

I wonder specifically if their high-end devices (Xreal One Pro?) would be OK for some amount of coding work, or is it just a movie-watching screen. Even if it is only for watching movies, it might still be interesting for flights, though.

Re: I ditched my laptop for a pocketable mini PC and a pair of AR glasses

#22

Post by mdp2021 »

I believe I have been more efficient with the Epson Moverio (1280x720, black-transparent OLED, Android, 5hrs battery, palm-sized processing unit with buttons and trackpad). Put the glasses on, the processing unit in a pocket (thumb on the controls), and you can walk around processing data overlaid to the scenery.

But, like all tools, they are optimal for some tasks and inefficient for others. I never had the time to try and implement text-to speech, to overcome the absence of a practical keyboard (the on-screen one can only be an emergency tool) - with that, the system would have been much more flexible.

Re: I ditched my laptop for a pocketable mini PC and a pair of AR glasses

#24

Post by mojomark »

xattt wrote: post #16
kotaKat wrote: post #13

Earlier quoted context omitted.

So, the Xreal glasses are (generally) a dumb USB-C DisplayPort alt-mode device. Plug glasses in, get video to the little displays in your eyes. With a companion app (not needed) you can have your computer do some heavy lifting and make virtual displays out of it. The new "One" unit referenced in this review is the same but does have some smarts to do on-glasses processing of the virtual displays itself instead, if I…

What’s the resolution? Can you see the small text of individual items of the Word ribbon?

I don't know the answer to your question specifically, but in general, if someone tells you the resolution in terms of 'X by Y' pixels, that is unuseful information for an AR display. It drives me bananas that this isn't industry standard after all these years.

Instead, you need resolution in terms of Pixels Per Degree (PPD). And, to have any hope of viewing legible text on a virtual monitor projected via an AR HUD, like you can on a physical laptop monitor, you need at least 35PPD.

Re: I ditched my laptop for a pocketable mini PC and a pair of AR glasses

#25

Post by herpdyderp »

How good are actual VR headsets at being virtual desktop screens? Specifically I've been interested in the Bigscreen Beyond 2 due to its extreme lightweight, but most people seem to use them for gaming instead of doing work. I want more screens (or, even better, an infinite screen) but I don't have the desk space for them. I know the Vision Pro sort of does this but I need the full power of my maxed out MacBook Pro, the Vision Pro is too heavy, and it's way too expensive.

Re: I ditched my laptop for a pocketable mini PC and a pair of AR glasses

#26

Post by jareds »

I got excided looking at this hoping there was a laptop with out a screen. I'm totally blind so the power draw of a screen is pointless. I currently use my ROG Alli with a Bluetooth keyboard to connect to my more powerful laptop which has a keyboard that's going bad. While this setup works well and the battery life is pretty good it would be much nicer if I didn't have to put a keyboard on my lap, and the Alli on a table. At least the Alli doesn't need to be somewhere where I can look at it.

Re: I ditched my laptop for a pocketable mini PC and a pair of AR glasses

#27

Post by TrueDuality »

jwr wrote: post #21
mrbonner wrote: post #17

The Xreal is a nice device. I got the first gen for $199. I'm able to plug this into the MacBook pro and watch Netflix in bed. The fonts do look a bit blurry and small. I don't think I can work with it full time. I don't have myopia (or my number is small to notice).

Thanks for posting this! I'd be very interested in more real-life usage comments from people, I don't trust YouTube "reviewers" (who get stuff for free and want cosy relationships with companies). I wonder specifically if their high-end devices (Xreal One Pro?) would be OK for some amount of coding work, or is it just a movie-watching screen. Even if it is only for watching movies, it might still be interesting for f…

I have the Xreal Air and it's alright. Low resolution and a bit blurry text still. It's the nature of optics right now.

It's a single virtual display by default unless you run a fairly unstable piece of software. I use it mostly on plane flights.

It feels like the tech is almost close enough to really be useful but it's just not quite there yet. It's useful but not pleasant.

Re: I ditched my laptop for a pocketable mini PC and a pair of AR glasses

#28

Post by benoau »

tdeck wrote: post #5

I thought it would be a mini laptop like these: https://gpdstore.net/product-category/gpd-mini-laptop/ But no, he carries around a little Nuc style machine and a full, separate keyboard and charger. It's cool and all, but there's no way this whole jumble would fit in a pocket or be convenient to use on the go.

I think a "NUC" is the logical conclusion if you don't want the screen and don't like the keyboard compromises! There's a lot of room for powerful devices in that space like discrete GPUs, or AI crunching, etc.

But I think what really sells this concept to me - unless I'm on a MacBook, I'll have to carry my keyboard, mouse and maybe powerbank or charger anyway. It's definitely more compact than that!

Re: I ditched my laptop for a pocketable mini PC and a pair of AR glasses

#29

Post by mdp2021 »

TrueDuality wrote: post #27
jwr wrote: post #21

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Thanks for posting this! I'd be very interested in more real-life usage comments from people, I don't trust YouTube "reviewers" (who get stuff for free and want cosy relationships with companies). I wonder specifically if their high-end devices (Xreal One Pro?) would be OK for some amount of coding work, or is it just a movie-watching screen. Even if it is only for watching movies, it might still be interesting for f…

I have the Xreal Air and it's alright. Low resolution and a bit blurry text still. It's the nature of optics right now. It's a single virtual display by default unless you run a fairly unstable piece of software. I use it mostly on plane flights. It feels like the tech is almost close enough to really be useful but it's just not quite there yet. It's useful but not pleasant.

> a bit blurry

I found the Epson Moverio very crisp.

...Of course, though, I used at around 12..14 lines per screen. You have virtual relatively small screens in front of your eyes...

Re: I ditched my laptop for a pocketable mini PC and a pair of AR glasses

#30

Post by sathackr »

I've been doing this a few months now with an xreal one and minisforum um790.

Same ability to power via usb-C and have other ports available.

It's worked very well, the 1920x1080 resoultion of the glasses is pretty clear but I find "anchoring" the screen to be most usable because the edges do get a little blurry, but with the screen anchored you can just "look around" a little to bring them into focus.

The biggest drawback is the resolution. While still very sharp and clear, it's tough going from a framework laptop 2256x1504 to 1920x1080.

I'm just used to everything being a little smaller and being able to fit more info into my FoV vs having to look around a "larger" screen for it.

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