Also doing the research on productizing the whole thing and sourcing a custom board.
I am interested in a productized version - but only with x64 boards like the Steam Deck or one of the Framework mainboards. I don't want to deal with 3D printing and all that. The latter are larger than the Steam Deck, though. No battery for me though: I would use it after work, when I am near an outlet anyway.
How's your eye sight? Any signs of fatigue?
I've seen people saying that they're fine for gaming and movie watching but too fuzzy for work...
It's great for gaming and movies as you say, and also for adopting a better posture when using a laptop in a cramped space like a train or airline seat. But even with the individual focus wheels for each eye, it doesn't feel sharp enough at 1080p to replace a 24" or 27" screen on a standard desk layout.
If I had the option of one 24" 1080p monitor on my desk or XR glasses to use for 8-10 hours of thoughtful work, I would choose the monitor.
Regarding eye strain or fatigue, I don't notice any. The fact that the projected display appears to be 3-4m away probably helps a lot with that.
> I bought the parts separately rather than gutting a perfectly good one.
Huh, I didn't know you could do that. Neat.
I’m still trying to figure out how to fit a full trackball in there…
Do you have specifics issues in mind ? Battery consumption ? performance ? Stability issues ?
I got the Viture Pro recently and this would be fun to add to that. Ultimately I think this is a very nice form factor both for portable use with XR glasses, and for use with a USB-C dock at home. The XR glasses on the market are still a bit rough, but the nice thing about this kind of setup is that you can replace the computer and the glasses independently, so as the glasses improve (especially looking forward to glasses with high-quality waveguides) you can upgrade.
It's a computer that fit's perfectly underneath an Apple Magic Keyboard, and has a compartment to store peripherals like a dongle or small mouse. It has no display, instead opting for XR display glasses.
The internals are the main board, cooler, and battery from a Steam Deck OLED. I bought the parts separately rather than gutting a perfectly good one.
The link is to the CAD files. I decided to open source it as I explore building a better one.
Feel free to jump straight to that, here's the origin story for anyone interested:
I started using the XREAL glasses a few months ago. they're great, easily my favorite "XR" product. It's built around the one killer app of XR, a virtual display. shedding all non-essential hardware into a small, lightweight package.
but I hate the redundancy. Whatever device I'm using it with, the built in screen goes unused. In parallel, I've also found myself extremely disappointed in each product calling itself a "spatial computer" despite being nothing but an overweight iPad for your face.
I wanted a real computer designed to be used with these glasses, and in the smallest package I could possibly achieve.
So I grabbed an actual iPad, downloaded Shapr3D and got to work. My iteration process involved jumping back and forth between my iPad and a 3D printer. I went through roughly 15 failed iterations getting the screw mounts, airflow, and ergonomics just right.
The final result is what I believe to be a true spatial computer. I've been daily driving and I'm pretty happy with the experience. It's currently running Ubuntu 24, but I may switch back to Steam OS, given it's better optimized for the hardware.