Epson Moverio BT-40 — specification and verdict
The BT-40 is a display, not a computer. Two Si-OLED panels give 1920x1080 per eye at 60 Hz over DisplayPort Alt Mode, and Epson quotes 34 degrees diagonal and 1000 cd/m2 peak, so a trainee reads whatever the host device is already showing, mirrored into a transparent 34-degree window. Head motion is tracked only by a 9-axis sensor, which is 3DoF: content drifts with your head but nothing is anchored to the room. There is no camera on the BT-40, so no marker recognition, no remote-expert video, no capture of what the trainee sees. In practice it is a hands-free monitor for a document, a checklist or a video feed.
You do not deploy software to a BT-40, because there is no operating system on it. Whatever you roll out lives on the host phone, tablet or Windows 10 laptop, and the only requirement the glasses add is that the host's USB-C port supports DisplayPort Alt Mode 1.2 with HDCP. That also means there is no vendor MDM or kiosk mode for the eyewear itself, and no fleet console: your existing phone MDM is the whole management story. Hygiene is unremarkable for a 95 g glasses frame with replaceable nose pads, but the IPX2 rating is drip resistance only and explicitly excludes the USB port. Beyond the 579 USD launch price you should budget spare nose pad and shade packs, which Epson sells as separate part numbers.
Do not buy this for VR training. Epson's own US product page now marks the BT-40 as discontinued, our Android VR courses cannot run on a device with no compute and no positional tracking, and 3DoF plus no camera rules out the AR work-instruction use case as well. If a see-through hands-free display is genuinely what you need, look for a current standalone AR device with a camera and 6DoF rather than a 2021 second-screen viewer.
How it compares within its class
The axis runs from the lowest to the highest published figure among the AR — wearable display devices in this catalogue. The grey tick is the median of that class.
Median for this class: 50°, from 9 models that publish the figure.
Median for this class: 80 g, from 11 models that publish the figure.
Median for this class: 600 nits, from 9 models that publish the figure.
Median for this class: $549, from 9 models that publish the figure.
Full specification
An em dash means the manufacturer does not publish that figure.
- ManufacturerWho makes it — and who you buy support from.
- Epson
- CategoryWhich kind of product this is. It decides which rows below make sense at all.
- AR — wearable display
- Device typeWhere the computing happens, and therefore what you need to run it.
- Phone-powered AR
- AnnouncedThe day it was shown, which is not the day it shipped.
- 2021-03-02
- ReleasedYear the model went on sale. Older is not automatically worse in this category.
- 2021
- AvailabilityWhether you can still order it new today.
- Discontinued
- 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 2026-08-08.
- DisplayHow the image is produced. "No display" is a real answer in this category, not a gap.
- Waveguide
- Eyes coveredOne eye or both. Over a full shift this is a real difference in fatigue.
- Both eyes
- Resolution per eyePixels delivered to each eye. Higher means small text and labels stay readable.
- 1920x1080
- Refresh rateImages per second. Higher feels smoother and helps people prone to motion discomfort.
- 60 Hz
- Field of viewHow much of your view the image covers. Bigger is more immersive, not automatically better for work.
- 34° diagonal
- 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 2026-08-08.
- BrightnessIn a plant or outdoors, brightness decides legibility more than resolution does.
- 1000 nits
- WeightThe device alone. Anything above roughly 150 g is felt within an hour.
- 95 g
- Visible field of viewWhat the eye actually sees through the optics, by axis.
- Visible field of view: Specifications checked against the manufacturer's page on 2026-08-08.
- Rendered field of viewWhat the device draws. Never smaller than what you see.
- Rendered field of view: Specifications checked against the manufacturer's page on 2026-08-08.
- Binocular overlapWhere both eyes see the same thing — this is where depth happens.
- Binocular overlap: Specifications checked against the manufacturer's page on 2026-08-08.
- Average pixel densityPixels per degree across the image. More is sharper.
- Average pixel density: Specifications checked against the manufacturer's page on 2026-08-08.
- Peak pixel densityThe sharpest point, usually the centre of the lens.
- Peak pixel density: Specifications checked against the manufacturer's page on 2026-08-08.
- Subpixel layoutHow the coloured dots sit in a pixel. A stripe looks cleaner on text than PenTile.
- RGB stripe
- Foveated renderingWhether detail is dropped outside where you look, to save performance.
- Foveated rendering: Specifications checked against the manufacturer's page on 2026-08-08.
- Vision correctionHow somebody who wears glasses uses it, and in what dioptre range.
- Fits over glasses
- DimensionsWidth, height and depth of the device itself.
- 194 × 41 × 164 mm
- Weight with strapWith the strap it ships with — the weight you actually wear.
- Weight with strap: Specifications checked against the manufacturer's page on 2026-08-08.
- Head strapSoft band or a rigid one. Decides how the weight sits over an hour.
- Glasses frame
- MaterialsShell and facial interface, in the vendor’s words.
- Plastic
- ColoursColours the manufacturer sells it in.
- Black
- Haptics in the headsetVibration in the headset itself, not in the controllers.
- Haptics in the headset: Specifications checked against the manufacturer's page on 2026-08-08.
- TrackingWhether content stays put in the room (6DoF), follows head rotation (3DoF) or is simply fixed.
- 3DoF (rotation only)
- Tracking camerasHow many cameras it uses to know where it is.
- Tracking cameras: Specifications checked against the manufacturer's page on 2026-08-08.
- Tracking rateHow often position is recalculated. Higher is steadier.
- Tracking rate: Specifications checked against the manufacturer's page on 2026-08-08.
- Depth sensorA dedicated sensor for distance, on top of the cameras.
- No
- Hand trackingWhether bare hands can operate the interface, without a controller or the phone.
- No
- Face trackingTracks facial expression — for avatars, not for training scenarios.
- No
- Body trackingHow much of the body the device knows about. Estimated legs are not tracked legs.
- None
- Controllers includedWhether motion controllers come in the box, or are bought separately — or the device is hands-only.
- No
- Controller modelThe manufacturer's own name for the controller.
- Controller model: Specifications checked against the manufacturer's page on 2026-08-08.
- Controller tracking6DoF controllers track position and rotation, so a hand reaches in space; 3DoF only point. “None” means hands only.
- None (hands only)
- Finger tracking on the controllerWhether the controller senses individual fingers, and how.
- Finger tracking on the controller: Specifications checked against the manufacturer's page on 2026-08-08.
- Controller inputsButtons, sticks and triggers the controller offers.
- Controller inputs: Specifications checked against the manufacturer's page on 2026-08-08.
- Controller hapticsVibration feedback in the hand.
- Controller haptics: Specifications checked against the manufacturer's page on 2026-08-08.
- Controller powerDisposable cells or a built-in rechargeable — a fleet question.
- Controller power: Specifications checked against the manufacturer's page on 2026-08-08.
- Controller weightOne controller, as the vendor weighs it.
- Controller weight: Specifications checked against the manufacturer's page on 2026-08-08.
- Other input methodsWays in beyond controllers and bare hands.
- Other input methods: Specifications checked against the manufacturer's page on 2026-08-08.
- 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 2026-08-08.
- CPUCores and clocks, where the manufacturer publishes them.
- CPU: Specifications checked against the manufacturer's page on 2026-08-08.
- GPUThe graphics part of the chip.
- GPU: Specifications checked against the manufacturer's page on 2026-08-08.
- 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 2026-08-08.
- PlatformThe platform an application is built against — and what an MDM has to speak.
- Platform: Specifications checked against the manufacturer's page on 2026-08-08.
- SD card slotWhether storage can be added with a card.
- SD card slot: Specifications checked against the manufacturer's page on 2026-08-08.
- BatteryRuntime as the manufacturer states it. A hot-swappable pack matters more than the figure.
- Battery: Specifications checked against the manufacturer's page on 2026-08-08.
- Battery capacity (Wh)Energy in the cell. Bigger is longer, given the same power draw.
- Battery capacity (Wh): Specifications checked against the manufacturer's page on 2026-08-08.
- Battery capacity (mAh)The same fact in the other unit vendors use. We never convert between the two.
- Battery capacity (mAh): Specifications checked against the manufacturer's page on 2026-08-08.
- Charge timeFrom empty to full. Rarely stated by the manufacturer, so it usually comes from whoever timed it.
- Charge time: Specifications checked against the manufacturer's page on 2026-08-08.
- ChargerPower of the supplied charger — it decides the charge time above.
- Charger: Specifications checked against the manufacturer's page on 2026-08-08.
- External batteryBattery on a cable or a puck instead of on the head.
- External battery: Specifications checked against the manufacturer's page on 2026-08-08.
- Charging caseExtra runtime carried in the case the glasses ship with.
- Charging case: Specifications checked against the manufacturer's page on 2026-08-08.
- Hot-swap batteryWhether a charged battery can replace the empty one without ending the session. This is what decides if a headset can hold an all-day training station.
- Hot-swap battery: Specifications checked against the manufacturer's page on 2026-08-08.
- Third-party appsHow a third party's application reaches the device: an ordinary Android package, a vendor-only SDK, or not at all.
- App lives on the phone
- 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.
- No
- CertificationsIndustrial certifications stated on the manufacturer's own page. Empty means unconfirmed, never "probably fine".
- IPX2 · RoHS
- PortsPhysical sockets and charging contacts.
- USB Type-C · headphone jack
- Wi-FiThe Wi-Fi generation — it decides how well wireless streaming holds up.
- Wi-Fi: Specifications checked against the manufacturer's page on 2026-08-08.
- BluetoothFor controllers, headphones and accessories.
- Bluetooth: Specifications checked against the manufacturer's page on 2026-08-08.
- Video from a computerWhether a computer can drive it, over a cable or wirelessly.
- Video from a computer: Specifications checked against the manufacturer's page on 2026-08-08.
- AudioBuilt-in sound. Matters most where somebody has to hear a remote expert while working.
- Headphone jack
- MicrophoneBuilt-in microphone — the other half of talking to a remote expert.
- No
- MicrophonesHow many. An array picks a voice out of a noisy hall; one does not.
- Microphones: Specifications checked against the manufacturer's page on 2026-08-08.
- CameraA camera is what makes a remote expert call and photo documentation possible.
- No
- Price bandThe band it sits in, rather than a price that goes stale.
- Mid range
- Launch priceThe manufacturer's launch price. Fixed history, so it never goes stale.
- $579
- Price by configurationWhat each configuration cost at launch.
- Price by configuration: Specifications checked against the manufacturer's page on 2026-08-08.
- 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 2026-08-08.
Who this device is for
This suited people who already had the content on a phone or laptop and only wanted it off their hands: drone pilots watching a live feed, technicians reading a PDF at a machine, passengers watching video. It was never for anyone who needed an app running on the glasses, world-locked overlays, or a camera to see what the wearer sees.
What is missing, and what the manufacturer does not publish
Epson's US sheet gives weight only as approximately 3.4 oz while the European page says 95 g excluding shade, harness and cables and then quotes 170 g as the product weight without saying what that includes, so we recorded only the 95 g frame. The US marketing copy claims GPS among the sensors while the specification sheet lists only compass, gyroscope, accelerometer and ambient light, which reads as the host phone's GPS. VRcompare dates the announcement to December 2020 where Epson's own newsroom dates it 2 March 2021, and no end-of-support or end-of-sale date is published anywhere, so the discontinuation year is unknown.
Epson Moverio BT-40 — frequently asked questions
- Does the Epson Moverio BT-40 work with any USB-C phone or laptop?
- No. The host has to expose DisplayPort Alt Mode 1.2 over its USB-C port and supply 5 V at 0.9 A, and Epson lists Windows 10 or Android 8.0 and later as supported hosts. A USB-C port that only carries data and power shows nothing in the glasses, which is the most common reason a BT-40 appears dead on arrival.
- Can the Moverio BT-40 run AR apps or scan markers like Epson's earlier Moverio glasses?
- No. Unlike the BT-350 and earlier Android-based Moverio models, the BT-40 has no onboard Android, no camera at all, and only 3DoF head motion from its 9-axis sensor. It mirrors whatever the connected device displays into a 34-degree transparent window; any AR logic has to run on the host phone and cannot be anchored to the real world.
- Is the Epson Moverio BT-40 still sold, and what is the difference from the BT-40S?
- Epson's US product page now marks the BT-40 as discontinued; it launched at 579 USD in 2021. The BT-40S was the 999 USD variant that bundled the BO-IC400 Android 9 touch controller, which gave the same optics an actual computer with a 13 MP camera, Wi-Fi and a battery. The plain BT-40 has none of that and depends entirely on the device you plug it into.
Compare this device
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The nearest devices in the same class, ranked by availability and launch price — not by our opinion of them.
Specifications checked against the manufacturer's page on 2026-08-08. Manufacturer's specification
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