A Virtual Window That Becomes a Daily Essential! After 3 Years of Heavy Use, Here’s Why It’s Worth It Even at That Price
Hi to everyone who has windows but keeps the curtains closed all year — I’m Hide, tech journalist and part-time house-husband. Don’t you think windows in Japanese homes are full of things that make no sense?
“It faces south, so the light is amazing!” — so they put a big window on the south side, and then you close the curtains for privacy. Meanwhile, the neglected entryway side is dim even during the day, with no airflow.
Even when there’s a window where you wish there was one, it looks right at the building next door so it’s pointless, or a corner room gets two unnecessary windows and ends up freezing, or the window itself is just ugly.
I also work in renovation, and so many rooms are full of contradictions like this.
But wait! Don’t give up! With this virtual window, the “Atmoph Window 2,” you can truly transform the feel of a room. At about ¥140,000 for three, it’s definitely not cheap, but it’ll probably change your life more — yes, more — than any other appliance you could invest in.
This is what I’ve felt after three years of heavy use myself, so I hope it helps.
After the washing machine, this is what you should spend money on. To make up for it, you can make do with a cheap fridge or vacuum for now. You use it every day, so it makes a real difference in your daily life.
Looking out at a Star Wars landscape from home... the best
## Three years in, it hasn’t faded one bit
It surprises me precisely because I review so many gadgets, but after three years with the Atmoph Window 2, I have zero complaints about how it works. If anything, I’m more satisfied than ever. Usually with new products like this, two years in it’s “A new one is out! Time to upgrade!” right? Not with this one.
New features keep getting added, so you can keep using it without upgrading
A key feature of the Atmoph Window 2 is that it’s always connected to the internet, so its content keeps getting updated. Besides new landscapes, they’ve added features like syncing with Google Calendar, showing window frames across three units at once, and uploading landscapes you shot yourself.
With the three-unit window frame feature, you can create a scene like looking at the morning sea from inside a shipLately, this falling-snow effect was added and got a lot of buzz. You can create dreamy scenes of cherry blossoms and snow
My recent favorite is the daily routine feature: it turns on automatically when you wake up so you wake to bright light, and you can set all kinds of transitions throughout the day. Thanks to this, even for someone like me who works remotely a lot, it’s easier to keep my daily rhythm and body clock in good shape.
You can set it to match your day, like showing the weather forecast only at certain times
Another feature that’s been there from the start, and recently got even better, automatically switches landscapes so you discover new ones. I use three units in panorama mode, so there are fewer than with a single unit, but there are still surprisingly many new additions, and every day feels fresh.
Lots of dark landscapes too — fireworks are great, but this meteor shower over Kumano is outstanding. I also love the LED that dims along with the landscape
Usually, three years in, you get bored of a gadget or it starts breaking and you stop using it. But I’ve used the Atmoph Window 2 every single day for three years, and it keeps giving me new value. That alone makes me feel like it’s paid for itself. It’s rare for a cutting-edge gadget to stay in use this long.
Can’t you just use a TV?
It’s totally different from showing landscapes on a TV. This is truly a window. The first big difference is the sound. A speaker system that vibrates the whole screen makes it feel like the sound is coming from outside the window.
Besides the top, the screen itself vibrates, so you really feel like the sound is coming through a window
We live somewhat out in the countryside, so in summer you can hear birds singing and so on if you open the windows — but the Atmoph Window 2 is so realistic I naturally think, “Wait, did I leave the window open?” Getting to experience that all year round is wonderful.
I love this landscape from Yakushima too, but the sound of the river makes me doze off...
Natural sounds playing in the room also help with sleep. Crowds, waterfalls, babbling brooks — with realistic natural sounds playing, I strangely start dozing off... It’s a problem when you don’t want to sleep, but I can clearly feel my brain relaxing.
From STRANGER THINGS to ONE PIECE — the collabs are amazing
One advantage only a virtual window has is that “it can show landscapes that don’t exist.” I’m a huge Star Wars fan, so I chose this one without hesitation, but there’s also Disney, DEATH STRANDING, and more.
The lineup has grown a ton since I bought mine...
What’s wonderful is the quality of the landscapes: the fully original CG is indistinguishable from the real thing. Getting to enjoy this at home is something only a virtual window can do.
Theed spaceport on Naboo — the beauty is breathtakingRecreated down to the finest details (*photo of the actual screen)The Disney ones make me want them too... buy another for my parents’ place...?
Lately there have been collabs with Netflix’s hit STRANGER THINGS and ONE PIECE. In the STRANGER THINGS landscape, the optional LED light flickers along with the scene — a really classy touch.
Once you buy the hardware, new content keeps getting you this excited — that’s pretty amazing. I always think the team has a great eye for who to collaborate with.
Collect the places you’ve been
A feature that recently got even easier to use is “upload.” It lets you enjoy landscapes you shot yourself on the Atmoph Window 2.
Now you can also enjoy watching landscapes you shot yourself
Actually using it, this is really good too. It adds to the fun of traveling. At each place, I keep the camera rolling in one spot for about 10 minutes, and that time is nice too. Sitting behind the camera for 10 minutes, slowly taking in the natural sounds and scenery.
The scene when I went to see Nagashino Entei, called the “Niagara of Shinshiro.” I shot it while feeling the waterfall’s negative ionsSunset at Tomonoura in Fukuyama, Hiroshima, the setting that inspired Ponyo. Every time I see it, I remember that slow, relaxing time
When I upload the video I brought home and play it, the memories come back vividly. My wife and I can chat — “Ah, we went here,” or “Reshooting this was such a pain (lol).” There are plenty of ways to collect beautiful scenery with photos, but hardly any with video.
VR beats flat video for immersion, but play it on a product built around the concept of a “window,” and it already feels 3D.
The window frame feature — please bring that design back…
My satisfaction with the Atmoph Window 2 grows by the day, but just one thing… I really miss a window design that disappeared.
It might still be available for a single unit, but the spaceship-window-type frame currently isn’t an option for three-unit display… There are views from space stations too, not just Star Wars, so I really want it back.
I’m desperate for this window frame design to come back... I want to show it in panorama
And a feature I’d love to see in the future is uploading your own original window frames. Once people become users, I think everyone heads in the direction of “make it look more real, like an actual window!” Some hardcore users even ran power through the walls and built a dedicated space for it when building their house.
If possible, this design too, please...
With the window frame feature, some landscapes would blend into your home even better, so along with uploading landscapes, I hope users can upload frames they’ve made — and maybe even sell them someday.
I’ll say it again: it’s worth it even at that price
Products like this — used every day, with a big impact on your life, and with highly polished content — are really rare. So when you move, please consider it right after the washer-dryer. It’s become that much of an essential in our home.
It’s polished enough to become a daily essential
It doesn’t just show landscapes. It brightens the mood of the room, helps you wake up feeling good, and helps you sleep better. Family conversations increase too — it’s packed with things that enrich your life.
I liked this way of using it that the official account posted on Instagram. It’d look great in the tokonoma alcove at my parents’ place
It’s especially perfect for Japanese homes that don’t get good light, and I think you’ll feel a kind of comfort you’ve never felt before. I’m also doing reviews from this renovation angle, so more on that another time.
Personally, I recommend buying three at once, but collecting them one at a time could work too. It’s one of the few gadgets that’s been promoted to part of my life.
