Brilliant Labs · 2024 · AI glasses

Brilliant Labs Frame

An open-source hacker's HUD driven by a microcontroller, not a phone chip.

{{name}} — specification and verdict

Frame is a 20-degree monocular micro-OLED display with a small camera and a microphone, and it is honest about being a hobbyist device: the whole thing runs on a Nordic microcontroller with 256 kB of memory — roughly a thousandth of a phone. Brilliant Labs publishes the schematics and the firmware, which is the point of it.

There is no Android and no tracking of any kind. Building for Frame means writing firmware in MicroPython or Lua, or writing an application on the paired phone against the open SDK. Installing an ordinary application package on it is not possible even in principle.

Buy it to experiment, to teach, or to build something odd — it is cheap and completely open, and that combination is rare. It is not work equipment, there is no fleet story, and Brilliant Labs has already moved on to a successor.

Full specification

Overview

ManufacturerWho makes it — and who you buy support from.: Brilliant Labs
CategoryWhich kind of product this is. It decides which rows below make sense at all.: AI glasses
Device typeWhere the computing happens, and therefore what you need to run it.: Phone-powered AR
ReleasedYear the model went on sale. Older is not automatically worse in this category.: 2024
AvailabilityWhether you can still order it new today.: On sale
Support endsThe date the manufacturer stops supporting it. Decisive for a fleet you are about to buy.: Support ends: Specifications checked against the manufacturer's page on 2026-08-04.

Company rollout

Third-party appsHow a third party's application reaches the device: an ordinary Android package, a vendor-only SDK, or not at all.: Vendor SDK only
Runs Skillsive appsOur own statement about whether Skillsive training applications run on it today.: No
Suitable for trainingOur judgement on whether it survives real deployment: comfort, hygiene, fleet management.: Suitable for training: Specifications checked against the manufacturer's page on 2026-08-04.
Kiosk mode / MDMVendor tooling to enrol devices, push an app and lock the headset to it. Practically required above ten devices.: No
Business tierAn official business tier, so devices belong to the company rather than to employees’ personal accounts.: Business tier: Specifications checked against the manufacturer's page on 2026-08-04.
CertificationsIndustrial certifications stated on the manufacturer's own page. Empty means unconfirmed, never "probably fine".: Certifications: Specifications checked against the manufacturer's page on 2026-08-04.

Platform and performance

Where it computesWhether the device computes on its own or depends on a phone, PC or belt-worn puck.: Driven by a phone
ProcessorThe processor and memory inside. This is what the performance grade above is derived from.: Processor: Specifications checked against the manufacturer's page on 2026-08-04.
MemoryRAM on the device. Together with the chipset it sets how complex a scene can be.: Memory: Specifications checked against the manufacturer's page on 2026-08-04.
PlatformThe platform an application is built against — and what an MDM has to speak.: Frame firmware (nRF52840) + Noa app
BatteryRuntime as the manufacturer states it. A hot-swappable pack matters more than the figure.: Battery: Specifications checked against the manufacturer's page on 2026-08-04.

Display and optics

DisplayHow the image is produced. "No display" is a real answer in this category, not a gap.: Micro-OLED, one eye
Eyes coveredOne eye or both. Over a full shift this is a real difference in fatigue.: One eye
Resolution per eyePixels delivered to each eye. Higher means small text and labels stay readable.: Resolution per eye: Specifications checked against the manufacturer's page on 2026-08-04.
Refresh rateImages per second. Higher feels smoother and helps people prone to motion discomfort.: Refresh rate: Specifications checked against the manufacturer's page on 2026-08-04.
Field of viewHow much of your view the image covers. Bigger is more immersive, not automatically better for work.: 20°
Pixel densityPixels per degree of view — the honest way to compare sharpness between a headset and a pair of glasses. Higher is sharper. Only shown where somebody published it; we never compute it ourselves.: Pixel density: Specifications checked against the manufacturer's page on 2026-08-04.
BrightnessIn a plant or outdoors, brightness decides legibility more than resolution does.: Brightness: Specifications checked against the manufacturer's page on 2026-08-04.
WeightThe device alone. Anything above roughly 150 g is felt within an hour.: Weight: Specifications checked against the manufacturer's page on 2026-08-04.

Tracking and input

TrackingWhether content stays put in the room (6DoF), follows head rotation (3DoF) or is simply fixed.: None
Hand trackingWhether bare hands can operate the interface, without a controller or the phone.: No

Connectivity and audio

ConnectivityHow it connects to a phone, a PC or a network.: Connectivity: Specifications checked against the manufacturer's page on 2026-08-04.
AudioBuilt-in sound. Matters most where somebody has to hear a remote expert while working.: Audio: Specifications checked against the manufacturer's page on 2026-08-04.
MicrophoneBuilt-in microphone — the other half of talking to a remote expert.: Microphone: Specifications checked against the manufacturer's page on 2026-08-04.
CameraA camera is what makes a remote expert call and photo documentation possible.: Yes

Price

Price bandThe band it sits in, rather than a price that goes stale.: Entry level
Launch priceThe manufacturer's launch price. Fixed history, so it never goes stale.: Launch price: Specifications checked against the manufacturer's page on 2026-08-04.
Price todayApproximate current net price in USD — a general figure, since these barely differ between regions once tax is stripped out. A snapshot from the date shown, not an offer.: Price today: Specifications checked against the manufacturer's page on 2026-08-04.

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Specifications checked against the manufacturer's page on 2026-08-04. Manufacturer's specification

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