Tiny startup bets that you will spend $2000 on a work 'laptop' with no screen — Spacetop G1 uses AR glasses to deliver a virtual 100-inch display but it runs on Google ChromeOS

After nearly three years in development, Sightful has unveiled Spacetop G1, the world’s first Augmented Reality laptop which uses AR glasses to deliver a virtual 100-inch display and runs on Chrome OS.

Currently priced at $1700 (it usually retails at $1900), the Spacetop G1 is available to reserve for a $100 refundable deposit and is expected to start shipping in October 2024. It’s US-only for now.

Developed by a team of over 60 spatial computing experts, including veterans from Apple, Microsoft, and Magic Leap, Spacetop offers a private, virtual workspace. The laptop form factor houses customized hardware and a proprietary spatial environment, allowing users to design and customize their workspace wherever they are.

Tethered AR glasses

The Spacetop G1 measures 0.51 inches tall, 2.44 inches wide, 11.81 inches deep, and weighs 3.08 lbs. It runs on the Qualcomm Snapdragon QCS8550 platform with a KRYO CPU and Adreno 740 graphics, and comes with 16GB LPDDR5 memory and 128GB UFS3.1 storage.

The G1 features two USB-C ports and connectivity options include Wi-Fi 7, 5G (there’s support for a Nano-SIM and eSIM) and Bluetooth 5.3. The 60Wh battery promises up to 8 hours of life, or a “full day’s work” as the company puts it.

The G1 integrates NReal glasses with the proprietary Spacetop environment, providing clear, high-resolution AR windows overlaid onto the real world. The glasses, which attach to the laptop, weigh 0.18 lbs and come with two OLED display panels (1920×1080 pixels per eye) with a 90Hz refresh rate and a 50° diagonal field of view. Custom prescription lenses are available from -8.00D to +6.00D.

It will be interesting to see if businesses are ready to embrace the concept of a screenless AR laptop like the Spacetop G1, especially given its high price point.

“Laptops are essential to our daily working lives, yet the technology hasn’t evolved to match the modern ‘work from anywhere’ mentality,” said Tamir Berliner, CEO and co-founder of Sightful. “Meanwhile, Augmented Reality holds promise but lacks a daily use case. Spacetop G1 is the first step towards a new paradigm.”