Mac Mini to the Café with No Monitor Required, Just XR Glasses That Create the Portable Screen

A compact bag holds a complete workstation that needs only a power outlet and a table. The Mac Mini M4 sits inside alongside its cable, a slim keyboard, a trackpad, and one pair of VITURE Beast XR glasses. No separate monitor travels with it. The glasses supply the display once the user arrives and plugs in.

The Mac Mini is plugged into the wall and connected to the VITURE Beast glasses using a single USB-C cable, which is all that is needed to get started. The video signal and electricity for the glasses are sent along the same cable. Once the glasses are on, a large virtual screen appears in front of you in roughly 2 seconds, even in a crowded café. It takes only a few milliseconds to set up. The VITURE Beast glasses weigh between 88 and 96 grams, depending on their exact configuration.

The glasses have Sony micro-OLED panels capable of creating a clear 1200p image with up to 1250 nits of brightness. When you hold the glasses at a normal distance, the virtual screen appears to be about the size of a 174-inch panel, which is remarkable, and the 58-degree field of view provides a really immersive experience. Don’t worry about the image jumping all over the place; head tracking with three degrees of freedom keeps it rock solid. You can even pin the screen to keep it in place, or utilize the gentle-follow mode, which recognizes your head movements and keeps you comfortable over long sessions.

Now, SpaceWalker, an app that adds a number of new features to the basic connection, enables users to create virtual ultrawide layouts or even many unique screens that merely hover next to them. So, if you’re a video editor, you can use this large timeline view without constantly panning and scrolling, whereas writers and researchers can have reference documents floating in the sidebar while working. Everything may be as public or private as you like because only the person wearing the glasses can see it.

Electrochromic dimming is fairly simple to use because you can fully control the brightness, which is essential in a café setting where the lights can be rather blinding at times. There are nine levels you can choose from, or you can let it adjust automatically dependent on the lighting conditions. It might help you block out distractions and achieve a flow state. To make things even easier, you can use your iPhone to play media or browse casually as needed.

One of the real-world tests they carried out involved bringing the Mac Mini to an actual café and allowing people to work on various tasks. The truth is that video editing, scripting, and file management were all done with desktop-level performance. So it’s evident that the Mac Mini can manage a heavy workload, and the virtual workspace feels much larger and more generous than the area provided by a regular laptop screen. Packing it all up is simple because you can connect your keyboard and trackpad via wireless or wired connections, so all you need to bring are the VITURE Beast glasses and the Mac Mini.

We’ve seen a variety of portable Mac Mini setups before, usually involving portable monitors, but this one keeps things as simple as possible so that it can be used in a conventional café setting. The one-cable connection between the computer and the glasses is a big advantage because it eliminates the need for adapters or hubs in most cases. Of course, the Mac Mini still demands a steady source of power, so you’ll need a hefty power bank or an outlet to keep it going.