Brilliant Labs has unveiled the Halo smart glasses, which could represent a quantum leap in the world of wearables. With a lightweight build, a 14-hour battery life, and an intense focus on artificial intelligence, Halo aims to be more than just an accessory—it aspires to be a true personal assistant that sees and hears the world alongside you.
Article Contents:
- What are the Halo glasses and what makes them stand out?
- Artificial intelligence at the core of the experience: Meet ‘Noa’
- The ‘Narrative’ feature: A long-term memory for your life
- Design philosophy: Focus on intelligence, not the camera
- Open source: An invitation for developers to innovate
- Privacy and security: How does it protect your data?
- Availability and price
- Conclusion: A step toward a true AI wearable device
- Frequently asked questions
What are the Halo glasses and what makes them stand out?
Smart glasses represent the ideal form factor for AI-driven assistance, and now, the latest eyewear from Brilliant Labs looks ready to elevate that concept. The recently launched Halo glasses weigh just over 40 grams, matching the weight and look of traditional spectacles. Yet, they pack a full-color display, an optical sensor for multimodal tasks, bone-conduction speakers, a microphone array, and a 14-hour battery life—triple the battery life of Meta glasses.
Artificial intelligence at the core of the experience: Meet ‘Noa’
All of these specifications work together to support the glasses’ primary purpose: acting as a true wearable AI device that can see and hear what you do all day and assist you with anything you need later. Users can have near-instant conversations with Noa, the device’s AI agent built to feel as natural and intuitive as talking to a real person. Noa can also perform tasks on your glasses, such as muting the microphone and camera.
The ‘Narrative’ feature: A long-term memory for your life
The contextual data captured by the glasses is not just used for immediate responses. Through a long-term memory feature called ‘Narrative’, Noa can build a personalized knowledge base for the user that analyzes their life’s context to answer future questions. Bobak Tavangar, CEO of Brilliant Labs, says: “There is so much happening when the agent receives unstructured voice and video, working autonomously in the background to piece these data fragments together.” This means the glasses can remember the names of people you met or details of a conversation that took place earlier.
Design philosophy: Focus on intelligence, not the camera
The Halo glasses ditch the bulky cameras found on other smart glasses dedicated to shooting high-quality photos and videos. Instead, the device uses an optical sensor that captures just enough data to let the AI see what you see, rather than capturing social content. This shift was intentional, as the primary goal of the glasses is not capturing photos and video—where Meta Ray-Ban glasses excel—but delivering a true, wearable AI experience.
The display in the glasses is powered by a tiny bead-like optical module located on the frame. Despite its small size, it displays full-color images in a retro video game style, providing supplemental visual information for the dialogue with the AI without attempting to deliver an immersive augmented reality experience.
Open source: An invitation for developers to innovate
Brilliant Labs states that the Halo glasses are the world’s only fully open-source AI glasses. Open-source hardware and software allow developers to build solutions for the device that expand its capabilities for everyone. Tavangar stated: “This next generation of personal computing is one that we believe should be built by all of us, not just a few people in some design studio.”
Privacy and security: How does it protect your data?
Privacy is a major concern for a device that listens to you all day. Brilliant Labs emphasizes that user data is protected. All the rich media gathered by Halo to power Noa, including visuals and audio, is converted into an “irreversible mathematical representation.” Tavangar added that he wouldn’t want his own children wearing glasses that capture their lives and remain vulnerable to a data breach, making privacy and encryption assurance crucial.
Availability and price
Halo glasses will retail for $299 in matte black on the Brilliant Labs website. Shipping will begin in late November 2025, and a limited number of units will be available for purchase.
Conclusion: A step toward a true AI wearable device
With its intense focus on AI as a personal assistant, open-source architecture, and lightweight design prioritizing utility over media capture, Brilliant Labs’ Halo glasses may be the product that transitions the smart glasses category from a mere tech accessory to an essential personal computing tool, fulfilling the vision long discussed in Silicon Valley.
Frequently asked questions
What is the main difference between the Halo glasses and Meta Ray-Ban glasses?
The primary difference lies in the objective. Meta glasses focus heavily on capturing photos and videos to share on social media. Halo glasses focus entirely on serving as an AI assistant, using their sensors to understand your context and help you, rather than generate content.
How long does the Halo glasses battery last?
The battery lasts for up to 14 hours of daily AI usage, a significant improvement over many other smart glasses on the market.
Are they safe in terms of privacy?
The company stresses that all collected data is converted into an encrypted, irreversible mathematical representation, preventing third parties from accessing user data and ensuring privacy protection.
