[HN Gopher] Bento: A Steam Deck in a Keyboard
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Bento: A Steam Deck in a Keyboard
Author : MichaelThatsIt
Score : 300 points
Date : 2025-06-18 21:21 UTC (1 days ago)
(HTM) web link (github.com)
(TXT) w3m dump (github.com)
| MichaelThatsIt wrote:
| This is a project that had been eating away at me for a bit,
| sitting in the back of my mind.
|
| 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.
| ezschemi wrote:
| Thank you very much for sharing the files and your experience!
| I just got my first XR glasses, Xreal One Pro, and had your
| link bookmarked to do something similar. I am very impressed
| with these glasses. Looking through ifixit I can't find the
| Steam Deck's mainboard. Where did you find it?
| MichaelThatsIt wrote:
| Ebay! But fear not! I'm working on a version based on the
| Radxa Rock 5B which is more readily available and has more
| kick than a pi 5.
|
| Also doing the research on productizing the whole thing and
| sourcing a custom board.
| ezschemi wrote:
| I see. Need to check Ebay then.
|
| 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.
| ludicrousdispla wrote:
| You should put at least the first three sentences from your
| comment into the project's readme.md file as I had no idea what
| a 'spatial display' or XREAL is for that matter.
| nottorp wrote:
| > I started using the XREAL glasses a few months ago.
|
| 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...
| MichaelThatsIt wrote:
| No more than any other XR product. I can do the work I need
| to from it for the most part.
| nottorp wrote:
| I'm asking AR vs monitors, not comparisons between AR
| products.
| MichaelThatsIt wrote:
| My bad. It's as good as any 1080p monitor and it supports
| 120hz refresh rate. The FOV will be the thing that gets
| to you.
| nottorp wrote:
| It will be a long time until I try because I have both
| astigmatism and dioptries so I'd need something pretty
| custom.
| lima wrote:
| There are prescription inserts for it, including
| astigmatism and dioptries
| regularfry wrote:
| The Air glasses are a bit fuzzy. The Xreal One Pros are far
| better. I can work all day in them, if I'm not going to be on
| any video calls.
| throwaway290 wrote:
| I've seen review from a guy who started losing sight with
| xreal glasses after a month of daily use (got better a week+
| after he stopped) so I would only pay attention to long term
| users...
| delecti wrote:
| That's a pretty strong claim, do you have a source for
| that?
| throwaway290 wrote:
| Sure but it's in Russian,
| https://www.iphones.ru/iNotes/otkazalsya-ot-ochkov-
| rasshiren...
| lima wrote:
| Sounds like eye strain rather than any sort of physical
| damage. What would the mechanism even be?
| zavec wrote:
| This looks awesome!
|
| > I bought the parts separately rather than gutting a perfectly
| good one.
|
| Huh, I didn't know you could do that. Neat.
| marci wrote:
| Instead of carrying a small mouse, the case itself could be a
| trackpad :D
|
| https://ploopy.co/trackpad/
| MichaelThatsIt wrote:
| I have one! It's huge haha.
|
| I'm still trying to figure out how to fit a full trackball in
| there...
| marci wrote:
| haha.. now I wonder... a steam deck with dual trackballs
| instead of dual trackpads...
| jiriro wrote:
| The thing in the top left corner is killing ploopy
| spectacularly:-\
| ThibJP wrote:
| > It's currently running Ubuntu 24, but I may switch back to
| Steam OS, given it's better optimized for the hardware.
|
| Do you have specifics issues in mind ? Battery consumption ?
| performance ? Stability issues ?
| ryukafalz wrote:
| This is very cool! Love to see the Commodore 64 style of
| keyboard computer come back.
|
| 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.
| ngamboa wrote:
| I wonder if we're on the brink of a world where hardware
| development is as easy as software engineering. Projects like
| this make me think so.
| MichaelThatsIt wrote:
| If you asked me 3 weeks ago I'd think you're crazy, but this
| was genuinely not that hard. Honestly I had never even touched
| CAD before this.
|
| I think my next challenge is supply chain, sourcing a custom
| board, and figuring out unit economics for a product version.
| ethan_smith wrote:
| Hardware development still has fundamental physical constraints
| that software doesn't - material costs, manufacturing
| complexity, and safety requirements create barriers that CAD
| and 3D printing alone can't overcome.
| MichaelThatsIt wrote:
| Yeah I'm learning that's the real hurdle. I'm doing my best
| to lean on others in the space to guide me through the
| process.
|
| a lot of supply chain appears to be a relationship based
| economy. I may end up flying out to China at some point.
| WillAdams wrote:
| I noted in a different discussion here that I'm about to the
| point where my next computer is going to be a Raspberry Pi 500
| w/ a second gen. Wacom One 13 display w/ stylus and touch and a
| battery, for which assemblage I'll make a folding tablet
| shell...
|
| Or, maybe it will be a shell/case for the Pilet which I'll be
| getting from Kickstarter.
| bee_rider wrote:
| Probably not, even something really fast like a 3D print still
| takes hours to "compile" so to speak.
|
| But, it looks to be a whole lot easier than it used to be!
| MichaelThatsIt wrote:
| Most of the iteration process was just me staring at the
| printer waiting for it to screw up or to find out if I
| screwed up.
| bee_rider wrote:
| We need a really good physical simulation of the 3D
| printing/curing (or whatever they call it) process to plug
| in to the modeling software, somehow.
| toyg wrote:
| Development, yes. Production, no. That's really where the
| rubber meets the road. Upfront costs, profit margins, and
| scaling challenges, are not comparable.
| starkparker wrote:
| This project mentions a Framework-based version as a future idea.
| A similar Framework 13 build popped up in r/framework a few
| months ago:
|
| - https://www.reddit.com/r/framework/comments/1jo7m8c/framewor...
|
| Updated with a new mainboard from the Ryzen AI line:
|
| - https://www.reddit.com/r/cyberDeck/comments/1kjknh4/vrxr_cyb...
|
| GitHub repo with STLs and build details, with it running Linux
| and Stardust XR with non-spatial inputs on XREAL glasses:
|
| - https://github.com/Pyro57000/fyer_deck
| MichaelThatsIt wrote:
| Ay love it. There's quite a few similar ideas on r/cyberdeck. I
| just wasn't satisfied with their look. I wanted something very
| clean. Something that blends in and could theoretically be used
| on a plane without drawing too much attention, but still nice
| to look at.
|
| That guy commented in the Reddit thread I posted and I'm hoping
| to collab with him on the framework version if he's down.
| marci wrote:
| And here someone went the other way. She took a framework
| board and made a steam deck out of it
| https://www.printables.com/model/1051411-framework-
| portable-...
|
| A bento/transformer type would be neat. One that can Switch
| between the 2 modes. Not clamshell or slide.
| stavros wrote:
| I was thinking of entirely removing the screen on my Framework,
| and using the Xreal Air instead. This is a really cool build, and
| it's inspired me to give the screenectomy a shot! I just hope I
| don't break anything.
| MichaelThatsIt wrote:
| Break everything! It's how you learn to fix it. Just the other
| day I was in a full on panic having disassembled my toilet
| thinking a leak was "an easy fix." It wasn't, but I got it
| done.
| mbreese wrote:
| Over the past few years, I've seen more and more people make
| headless laptop variations. I think this is probably a better
| approach than the OP, but it's mainly about what kind of form
| factor you want (and how much you want to tinker!). Here is one
| such example:
|
| https://epiren.medium.com/i-created-a-headless-macbook-pro-a...
|
| But, you're not alone!
| MichaelThatsIt wrote:
| It's definitely easier but I dunno about better. A beheaded
| computer is not as pretty in my totally unbiased opinion.
| mbreese wrote:
| I figured you'd have that opinion :).
|
| It is completely a personal preference, but I think you can
| get closer to a "daily driver" experience with a beheaded
| laptop. Two reasons: 1) you'll get better performance. This
| would be a moot point if you were using a Framework
| motherboard (or the Steam board was more widely available).
| 2) form factor. I would prefer to carry around a thinner
| slate computer over a thicker lunchbox computer. This is
| just personal preference.
|
| For most people though, I think adapting an existing laptop
| is an easier project than what you've been able to
| accomplish. Don't get me wrong - I'm impressed. And I also
| _really_ like the idea of a headless computer with AR
| glasses as the display. I think it 's a use-case that needs
| to be taken seriously.
| MichaelThatsIt wrote:
| Totally agree. I'm doing the due diligence to see if I
| can turn this into a real product. It's gotten enough
| attention to give it some serious thought as a small
| batch product.
|
| If I do, it would be with a custom board which would help
| shave down the size more considerably.
| nrp wrote:
| It should be straightforward! The only gotchas are if you want
| to preserve Wi-Fi. The antenna module lives in the lid
| assembly, so you either need to move it or use other antennas.
| LoveMortuus wrote:
| I wonder if you could replace the display with just more
| batteries, that way you can still close up the laptop for
| travel while having a lot longer battery life.
| johnwalkr wrote:
| That's really cool. I don't think you should support another
| keyboard, there may be better ones from a certain POV but I don't
| think there's a better one that's not significantly thicker and
| any keyboard options will quickly multiply complexity with any
| SBC/computing options. You will go down a rabbit hole if you
| start taking requests here. I think steamdeck internals plus rpi5
| plus latest framework internals with no other configs is
| ambitious but not too ambitious.
|
| My hobby is miniaturizing everything. If I were to fork this
| project (and I would love to after about 10 other projects are
| complete), I would think about selecting one good dongle,
| "shucking" it any other needed things, integrating them, and then
| finding the minimum volume to fit my preferred travel
| controller[1] and preferred travel mouse[2]. Then, I would
| consider customizing the housings of those things to be even
| slimmer without customizing any electronics except for maybe
| making sure everything gets charged while stowed. I would also
| consider minor mods to the keyboard to get rid of the bulk of the
| usbc cable. Pogo pins plus some 3D printing should do the trick.
|
| [1]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=55DO1HDeCHQ. No longer
| available new but this is the only good slim dual analog
| controller I have found.
|
| [2]Still looking for a good one
| MichaelThatsIt wrote:
| I'm glad you say that because I actually think the Magic
| Keyboard is good. Obviously if I made a product version I'd
| need to source an original keyboard, but I'd try to stick to
| something similar.
|
| Originally I was going to use my HHKB studio, but opted for the
| Magic Keyboard for the slimmer design and the fact that there's
| at least one in every school, office, or other institution
| across the US.
| sxp wrote:
| > Primarily out of frustration. The dominant players in XR keep
| promoting their hardware as "computers", when really they're an
| iPad for your face. The most you can do is browse the web, play
| games, and consume content. They're overweight and over
| constrained.
|
| I'm a fan of HMD programming in general so I love this project.
| But it should be noted that AOSP-based XR headsets can run pseudo
| Linux environments via termux + X:
| https://www.reddit.com/r/cyberDeck/comments/fc5sfr/oculus_qu...
|
| Also if anyone is looking for a full-sized portable keyboard, I
| suggest https://www.protoarc.com/products/xk01-tri-fold-
| bluetooth-ke... which is my primary keyboard when I'm working
| remotely on my tablet. It is "pocket-sized" for certain
| definitions of "pocket".
| MichaelThatsIt wrote:
| So I've actually been in XR for nearly a decade now. So I've
| tried every version of "dev in XR" I even spent the last 2
| years trying to build an XR native dev platform.
|
| The feedback was always "this is too heavy" for all devices
| excluding XREAL.
|
| Also I wanted a device that didn't feel like a hack. Something
| tailored to the experience.
| sxp wrote:
| That makes sense. Your compute puck based design is much more
| ergonomic. And if you combine it with something like
| SCOTTeVEST , you have a pretty good mobile XR form factor.
| Keep up the good work :)
| sandeep1998 wrote:
| I am very interested in this setup as well. I feel Bigscreen
| Beyond 2[0] has a very good balance of size and weight. But
| its VR and not AR. I can't wait to create something that does
| computing in VR well. Something that Simlula VR[1] has been
| trying for a while now
|
| [0] https://www.bigscreenvr.com [1]
| https://simulavr.com/blog/intermediate-products/
| MichaelThatsIt wrote:
| Big fan of big screen. Darshan is probably the most level
| headed founder in all of XR.
| LoveMortuus wrote:
| >excluding XREAL
|
| You mean you haven't tested XREAL or you didn't find XREAL as
| too heavy?
|
| I'm asking because I have Viture XR Pro which are basically a
| clone of XREAL and I find them too heavy after a few hours of
| use.
|
| I would really like a solution that wouldn't be as heavy and
| that would have clear displays where text would be readable
| from edge to edge.
| swsieber wrote:
| It might be that your pupillary distance is bigger than
| what the viture can handle. I have a pair of crap glasses
| I'm playing around with, and supposedly you can get custom
| lenses that account for your pupillary distance.
| fitsumbelay wrote:
| very cool project
|
| not long ago there was a post by a user also using glasses -- 85%
| sure they're the same ones -- but the goal was to replace a
| laptop display a fuller size one. I like that this project
| replaces the laptop with a SBC. I spent a decade and a half
| wishing that SBC would be a Raspberry Pi but ... welp, better
| late than never
| MichaelThatsIt wrote:
| You and me both, buddy. Instead I'm calling up SoM companies
| and seeing what they can build me for cheap.
| leoc wrote:
| I've been hoping to see PCs in a proper cyberdeck form factor for
| years now, so it's great to see them start to emerge. One thing I
| would suggest that creators consider is building in a smartphone
| or small-tablet capacitive-touch display to the right (or left)
| of the keyboard. That could serve as a trackpad while in VR/AR
| while out of VR it could act as a notification screen, a pinch
| monitor if the HMD is not working or not available, and so on.
| MichaelThatsIt wrote:
| I'm working on another revision with a module mounting system
| on the sides.
|
| I almost built the trackpad in but it would've been a much more
| personal product, as I'm left handed so I would've put it on
| the left.
| leoc wrote:
| (In fact so am I!)
| MichaelThatsIt wrote:
| ayyy let's chat! open an issue on the repo to track it. I
| have some modules I've already designed.
|
| Edit: lol didn't see the user name and thought you meant
| you're also working on the module system _face palm_
| egypturnash wrote:
| beautiful <3
| leohart wrote:
| This is a super awesome project. Truly the best of all worlds. A
| real keyboard, a beefy enough compute, an xr glass that has
| constant use case.
|
| How is the Xreal One Pro for extended use? My concern is I have
| to put up with low res screen as I code away.
| MichaelThatsIt wrote:
| It's quite good! I have not the one's and the one pros. The
| pros are a pretty noticeable leap in clarity and FOV in my
| experience, and the screen is as readable as any other 1080p
| monitor.
| neuroelectron wrote:
| This just makes me wonder what you can do with that GPU that's
| not gaming. Perhaps TinyLlama but is it good enough to be useful?
| MichaelThatsIt wrote:
| I've seen a few folks on r/localllama running small models on
| it! It's a powerful little machine.
| prokopton wrote:
| Oh good. Another thing named "Bento".
| MichaelThatsIt wrote:
| Yeah by the time I saw how over used it is it was too late.
| HelloUsername wrote:
| Oh I posted this yesterday too
|
| https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=44309248
| MichaelThatsIt wrote:
| Out here trying to steal my thunder. Not today (or yesterday)
| sir!
|
| But seriously appreciate the enthusiasm to share it. This was
| meant to be a small side project for myself and it blew up.
| Glad other people are getting a kick out of it.
| HelloUsername wrote:
| Someone else posted it even sooner
| (https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=44217204 8-jun-2025,
| with a better title than mine), but also without discussion.
| Very cool project!
| WithinReason wrote:
| Why did Valve not do this, or something similar with just the
| Deck MB in a box with USB-C?
| LoveMortuus wrote:
| Probably because the AR/XR glasses are not yet at a stage where
| they could be used by the general populace.
|
| I have Viture XR Pro, the edges are still blurry and even
| though glasses have a miopia adjustment it has been difficult
| for me to get a clear image, not to mention the issues of IPD.
| Having a display at arms length still has many advantages over
| the face mounted displays.
|
| That being said, as someone who feels the need to wipe any and
| every speck of dust off the display, the glasses have resolved
| that issue, it's just that they get heavy and painful after
| just a few hours of use.
|
| In my opinion, we're not there yet, but I'm very optimistic for
| the future.
| devnullbrain wrote:
| Valve already failed with Steam Machines. There's not a
| compelling enough reason for them to split production of the
| Deck into two divergent streams with lesser economies of scale.
|
| Also, 'just' the deck in a box still needs the same regulatory
| approval.
| KingOfCoders wrote:
| What AR glasses are currently the best? Asking for a friend.
| MichaelThatsIt wrote:
| XREAL One Pros by leaps and bounds
| thinkmassive wrote:
| > Raspberry Pi 5 variant: this is crucial, but I can't find a
| good battery solution (i.e. a HAT of some kind.)
|
| Check out the PiJuice HAT. It works great as a UPS for all RPi
| models.
| theknarf wrote:
| Sometimes people break their MacBook screens, and people
| sometimes turn them into "headless MacBooks". I've been wanting
| to get my hand on a cheap "headless MacBook" and add XREAL
| glasses to it!
| hbn wrote:
| I saw a guy use the Vision Pro's virtual monitor display with a
| headless MacBook.
| toyg wrote:
| The coming of AR glasses has finally opened the market for
| "cyberdecks". I don't think they will be massively popular, but
| there is definitely an audience among geeks who travel a lot. I
| would totally buy one to pair with my XREAL One glasses.
|
| The problem will be finding the right scale. LingLong had a crack
| with a limited kickstarter run, but they don't seem interested in
| following up with sustained mass-production.
| einpoklum wrote:
| "Apple Magic Keyboard" - what is the key travel for this
| keyboard? It looks rather suspicious.
| MichaelThatsIt wrote:
| It's a good middle of the road keyboard honestly. The only part
| that truly sucks is the arrow keys layout.
| jon-wood wrote:
| If you're someone who has opinions on key travel the Apple
| Magic Keyboard isn't for you.
| herval wrote:
| This is what I imagined computers would look like in the distant
| 2020s, as a kid!
| remyp wrote:
| That's an awfully big Raspberry Pi kit you've made there. /s
|
| Seriously, though, this is amazing work. Well done!
| ferongr wrote:
| All this effort wasted on using a really bad keyboard as a base.
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(page generated 2025-06-19 23:01 UTC)