Spacetop for Windows is $200/year software for Intel Core Ultra laptops that brings true spatial computing to the Xreal Air 2 Ultra glasses.
Xreal glasses already support showing your Windows laptop’s screen as a single head-fixed virtual monitor. But Spacetop lets you spawn and position individual Windows applications, and they’ll stay anchored in place thanks to positional tracking, uniquely possible on the Xreal Air 2 Ultra model.
An Intel Core Ultra chip is needed, Sightful says, because it has an NPU (neural processing unit) which Spacetop uses to efficiently run this positional tracking, processing the input from the two cameras on the glasses without compromising performance or battery life.
AMD Ryzen AI and Qualcomm Snapdragon laptop chips also have an NPU, so should technically be capable of running Spacetop too, but Sightful tells UploadVR that it specifically partnered with Intel and so only Intel Core Ultra is supported at launch, with AMD and Qualcomm support coming “in the near future”.
David Heaney
Sightful, the company behind Spacetop, was founded by Tamir Berliner and Tomer Kahan, both ex-Magic Leap executives.
When first announced in 2023, Spacetop was set to be a screenless laptop with the Xreal Air 2 Ultra glasses built in, and the company took $100 deposits for preorders priced at $1900. It would have been powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon chipset, running an Android-based OS.
In October last year, Sightful canceled those Spacetop preorders and refunded the deposits, announcing the pivot to a software-based solution for Windows. Being able to achieve an AR spatial computing workspace with the Windows laptop you already own, or at least the next laptop you were going to buy anyways, should make for a much wider market than what would have essentially been an expensive single-purpose spatial computing Chromebook without a screen.
David Heaney
We must note that a significant limiting factor for all shipping transparent AR systems, including the Xreal Air 2 Ultra used here, is the field of view, and this isn’t reflected anywhere in Sightful’s marketing.
Unlike in the promotional images and videos, in reality you would only see all the floating windows at once if they were placed so far away that you wouldn’t be able to read text. At reasonable viewing distances you’ll usually only see one window at a time, meaning you’ll need to turn your head more often than with a physical multi-monitor setup and remember where you placed each application. This is the key tradeoff of shipping transparent AR compared to mixed reality headsets with camera passthrough like Meta Quest 3 and Apple Vision Pro.
The Spacetop Bundle is available now in the US and Germany for $900, which includes the Xreal Air 2 Ultra AR glasses and one year of Spacetop for Windows subscription. After that, the software renews for $200/year.
For people who already own Xreal Air 2 Ultra the software isn’t publicly sold separately, because it requires a specific firmware version on the glasses, but Sightful tells UploadVR that said owners can reach out directly for a solution.
Sightful also confirmed that it’s working on Spacetop for Mac, though there’s no timeline on when that will arrive.
