[HN Gopher] Coding without a laptop: Two weeks with AR glasses a...
       ___________________________________________________________________
        
       Coding without a laptop: Two weeks with AR glasses and Linux on
       Android
        
       Author : mikenew
       Score  : 266 points
       Date   : 2025-05-14 15:11 UTC (3 days ago)
        
 (HTM) web link (holdtherobot.com)
 (TXT) w3m dump (holdtherobot.com)
        
       | az09mugen wrote:
       | Nice to read I'm not alone thinking of this nomadic kind of
       | setup. And also I got the feedback I hoped on the Xreal Air 2
       | glasses : https://eu.shop.xreal.com/fr/products/xreal-air-2
        
         | mikenew wrote:
         | Hey thanks (I'm the author)! BTW the "Pro" version has the
         | electrochromic dimming, so I recommend paying a little extra
         | for that unless you're really sure you're not going to need it.
         | 
         | EDIT: To clarify, I meant the "Xreal Air 2 Pro", not the "Xreal
         | One Pro". The latter are much more expensive.
        
           | Blankono wrote:
           | Your price point for the used glasses is quite lucky to just
           | play around with it or using it sometimes.
           | 
           | They cost 800 new :|
           | 
           | 1080p is that really okay?
        
             | growthwtf wrote:
             | They are $299 on sale on the vendor website right now. I
             | won't link because I don't want to promote them
             | necessarily, but I think you must have seen a different
             | vendor or something?
        
               | titzer wrote:
               | I also paid less than $300. OP must be referring to a
               | different model.
        
               | josephg wrote:
               | Looks like they're weirdly expensive through the EU
               | store. Just navigate from xreal.com - I see them for $US
               | 299
        
         | worldsayshi wrote:
         | I've been thinking about using xreal glasses for coding but all
         | the reviews I've seen seems to think that the fidelity isn't
         | good enough for reading text for lengthy stretches of time.
         | This article is the first counter argument here.
        
       | rramon wrote:
       | Might even use the phone as a trackpad/mouse for other non cli
       | tasks.
        
       | theflyestpilot wrote:
       | this is rad
        
       | gejose wrote:
       | What a shame that you really can't do this using an iPhone.
       | Unless things have changed recently the closest you can come to
       | this is using iSH to run some linux binaries (x86_32), but it's
       | quite limited last I checked.
        
         | theturtletalks wrote:
         | UTM runs virtual machines on iOS and has been around a while:
         | https://getutm.app
         | 
         | Issue is that Apple doesn't allow apps to run JIT so if you
         | want the JIT version of UTM, you need to sideload or Jailbreak.
         | The non-JIT version is on the App Store.
        
           | ukuina wrote:
           | Are there any OSes that have usable performance (<1min to
           | boot) on iOS without JIT? I tried a few and they were
           | impractically slow.
        
           | josephg wrote:
           | What's the performance penalty for the non JIT version?
        
             | theturtletalks wrote:
             | Reviews on the App Store say very slow and you can't move
             | windows without waiting minutes. A Linux distro that's CLI
             | only seems to work.
        
       | rasengan wrote:
       | Now that Google is rolling out native Debian with Android, this
       | will only get better - in addition to Google's native DeX.
       | 
       | I'm sooo ready for the one device life! :D
        
         | VTimofeenko wrote:
         | AVF feels a bit janky with its constant crashing on startup.
         | 16GB space is a bit restrictive, though I doubt it won't be
         | raised at some point.
        
       | ireadmevs wrote:
       | Awesome! Regarding the keyboard I would recommend going towards
       | the mechanical path. Browse https://kbd.news/ for some
       | inspiration. I built a 36 keys for myself that is portable and
       | very capable. You can even map keys to control the mouse and much
       | more. Definitely going to keep an eye on the advancements of AR
       | glasses from now on.
        
         | mikenew wrote:
         | Wow, there's some very nice builds there. I so far I hadn't
         | seen anything that seemed genuinely pocket-able but there are a
         | few there that look like they might work. I'd still really love
         | something that can lock flat and be used on a lap, but that
         | feels doable.
        
           | evanjrowley wrote:
           | I love kbd.news and was recently struck by the novelty of the
           | Tackle keyboard[0]. Seems rather extreme but my first thought
           | was it could be a great complement to AR glasses. The design
           | could be improved with improved with some tenting, because
           | those keys at the edges will be easy to accidentally trigger
           | when reaching for other keys towards the center.
           | 
           | [0] https://kbd.news/Tackle-keyboard-2549.html
        
             | Xss3 wrote:
             | I could make people SO uncomfortable if I worked as a
             | receptionist with this strapped on and threw in some very
             | subtle signs of enjoying it. Reminds me of the south park
             | nipple twisting guy. Very cool keyboard for VR and AR
             | though. Can't really think of anything better if you wanted
             | to type something quick in the middle of a physical VR
             | game.
        
       | montebicyclelo wrote:
       | > I really didn't want to root the phone, but nothing else did
       | what I needed
       | 
       | Shame that rooting is such a pain, and risks bricking the device.
       | (Apparently Google's introduction of an anti-rollback bootloader
       | this month has caused a few people's devices to get bricked when
       | they tried to root.)
        
       | hawk_ wrote:
       | > The biggest downside of the glasses is that the FOV is actually
       | too big. Seeing the top and bottom edges of the screen means
       | moving your eyeballs to angles that are just a little
       | uncomfortable,
       | 
       | Is there a window manager and/or eyeball tracking trick that
       | could be added to this setup to bring content into the center?
        
         | k__ wrote:
         | That's not a FOV issue, that's a DOF issue.
         | 
         | You can't comfortably use any XR system for more than videos,
         | if you can't use your neck to look around.
        
       | two_handfuls wrote:
       | Oh that's a cool coincidence, I was just watching a video of
       | someone coding a game without a laptop. In their case it's a VR
       | game on a VR headset (based on Android), using Godot.
       | 
       | It's not really related I know but it's neat how all those not-
       | strictly-computers are getting more useful!
       | 
       | Edit: forgot the video link! It's
       | https://youtu.be/4ZAzi-4Ko3g?feature=shared
        
       | conradev wrote:
       | This is my favorite portable keyboard:
       | https://www.logitech.com/en-us/shop/p/keys-to-go2-universal....
       | 
       | Unless they have a way to lock open, foldable keyboards will
       | always subtly bend which is annoying enough for me to ditch the
       | folding part entirely.
        
         | whatever1 wrote:
         | I wish they also included the trackpad beneath it. I basically
         | want a laptop base without the screen.
        
           | opan wrote:
           | I wonder if the keyboard covers for the Microsoft Surface
           | tablets could somehow be repurposed.
        
             | conradev wrote:
             | That's a great place to look because they sell this:
             | https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/d/surface-pro-flex-
             | keyboard/...
             | 
             | Tempting!
        
             | 8note wrote:
             | they arent that nice, compared to what im currently using
             | (epo64: https://a.co/d/gRQnvjE apparently on sale atm)
             | 
             | that said, my surface pro 3's keyboard is quite old now, so
             | maybe the new ones are nicer
        
           | kukash wrote:
           | You can just unmount the display and have a base. I used such
           | setup for 6 months as a teenager plugging it everywhere I go.
        
           | layer8 wrote:
           | There are various products like
           | https://inateck.com/collections/tablet-
           | keyboard/products/blu....
           | 
           | There's also https://www.esrgear.com/products/ipad-
           | air-13-2024-ascend-key... which I think are standard
           | Bluetooth as well.
        
       | titzer wrote:
       | I have these same AR glasses and I really like them. The one
       | downside is that they don't seem to handle heat too well--they'll
       | crash if I run them in full sunlight for more than a few minutes.
       | Also, they are not really AR--they are just a floating screen,
       | and supposedly there is motion-tracking hardware, but no
       | software. That's OK; a big floating screen that is fixed to my
       | head is actually good.
       | 
       | In full sunlight I think this requires opacity. I lost the
       | plastic cover for the lenses and I hacked up some cardboard
       | thing.
       | 
       | These glasses have a really cool 3D side-by-side mode. The button
       | activation is awkward, but it effectively turns this into a
       | 3840x1280 screen. I couldn't really find much desktop support for
       | this, but there are a few YouTube videos that are 16x9 SBS and
       | they look really really cool. Unfortunately in this mode the
       | desktop is then super-wide and spread across two eyes, so it's
       | almost impossible to use a regular laptop with them. A 3D OS
       | desktop would be killer on these!
       | 
       | I didn't try to go full mobile with a phone.
       | 
       | The cord is somewhat annoying, but I think I prefer it over a big
       | stupid battery and some wireless protocol.
       | 
       | One wrinkle is that the interface is USB-C. The glasses need
       | power, and though you can/could power them over HDMI, they don't
       | support that. You need the device to support HDMI over USB-C and
       | recognize the glasses as a display. The manufacturer offers a
       | completely hilarious _battery-powered_ HDMI-to-USB-C adapter. I
       | have no idea why there is no powered solution; maybe there is.
        
         | lagniappe wrote:
         | You got them post-rebrand. If you shop by the old name "nReal"
         | then you can find the non powered HDMI adapter. Also, the app
         | is called nebula, but the motion control is just annoying and
         | not worth it. I like mine, they work great, but the FOV is
         | tiny, and all of the chirping about AR from influencers/media
         | just doesn't help how underwhelming they are if you go in with
         | those expectations rather than just a HMD.
         | 
         | https://www.amazon.com/Formerly-Connects-Lightning-Compatibl...
        
       | asveikau wrote:
       | > I unfortunately had to upgrade my phone, because to drive the
       | glasses you need to have DisplayPort Alt mode. My very cheap,
       | very crappy old phone did not.
       | 
       | I also run a low spec android phone, and I tried the same brand
       | of glasses with it. My workaround was a screencast to HDMI
       | adapter, paired with an HDMI to to DP over USB-C. Both are cheap.
       | 
       | Occasionally the screencast flakes out. But when the network is
       | working well it's pretty good.
        
       | 999900000999 wrote:
       | Technically wouldn't it be much easier to just do the actual
       | programming in a GitHub code space ?
       | 
       | I guess you'd need a stable connection though. I might try this
       | as soon as Android actually impliments desktop mode correctly.
       | Surprised OP didn't use Samsung Dex.
        
         | Mortiffer wrote:
         | Thinking the same. Also considering the amount of speed up you
         | get from the copilot .
        
         | Jarwain wrote:
         | Ive been thinking the same thing! Except with Code-server or
         | some other way to get vscode's remote over ssh
        
       | throwthro0954 wrote:
       | I'm quite far sighted, is it possible to use AR glasses for
       | farsighted people?
        
         | mikenew wrote:
         | The focal plane of the glasses is around 10 feet, so I think
         | you should be able to see it just as well as anything else at
         | that distance.
        
       | bernardom wrote:
       | How do glasses like this work for someone who wears eyeglasses
       | for myopia and astigmatism, and doesn't like contacts?
        
         | seanthemon wrote:
         | There are perscription lenses, but not sure how well they work
         | https://lensology.co.uk/xreal-air-2-ultra-lenses/
        
         | owl_vision wrote:
         | they don't work for me having astigmatism with or without
         | prescription glasses.
        
           | mingus88 wrote:
           | When I did a Vision Pro demo they had lenses on hand to
           | accommodate my astigmatism. It was pretty nice...and about
           | 10x the cost of this
        
             | bernardom wrote:
             | Oh, that's really cool though that they can handle it!
             | 
             | It's funny that 3500 seems sooo much to spend for hardware
             | now... over the last 25 years, it's gotten so much cheaper
             | between lower price macbooks and not needing to upgrade
             | phones and laptops nearly so often.
        
       | halyconWays wrote:
       | Air 2 Pros!? I have those and can't stand using them for work. I
       | was hoping the One Pros would be a big enough step up that I
       | could use AR glasses for daily productivity.
        
       | sneak wrote:
       | > _I wrote most of this blog post sitting at a picnic table in a
       | park. Screen glare and brightness is not an issue. I can fit into
       | tight spaces. This setup was infinitely more comfortable than a
       | laptop when on a plane. Some coffee shops also have narrow bars
       | that are too small for a laptop, but not for this. The phone has
       | a cellular connection, so I 'm not tied to wifi. In other words,
       | there's a sense of freedom that you do not get with a laptop. And
       | I can be outdoors. One of the things I've grown tired of as
       | software dev is feeling like I'm stuck inside all the time in
       | front of a screen. With this I can walk to a coffee shop and work
       | for an hour or two, then get up and walk to a park for another
       | hour of work._
       | 
       | Am I the only one who wishes they could be inside in a windowless
       | room 24/7/365? There's climate control, HEPA filtration, good
       | chairs, peace and quiet, precisely the light level and color and
       | direction I like, etc, at all times. Every time I go outside, the
       | environment is worse than being at home indoors.
       | 
       | Sometimes I feel like I'm the only one on the planet who doesn't
       | enjoy being outdoors at all.
        
         | scotty79 wrote:
         | Nah, there are at least few of us.
         | 
         | I still go out though to walk and cycle, sometimes eat, but
         | anything else is more comfortable at home.
        
         | Jtsummers wrote:
         | > Am I the only one who wishes they could be inside in a
         | windowless room 24/7/365?
         | 
         | I spent a decade in a building like that for my 9-5 job. It
         | gets old, unless you really hate sunlight and fresh air.
        
           | 8note wrote:
           | i wish i could have those bright window spots everyone hates.
           | the glare doesnt bother me.
           | 
           | i do just go outside on the building deck instead
        
         | craftkiller wrote:
         | Don't forget the lack of bugs landing on you and crawling on
         | you!
        
         | kristianp wrote:
         | I find that working outside or at a cafe is too distracting. I
         | agree with what you're saying with regards to work or even
         | reading.
         | 
         | I enjoy outdoors for relaxation and forgetting about work
         | though.
        
         | tbrownaw wrote:
         | > _Am I the only one who wishes they could be inside in a
         | windowless room 24 /7/365?_
         | 
         | Seems like the sort of thing that might later turn out to have
         | been a bad idea regardless of how it seemed at the time.
        
       | cycomanic wrote:
       | I've been wanting a simulavr since I saw the first videos. A
       | proper Linux dev environment in a pair of VR classes (and I
       | really wouldnt want to hack around Linux on android). Too bad
       | that they still far away from being real.
        
       | asdev wrote:
       | Apple is releasing Vision OS 2 which lets you do an ultrawide
       | display on the Vision Pro. It looks phenomenal and has no lag
        
         | aaronscott wrote:
         | They have an ultrawide mode available now. Personally I find it
         | very uncomfortable. You have to move your whole head to see the
         | sides, and the vision pro is heavy. Looking off to the side for
         | a length of time is uncomfortable.
        
           | asdev wrote:
           | you would have to do the same thing with an ultrawide
           | monitor, minus the weight of the AVP
        
         | conradev wrote:
         | The foveated rendering didn't look phenomenal for me the last
         | time I tried. It gives the perception of a wide FOV but your
         | peripheral vision is still blurry.
        
         | xqcgrek2 wrote:
         | The Vision Pro is a joke. Way too low resolution (PPD), heavy,
         | expensive, and over-engineered and power hungry. It's baffling
         | how it was ever greenlit.
        
       | tippytippytango wrote:
       | I hope they can figure out why these give some people headaches
       | and eye strain (like myself) I really want to use this, but can't
       | stand the pain for more than a few minutes.
        
         | layer8 wrote:
         | One reason is https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vergence-
         | accommodation_conflic.... Very difficult to solve.
        
           | xnzakg wrote:
           | For normal VR/AR, definitely, since you want to have objects
           | moving in the Z direction. For this usecase it should be
           | enough to show the "flat" virtual screen at the focal
           | distance.
        
       | mrbluecoat wrote:
       | > ultimately, the aarch64 glibc rootfs tarball of Void Linux fit
       | the bill, and it's been running beautifully.
       | 
       | Void FTW!
        
       | tbrownaw wrote:
       | > 1080p
       | 
       | So good enough for gargoyling or other situations where even a
       | laptop form factor is a pain, but not a proper replacement yet.
        
       | hansmayer wrote:
       | Very cool experiment and the piece is written really well,
       | manages to communicate a ton of relevant information without
       | being overly verbose. One side note though - whats the deal with
       | working in the park/on the bench etc, is the author really able
       | to be productive in an outside environment? I dont think I could
       | ever work like that, either with or without the AR glasses.
        
         | johnyzee wrote:
         | First thing I thought. If I go to a coffee shop or the park,
         | it's because I want to enjoy that place, not do the same work I
         | could do (better) at my desk. That's an aside, though, the OP's
         | setup is really cool and intriguing.
        
         | fzzzy wrote:
         | Can you explain why you don't think you would be productive
         | outside?
        
           | hansmayer wrote:
           | Well I guess for a lot of people it would be self-
           | explanatory, but if I go outside to a park, or to a coffee-
           | shop, or whatever - I go there to enjoy myself, not work.
           | Apart from that, I would not really have the ergonomic
           | benefits of my controlled working environment, not to mention
           | bugs, people walking by, random noise or whatever it is.
        
             | sweetjuly wrote:
             | I suspect that's a personal bias. If you go to most any
             | cafe (at least in the US) there will be a half dozen people
             | there typing away at their laptops. This is even more
             | common with the rise of remote work where people will (for
             | better or worse) commandeer cafes as their personal office.
        
               | hansmayer wrote:
               | Well of course its a personal bias - I never claimed no
               | one else could work like that, just myself ;) I am aware
               | of all the folks typing it out in the coffee-shops. Just
               | that I could never be productive in that setting. Answer
               | some e-mails - perhaps, but not really do any
               | (meaningful) programming work as such.
        
             | 8note wrote:
             | i go outside to get sun.
             | 
             | grab a set on a ledge somewhere and think. that works for
             | work, if the thinking is about work.
             | 
             | major benefit is that none of the people walking by are
             | going to try disrupt what thing youre working on to be
             | different work
        
         | jonbell wrote:
         | The exact same thing jumped out at me, for the opposite reason.
         | I have unlimited data + tethering, so I can use my laptop with
         | fast internet anywhere. That's the big breakthrough for me, not
         | the glasses+phone combo.
         | 
         | Working in a park is amazing. You are still enjoying the
         | ambience/vibe, but yeah, you're also writing a blog post or
         | whatever. For me, that doesn't distract from the park or the
         | productivity. They both enhance each other.
         | 
         | Same with a coffee shop -- this is why coffee shops have wifi
         | passwords, because many people in there are on the internet,
         | soaking up the ambience/vibe.
        
         | divan wrote:
         | I work in Quest 3 regularly and in a "normal" weather I like to
         | work outside (in a safe environment aka backyard). It's just
         | nice to have fresh air. But once I decided to work and sunbath
         | on the balcony of the hotel in the Swiss Alps in a sunny spring
         | day. It was lovely until sweating made the work really
         | uncomfortable (but yet practically possible). :)
        
         | mikenew wrote:
         | That's a great compliment; thank you.
         | 
         | As far as being outside, I imagine it's very dependent on
         | personality. I often get restless and distracted working from
         | home, and being outside or in a public space will help me feel
         | a lot calmer and more focused. There's also a certain amount of
         | intentionton it takes to "go to a specific place to do a
         | specific thing" that helps me mentally.
         | 
         | It's not something I'm doing every day, but when the weather is
         | beautiful and I'm feeling stuck behind a desk it's so nice to
         | be able to work outside.
        
       | k__ wrote:
       | With the new 6DoF glasses it could be a viable alternative to a
       | laptop, yes.
        
       | Stratoscope wrote:
       | I don't use AR glasses, and I don't code on my phone, but I do
       | like to use it for writing without having to carry a backpack.
       | 
       | The keyboard I use and really like is the iClever BK05:
       | 
       | https://www.amazon.com/dp/B018K5EJCQ
       | 
       | It is backlit and has a standard full size PC layout, including
       | function keys and an "inverted T" cursor key section. The key
       | feel is nearly as good as my ThinkPad. And it comes with a nice
       | little stand to support your phone at a typical laptop screen
       | angle.
       | 
       | It comes with a soft pouch that holds the keyboard, the phone
       | stand, and the manual. Folded up, it fits easily in the cargo
       | pocket of my pants.
       | 
       | Like the keyboard described in the article, it is not suitable
       | for use on your lap because it doesn't lock open. That doesn't
       | matter for me, because I need a place to put my phone anyway.
       | 
       | If you read the reviews, note that the "top rated critical
       | review" has a glaring mistake:
       | 
       | https://www.amazon.com/gp/customer-reviews/R1RVWODQ8SCS2X?ie...
       | 
       | The reviewer says that the keyboard has no support at the left
       | and right edges, so those outer sections don't lay flat and tap
       | against the table as you type.
       | 
       | Wrong! This reviewer didn't notice the two little black tabs that
       | you need to flip out so the keyboard lays flat and well
       | supported. This is also described in the short manual.
        
         | staindk wrote:
         | I bought this keyboard years ago and enjoyed using it for about
         | a week. Then 3-5 keys stopped working entirely and nothing I
         | did would fix them. Recall having a tough time getting a refund
         | on Amazon.
         | 
         | Guess it's good to hear I must have had a dud.
        
       | flyinglizard wrote:
       | I can't grasp tech professionals who nickel and dime over their
       | setup. Like buying used, not using late gen hardware etc. You're
       | spending half your awake hours in front of the thing, just buy
       | the latest and greatest.
        
         | 8note wrote:
         | im debating rhe upgrade to the surface studio thing now that
         | its eol.
         | 
         | the best and greatest is that pen+touch experience, and its
         | gonna be gone maybe forever
        
         | luqtas wrote:
         | once i asked mom to buy me the most expensive knife and fork of
         | the store, she looked at me and said: you are so silly and
         | dumb! later that year she gave me a golden spork. since then
         | all my meals are much better
        
       | eeasss wrote:
       | Why
        
       | npilk wrote:
       | The Xreal glasses are going to be the near-term winner for AR/VR
       | form factor. A "personal screen" you can carry around with you
       | and use to look at whatever is on your phone in a much larger,
       | private format.
       | 
       | This just adds more value more simply than the new ecosystems
       | most AR/VR glasses are trying to establish.
        
       | mncharity wrote:
       | > FOV is actually too big [...] Seeing the top and bottom edges
       | of the screen means moving your eyeballs
       | 
       | Or head tracking.[1] Aphysical rotation exaggeration avoids
       | trading eye for neck stress.
       | 
       | > I do feel a little weird wearing these in public, but not
       | _that_ weird.
       | 
       | Non-weird can be an expensive constraint, fruitful to relax if
       | going beyond a minimalism setup. A baseball hat can barnacle
       | quite a bit before people find it remarkable... at least around
       | Boston. For instance, for head tracking, an Intel RealSense, or a
       | hat fisheye camera and tennis ball on the table, or an optical
       | marker on a hat chopstick, can be simpler, easier, lower power,
       | and less expensive, than invoking "and it has to look non-weird".
       | With current tech, that's almost as challenging as "and it has to
       | be a product".
       | 
       | > as these AR glasses continue to improve and Linux continues to
       | be flexible and awesome.
       | 
       | I suggest Nreal (now Xreal) made a bad call here. They developed
       | internally on Ubuntu, but chose to shut out linux. (Caveat: I've
       | not followed in a few years, maybe that's changed.) Unicorn
       | dreams and race to mass market - maybe the right call if everyone
       | started watching media on phones with glasses. But it could have
       | been an inexpensive risk mitigation, and a worthwhile investment
       | once market fit was clearly a long haul. Is there some doc which
       | lays out alternatives for a company who thinks they have a crown-
       | jewel binary blob, to allow the community to wrap it for linux
       | consumption, with minimal "we just throw a blob over the wall -
       | we don't support linuxes" cost? It's been a lot of years that
       | something like TFA has been possible, during which a lot of
       | developers could have been exploring for viable market niches.
       | Instead of... not.
       | 
       | [1] https://x.com/mncharity/status/1225091755667853318#m
        
       | mangomountain wrote:
       | Just a side note these setups are really fascinating but not sure
       | they're good for eyes if done regularly. There's been some
       | research looking at screens up close encourages myopia
       | 
       | https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/39982728/
       | 
       | https://www.myopiafocus.org/screen-use-myopia-and-digital-ey...
        
         | nbadg wrote:
         | As far as I'm aware, the proposed mechanisms for this have to
         | do with the distance to the focus point -- in other words, the
         | fact that the display is close, not that it's a display. The
         | virtual distance to the display, and hence your eyes' focal
         | distance, is definitely something you can change in VR, and
         | presumably also AR, so I think this would actually presumably
         | be better, wouldn't it?
        
         | mangomountain wrote:
         | Actually not sure if the focal length prevents this, if so very
         | exciting
        
         | boomskats wrote:
         | My AR glasses (viture xr pro) have a focus distance of ~3m. I
         | actually find them more relaxing to look at than my monitors or
         | epaper displays, and that focus distance is what I attribute it
         | to.
        
         | FrojoS wrote:
         | > https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/39982728/
         | 
         | Did you paste the wrong link? This meta-study does not seem to
         | say anything about "up close".
         | 
         | From the abstract:
         | 
         | > Study selection: Primary research articles investigating the
         | association of exposure to digital screen devices (ie,
         | smartphones, tablets, game consoles, computers, or television)
         | with myopia-related outcomes
        
         | mmastrac wrote:
         | As someone developing hyperopia, I wonder if this would help...
        
       | teruakohatu wrote:
       | It is disappointing that this requires rooting. Essentially this
       | requires deciding if you want a dev environment or banking
       | apps/nfc wallet or be willing to play an endless game of cat and
       | mouse.
        
       | 8note wrote:
       | with the gen ai cli tools, i think if i go all in, i could skip
       | lugging my laptop around. theres some UX warts to phones where i
       | think i need a keyboard for tab, ctrl+c, ctrl+v, ctrl+d, delete,
       | and so on, that arent in gboard, but i think it could be a fun
       | side project to design and build a tiny mechanical keyboard that
       | only had those buttons i need
       | 
       | im running the newer pixel fold, so ive already got a ton of
       | screen real estate.
       | 
       | ive made a couple code changes phone-only now, using the amazon
       | internal browser that has ssh access to my dev desktop.
       | 
       | im missing the ability to get cloudwatch logs and the like, but
       | when i get a good mcp, i think i can leave my laptop at home
       | 
       | my previous workflow was mostly on pen/paper though, only
       | touching the keys when i know what code im going to write, or
       | when i need to lookup something specific, so i think im in a
       | better spot for phone dev than somebody with ten monitors each
       | showing some chunk of code
        
         | twism wrote:
         | I forked Hacker's Keyboard so it would work on newer versions
         | of Android and some other customization for GNU Screen
         | shortcuts. That with another personally forked ConnectBot (SSH
         | client) and I do 95% of my hobby clojure (tersness helps)
         | programming on my pixel.
        
       | tomaskafka wrote:
       | Wow, I had little idea the readily available tech is this far
       | 
       | > Termux, which is an Android app that provides a mix of terminal
       | emulator, lightweight Linux userland, and set of packages that
       | are able to run in that environment.
       | 
       | Tim Cook, I know what you know (and fear losing Mac sales to iPad
       | and iPad sales to iPhone, so you want them nerfed), but this
       | would make me upgrade my 2018 iPad Pro. I'd love to be able to
       | leave my expensive macbook home for the vacation, and still be
       | able to do some emergency hotfix on a tablet with keyboard
       | (ideally connected to eg. hotel TV).
        
         | maleldil wrote:
         | Aren't there SSH clients for iOS? That should work for an
         | emergency hotfix.
        
         | doublepg23 wrote:
         | iSH sort of works as well as BlinkSSH for remote clients.
        
       | anonzzzies wrote:
       | I have the same setup, it works well, been doing this for years
       | now. I like to be outside as much as I can and for that reason I
       | like having 20 hour battery life (good phone with an external
       | battery). My setup fits in my pants pocket and usbc chargers are
       | everywhere (bars, restaurants, hotel lobbies, everyone has then
       | at home) if you don't need to charge a laptop with them. Where I
       | live is a lot of sun and seeing your laptop screen even in the
       | shade is hard; no problem with this.
       | 
       | The issue with the top and bottom edges and the too low res are
       | the only downsides; both will be fixed as time passes and the
       | inconvenience beats lugging a laptop and charger around and
       | finding outlets instead of literally never needing any except
       | while sleeping.
        
       | Scipio_Afri wrote:
       | What about using this to replace a multi screen setup at home?
        
       | johnh-hn wrote:
       | Does anyone know if these glasses, or any other glasses, can be
       | tried in-person and used on desktop? I'm legally blind, but have
       | just enough vision to use a screen without a screen reader. The
       | problem is I have to be about 6 inches from a 27 inch screen. I'm
       | tall, and I'm almost bent in half to do it. It's been hell on my
       | back and neck. I've only really made it work because I've
       | modified so many things to get around it (i.e. customising
       | Windows, Firefox, and so on).
       | 
       | The part that makes it so tough is monitor arms come in standard
       | sizes and are nowhere near long enough or extend far enough for
       | me to sit comfortably. My dad modified my desk for me years ago
       | to mount a monitor arm on wooden blocks, but it means I can't
       | move the monitor much.
       | 
       | Being able to wear glasses and ditch the monitor entirely would
       | be a game changer for me. I know next to nothing about AR though,
       | being as I assumed, perhaps wrongly, it isn't something that
       | would work for me.
        
         | conroydave wrote:
         | if you are based in the USA, most stores have 30 day return
         | policies. perhaps order them, try at home, and return if you
         | they arent a fit for your situation
        
         | colingauvin wrote:
         | You can use them just as a monitor/without AR - some require a
         | special USB-C to DP cable if you don't have native USB-C video
         | out (or Thunderbolt), but they are a bit blurry compared to
         | normal screens for me. I'm not sure how well they'd work for
         | you.
         | 
         | The other problem is they aren't quite up against your eyes the
         | way VR headsets are. They project a screen that appears to be
         | quite far away. I imagine you could lower the resolution
         | though, and it might look closer.
        
         | brigade wrote:
         | Glasses like these put the screen at a focal distance further
         | than a monitor, closer to TV distance. Optics wise it's
         | basically the same as VR, if a VR headset is easier to try.
         | 
         | If your corrected vision needs stuff 6" away, don't expect AR
         | or VR to be a solution with current optics
        
       | aucisson_masque wrote:
       | I think the next version of Android is supposed to include a
       | terminal that can run Linux.
       | 
       | I don't know the specifics but it would be better than having to
       | root the phone and use chroot.
       | 
       | It's sad that a phone running java on top of Linux isn't able to
       | run Linux app without big downside like termux and proot.
       | Hopefully it changes.
        
       | astrodude wrote:
       | really useful when you are travelling without laptop and you need
       | to quickly fix a thing
        
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       (page generated 2025-05-17 23:00 UTC)