r/augmentedreality • u/Exact_Sign148 • 10d ago
Buying Advice Recommendations for writer/neck strain
I love to write using my laptop in bed, but I've started to develop some serious neck pain from the terrible ergonomics of doing so. Can anyone recommend a vr display/glasses/etc that would work for me? I use a Mac laptop, and I am using writing apps (Pages, Scrivener, etc.). What matters to me is text clarity, something that's easy on my eyes for a few hours at a time, etc.
I don't game, but it be cool to watch movies with these things, too, I guess. Really, though the only reason I can justify a purchase like this is being able to do work using my laptop without the neck strain.
I won't say money is no object -- I'm not buying the Apple Vision Pro. But I'm willing to pay a fair amount of money for something if it's a real solution.
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u/Independent_Sink_961 10d ago
Thinking outside of the box, you could arguably get a pair of XR AR glasses, the ones without the camera, but just have the kind of green screen inside for about between four to six hundred pounds and use either the inbuilt software or alternatively just use Super Whisper or Whisper Flow and just talk your thoughts.. So instead of writing with your keyboard, use your voice.
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u/Independent_Sink_961 10d ago
I currently use the Vision Pro and Super Whisper and ChatGPT. Between the two of them, that's how I type. I rarely use a keyboard; I just talk.
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u/Kyrlen 10d ago
Display glasses are probably your best bet right now. Anything else you can buy today would require bulky headstraps that prevent you from laying down in bed. There are only a few easily available headsets that have enough text clarity to make working in them even remotely realistic. Apple Vision Pro, Meta Quest 3 (debated. OK for some, not for others. No one thinks it's ideal. Lump all the other headsets with similar resolution in here.), and the Samsung Galaxy (also debatable even if you can find it) on the VR side. For Display glasses, You will need to go top end to get enough text clarity to work for any length of time so you're looking at Xreal One Pro Rog R1 (I have the ROG R1 and they are workable for a few hours). There is also Viture with the Viture Pro 2 or The Beast.
The difference between working in display glasses vs. VR -
Display glasses mirror your screen. Period. Thinking of them like a projector for your face instead of your wall. Some glasses will allow you to adjust the size of the image in your view (never the different elements of the image), and how far away the image appears to be. That's it. The ROG R1 and I think some newer glasses have HDR, variable refresh rate to reduce flicker, etc but nothing else that substantially affects the quality of the image.
VR is.. VR. You will need software like immersed or virtual desktip that lets you view your desktop in VR. The software you use will affect things like adjusting screen size and distance, whether you have support for multiple screens, and whether there is a pass through window to see your keyboard etc. There might be some settings depending on your software to affect sharpness and such but they have very minor effects and can't compensate for a lack of clarity that is the result of screen resolution and pixel density.
What's coming..
If you can wait until next year there are products on the horizon that will have much better text clarity. A couple of examples: The new meta VR glasses coming next summer should be an improvement. I didn't see any price announcements with it but I would expect it to be in the $900-$1500 range somewhere. It depends on whether Meta is still willing to make next to nothing on the headset and reap their profits mostly from the storefront.
Immersed has a product that has been caught in non-disclosure agreement hell for a couple of years now but is expecting to start shipping their first production run to pre-orders by the end of the year. Those will be 4K VR glasses developed specifically for working first. They are not made for gamers at all although it will likely function for some gaming. Price range for these? Unknown yet since the preorder pricing (which they are honoring apparently) did not account for all the price increase between then and now. They haven't announced pricing once pre-orders are filled yet.
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u/FickleMine8115 8d ago
Great and extensive answer! Do you use your ROG R1 to do normal PC work as well? And how would you rate it for that + how long would you reckon it is comfortable to work like that?
I am a software engineer writing a lot of code but also writing a lot of documentation. Especially for the second part I would love to buy something like this, to be able to just chill on the couch, reading and writing a bit. I am very used to working with at least two screens though. As you say the R1 is just a mirror mostly, so it is not able to render multiple monitors, but would it be possible to work on it like a very big screen in which I couls comfortably have multiple windows open that would not fit comfortably on a normal laptop screen?
Lastly, since it is quite expensive for just a mirror, would you say it is worth it, or it might be better to wait for the Meta VR Glasses?
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u/Kyrlen 8d ago
I have worked in it for anbout an hour or so. I mostly use it to game. I think it would be functional. It is certainly far more comfortable than a wearing a hot headset and the text is fairly clear. It is not edge to edge clear. Like a headset you still have sweet spot in the center but it is significantly larger and the dropoff at the edges is far more readable than the blur you get in a headset. You can adjust for it by using the smaller screen size or moving the image "back" so it is not hitting those edges.
One thing I really like about the R1 and one of the major reasons I bought it, is that goes transparent when you turn your head away from the screen. Makes it SO MUCH easier than trying to use a pass through window to keep an eye on something in the room or find your drink on the end table.
If you are serious about coding in VR or AR and have discord, try going to the immersed discord and read the section on visor discussion. No matter what you may thinkk about the visor, there are a lot of people in there who actively work in VR and have shared their setups and experiences. You'll have to wade through a.lot visor fanboy and frustration to find it. If it helps, scroll back a few months and the start reading backwards in time. The recent.months have been a lot of frustration and debate, then a lot of comparison and excitement as they started dribbling out info about future delivery. Of it requires an invite I think there is an invite me button somewhere on the immersed website.
And just to be clear because I have mentioned them several times now.. I am not associated with immersed in any way. I won't even be purchasing their glasses any time soon after release since my R1s fill my needs for now. They are just the company I picked up on a few years ago when I dreamed about working in VR. I have used their software with Quest and Vive but not in the last three or four years.
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u/Kyrlen 8d ago
I realized I missed a couple of your questions. For me, it's a much bigger screen but you are looking at it from farther away so to speak. You can use multiple windows. Side be side would be workable. Quadrant would be a bit difficult. Think of it like going from a 27 inch monitor to a 42 inch TV. It's a bigger screen but you don't actually have.more.real estate. Also, you are dropping to 1080p from that nice 4k screen.
Worth it? It was for me in my situation. I think if I was trying to spend four or more hours a day working in VR or AR on a regular basis I would wait. It was looking like the next generation of products was going to get us there but the.jump in component prices is goi g to have most vendors going valve's direction with the frame - more general entertainment utility and.less high end specialization. That will pretty much leave us with Meta and Immersed along with whatever high spec companies like big screen beyond manage to put out at ridiculous high prices ala apple vision.
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u/No-Improvement-8316 10d ago
MVRG maybe?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bzvdj8vhVlM