Comment by johnh-hn

I dont know if I missed someone else saying it but have you tried the Apple Vision?

The screens are a few inches from your eyes.

I have a colleague at work who also has to get within 6" of the screen.

2 years ago I switched to a 55" 8k TV as my primary monitor.

While everyone was giving me the usual crap about it, this guy, when I showed him what it would look like with 400% Zoom, he went and bought one for himself at home.

He thanks me every few weeks, but still didn't dare to set one up in the office.

(ps I have mine standing on a normal height-adjustable table, so you wouldn't have to hunch at all)

Just to chime in with another alternative - if you're open to using Linux, you might want to look into Viewport Panning with X11 [0].

It allows you to setup a larger virtual desktop that you can then pan around. Instead of moving your head around, you could instead just shift the viewport. Might be more convenient than a larger screen and/or monitor arms assuming you also setup zoom/display scaling.

By default, you pan by moving the mouse to an edge, but iirc you can setup key bindings and/or gestures.

[0] https://wiki.ubuntu.com/X/Config/Resolution#Panning_viewport

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

It sounds like we have a similar situation. I've been wondering if these kinds of glasses would work for me but it just seems like such a hassle to order a pair to try just to end up returning them if they don't work. I wish they were sold in a store that I could just walk into and try them for a minute.

FWIW, I use a monitor arm that's mounted on the front left side of my desk (my dad also modified my desk so this would work) so I can pull it as close as I need. It does mean I can't push it back to a normal monitor distance but I'm the only one using my PC so that's not a problem. Oddly enough, I recently got cataract surgery so now I have a lens that makes me focus further away, but now text is too small to read at that distance so I have to use readers to focus closer and use the arm.. seems a little silly but it mostly works out.

Not an answer to your question, but re: monitor arms.. mine can be pulled out far enough it would touch my face. It mounts into a grommet drilled into my desk. I assume there's other reasons this isn't workable for you, but if it's for lack of finding a suitable arm, let me know and I'll find a link for you.

My other recommendation would be to consider a standing desk. Even if you prefer to use it sitting, you can tweak the desktop height to your liking and help mitigate the posture issue.

Great replies here already. Just piggybacking on the monitor arms: I have mounted mine to the wall. If this is an option for you, you can mount them at a good height on the wall and extend it to bring the screen closer.

I have very high myopia (over -10) and share your concerns. I really wish these things were designed to cater to people for whom alternate display tech would actually simplify our lives.

So far I haven't seen anything that can deal with more than -8, and getting a custom prescription is usually prohibitively expensive. I can wear contacts to offset things somewhat, but they just cause added eyestrain.

What if you built a wheeled carriage to go over your desk?

Something made of precisely cut 2x4 lumber or 2040 frames, assembled like a whiteboard frame but have just a single beam where the board would be. Then the pole of monitor arm can be bolted onto the beam to hang upside down.

Once assembled, the whole thing can be rolled in and up to the front edge of the desk, right up to your face. If someone else needs to use your computer, the carriage can probably be moved back towards the wall.

The reason why display arms extend only so far is because a long cantilevered weight love to wreck the base. The desk top is going to break if it's too far out. So stretching the arm is probably no go.

A PC is actually the best way to use xreal imo. The android experience is clunky... But I'm old and use mouse and keyboard for everything

I also wonder how AR glasses work with myopia. Could they potentialy worsen it? Need to dig out some research.

Regarding monitor arms, what if you put a regular monitor straight in your face and use a split keyboard (like Ergodox) on the sides?

Ive mounted monitor arms to the front of the desk, rather than the back, and extended them out toward me for a somewhat similar situation. Bluetooth keyboard goes in my lap, thumb ball mouse goes on my arm rest. I can extend the monitor about 2.5 feet toward my face in this way. Hope it helps

> " ...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 ... 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 ... "

Google for "long reach" monitor arms; some models have a reach of 30 to 40+ inches. They're not exactly cheap since they come from ergonomics vendors but they allow you to bring a large monitor as close to your face as you like and, depending on the model, clamp to a table like a standard monitor arm. I've had various models of them for a couple of decades now.

Pardon my ignorance, but why not you just wear glasses?

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.

a) You can always get them, try them, and return them in the given period if you don't like them. That's what I did with these same glasses and I didn't get any crap about it

b) There are monitor arms that extend quite far, and are easy to install. I use this one: https://a.co/d/fV5llce. Granted I don't keep it 6" away from my face and my desk is a bit too big for that, but I could get it really close if I wanted and my desk was smaller.

There are fairly long arms which any vesa mount monitor can be attached to. This is no option for you?

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

I have a pair of these Xreal (formerly Nreal) glasses, and I find text too unclear from the plastic optics, too full of halo/fringe (think: cheap VR headset, like trying to work on a Quest 2), and the OLED's pixel arrangement too odd for any serious work use. It's just about good enough for light gaming and movie consumption, but even gaming is a strain for me. They also make me sleepy! They do accept some prescription lenses inserted in front of the viewports, and include a blank you can have cut, but I haven't used them. I have good close-up vision with some mild, untreated astigmatism.

Basically all XR devices put the focal plane at between 0.5 and 1m away. It’s a very very complicated reason why, but this is unlikely to change for a very long time.

Something you can consider are "dentist office screen mounts". They're what they seem like, arms like you'd see at a dentist office/hospital that swings around an entire room, to hold a light or screen. See this example Amazon listing for one that mounts to a wall with a 5foot swing area: https://www.amazon.com/DW630-1218-Long-Articulated-Adjustabl...