Epson Moverio BT-40S
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| Epson Moverio BT-40S | |
|---|---|
| |
| Basic Info | |
| VR/AR | Augmented Reality |
| Type | Head-mounted display |
| Subtype | AR Glasses |
| Developer | Epson |
| Manufacturer | Epson |
| Announcement Date | December 2020 (Europe); 2 March 2021 (United States) |
| Release Date | 2021 |
| Price | US$999 (launch MSRP, United States) |
| Website | https://epson.com/c/Moverio-BT-40S-Smart-Glasses-with-Intelligent-Touch-Controller/p/V11H969120 |
| Versions | Epson Moverio BT-40 (headset only, USB Type-C) |
| System | |
| Operating System | Android 9 (BO-IC400 controller) |
| Chipset | Qualcomm Snapdragon XR1 (Qualcomm SXR1130, in controller) |
| Storage | |
| Storage | 64 GB; microSDXC up to 2 TB |
| Memory | 4 GB |
| Display | |
| Display | 2 x Si-OLED binocular |
| Resolution | 1920x1080 per-eye |
| Refresh Rate | 60 Hz |
| Image | |
| Field of View | 34° diagonal |
| Optics | |
| Ocularity | Binocular |
| Audio | |
| Audio | Speaker in controller; 3.5 mm audio jack on headset and controller |
| Microphone | Noise-cancelling microphone |
| Camera | 13 MP autofocus (in controller) |
| Connectivity | |
| Ports | USB Type-C (headset); USB Type-C and side USB port (controller) |
| WiFi | IEEE 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac, 2x2 dual band |
| Bluetooth | 5.0 |
| Battery Capacity | 3,400 mAh (controller) |
| Battery Life | Up to 5 hours (manufacturer claim) |
| Device | |
| Dimensions | Headset 194 x 164 x 41 mm (without shade); controller 55 x 110 x 23 mm |
| Weight | Headset approx. 165 g (approx. 95 g without shade and cables); controller approx. 6.5 oz |
| Sensors | Geomagnetic sensor, accelerometer, gyroscope, ambient light sensor (headset); GPS, compass, accelerometer, gyroscope, ambient light sensor, proximity sensor (controller) |
| Input | Touchscreen and physical keys on controller |
Epson Moverio BT-40S is an augmented reality head-mounted display released in 2021. It is a pair of binocular see-through smart glasses from Epson's Moverio line, sold together with the BO-IC400 Intelligent Controller, a handheld Android touchscreen unit that runs apps and powers the glasses over a cable.[1][2] Each eye has a 1920 x 1080 Si-OLED panel, and the display covers a 34-degree diagonal field of view.[2]
Epson released the BT-40S alongside the Epson Moverio BT-40, which has the same headset but no controller and connects instead to a phone, tablet or computer over USB Type-C.[1] Epson aimed both models mainly at business customers, and it described the pair as its fourth generation of Moverio smart glasses.[3][4] As of September 2026, Epson's US product page lists the BT-40S as discontinued.[5]
Announcement and release
Epson first announced the BT-40 and BT-40S in Europe. Display Daily reported the announcement on 14 December 2020 and gave February 2021 as the BT-40S availability date. In the announcement, Valerie Riffaud-Cangelosi, Head of Market Development at Epson Europe, called the glasses Epson's "fourth generation of Moverio augmented reality smart glasses" and said the company had been in the AR space for ten years.[4]
Epson America announced the two models for the United States on 2 March 2021. Both were open for pre-order at that point, and Epson said they would go on sale in the second quarter of 2021 through Amazon and its distribution channels. The US launch prices were US$579 MSRP for the BT-40 and US$999 MSRP for the BT-40S.[1] Engineering.com also gave the BT-40S price as US$999 with a second-quarter 2021 launch.[6]
In the US announcement, Epson America named industrial field service and front-line applications such as remote assistance and accessibility as markets for the new models, and it described the BT-40 as suited to business users working from home, at the office and in public spaces.[1] The European announcement named visitor attractions such as museums, theme parks and heritage sites, subtitling for theatres and cinemas, and dental practices, where the glasses could be used with dental scanning and patient entertainment systems.[4] SlashGear quoted Remi Del Mar, a senior product manager at Epson America, as saying that the "majority of our focus is going to be on enterprise applications".[3]
In October 2022 Epson announced the Moverio BT-45C and BT-45CS, a newer generation of Moverio glasses that also have a 34-degree field of view and Full HD Si-OLED displays. The BT-45CS pairs the headset with an intelligent controller, and Epson said both models would be available in November 2022.[7]
Design and hardware
Headset
The headset uses Epson's Si-OLED (silicon organic light-emitting diode) display technology. Each eye has a 0.453-inch-wide 16:9 panel with 1920 x 1080 pixels and 24-bit color, refreshed at 60 Hz.[2][8] Epson rates the panels at a maximum brightness of 1000 cd/m2 and a contrast ratio of 500,000:1. It says the high contrast makes unused parts of the display look transparent.[2][1] The displays are see-through, so the wearer can still see the surroundings while content is shown. Epson gives the lens transmittance as 40 percent for the headset alone and 2 percent with the supplied dark shade attached.[2] The shade attaches magnetically, and an ambient light sensor adjusts screen brightness to the surroundings, which Epson says makes the glasses usable both indoors and outdoors.[2]
The 34-degree diagonal field of view is equivalent to a 120-inch image at 5 m, according to the specification sheet; the user guide expresses the same virtual screen as 60 inches at a viewing distance of 2.5 m.[2][8] Epson's US announcement advertised a 225 percent larger field of view.[1] SlashGear reported that the older BT-350 and BT-30C had 720p displays, and that Epson's comparison was with the 23-degree field of view of the BT-3x series.[3]
Epson gives the headset's mass as approximately 165 g, or approximately 95 g without the shade, cables and other parts. It measures 194 x 164 x 41 mm without the shade.[8] Epson says soft, flexible temples let the headset fit a range of head sizes and be worn over prescription glasses. Nose pads for use over glasses are sold as accessories.[2][8] The headset has a geomagnetic sensor, accelerometer, gyroscope and ambient light sensor, a USB Type-C connector and a 3.5 mm audio jack for CTIA-standard earphones with a microphone. It is rated IPX2 for water resistance, excluding the USB port.[8][2] Epson rates the headset's life span at 20,000 hours and its mean time between failures at 180,000 hours under its own test conditions.[8]
BO-IC400 Intelligent Controller
The BT-40S ships with the Moverio BO-IC400 Intelligent Controller, which Epson also sells separately.[2] SlashGear described the controller as a mini-PC with a Qualcomm Snapdragon XR1 chipset.[3] Epson's specification sheet lists the processor as the Qualcomm SXR1130, with 4 GB of memory and 64 GB of storage. The controller takes microSD, microSDHC and microSDXC cards, the last up to 2 TB.[2]
The controller has a 2.95-inch IPS LCD touchscreen with a resolution of 480 x 854. Its keys are power, volume, back, home, history and a function key.[2] It contains a 13-megapixel autofocus camera, a flashlight, GPS (with GLONASS, Galileo, QZSS and BDS support), a proximity sensor and an ambient light sensor, plus a speaker, a noise-cancelling microphone and a 3.5 mm audio jack.[2] Wireless connectivity is dual-band 2x2 Wi-Fi (IEEE 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac) and Bluetooth 5.0.[2] SlashGear reported that one of the controller's two USB-C ports connects the headset and the other is for accessories.[3] The controller's lithium polymer battery has a capacity of 3,400 mAh, and Epson says it lasts up to five hours.[2][1]
Software and features
The controller shipped with Android 9 and is certified for Google Mobile Services.[2][5] At launch SlashGear reported that Epson expected Android 11 to arrive within a year.[3] Epson preloaded Chrome, Gmail, Google Drive, a QR code reader and its Moverio Link Pro app, which controls headset settings such as screen brightness.[2][8] The headset can show side-by-side stereoscopic 3D content through a utility application.[2] Epson describes the development environment as open and familiar, and it runs a developer portal for Moverio applications.[2]
The headset's USB Type-C port also accepts video directly. It supports DisplayPort Alternate Mode at 1080p and 60 Hz with HDCP, and USB 2.0 data connections to Windows 10 or later and Android 8 or later devices.[8] Epson says the sensors in the headset and controller can be used for location tracking, head tracking and motion tracking.[2]
Specifications
| Specification | Value |
|---|---|
| Display | 2 x Si-OLED binocular |
| Resolution | 1920x1080 per-eye |
| Refresh Rate | 60 Hz |
| Field of View | 34° diagonal |
| Brightness | 1000 cd/m2 (maximum)[2] |
| Contrast | 500,000:1[2] |
| Transmittance | 40% (headset); 2% (with shade)[2] |
| Controller display | 2.95-inch IPS LCD, 480 x 854[2] |
| Processor | Qualcomm SXR1130 (Snapdragon XR1)[2][3] |
| Memory and storage | 4 GB; 64 GB, microSDXC up to 2 TB[2] |
| Operating system (at launch) | Android 9[2] |
| Controller battery | 3,400 mAh lithium polymer; up to 5 hours[2][1] |
| Headset mass | Approx. 165 g; approx. 95 g without shade and cables[8] |
| Controller weight | Approx. 6.5 oz[2] |
| Water resistance | IPX2, except USB port[8] |
| Price | US$999 (launch MSRP, United States)[1] |
See also
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 1.7 1.8 "Epson Unveils Next Generation of Moverio Augmented Reality Smart Glasses". Epson US Newsroom. Epson America. 2021-03-02. https://news.epson.com/news/moverio-bt-40-40s-ar-smart-glasses. Retrieved 2026-09-27.
- ↑ 2.00 2.01 2.02 2.03 2.04 2.05 2.06 2.07 2.08 2.09 2.10 2.11 2.12 2.13 2.14 2.15 2.16 2.17 2.18 2.19 2.20 2.21 2.22 2.23 2.24 2.25 2.26 2.27 2.28 "Moverio BT-40S Smart Glasses with Intelligent Touch Controller - Specification Sheet (CPD-60657)". Epson America. Epson America. 2021-02. https://epson.com/medias/Moverio-BT-40s-Product-Specification-Sheet-CPD-60657-Final.pdf?context=bWFzdGVyfHJvb3R8NTE0Mjk5fGFwcGxpY2F0aW9uL3BkZnxoMzYvaDQ0Lzk2MzIyNzcxMDI2MjIucGRmfDI3Y2ZhYmIxNWFlZGYxYTlmOTRmMmFjNWQ0NmRmOGMzN2RkMGM4MTYyMGU1Mzc1MmU3OTFiM2U0N2MwNjc3NDc. Retrieved 2026-09-27.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 3.6 Chris Davies (2021-03-02). "Epson's New Smart Glasses Get A Big Field-Of-View And Blunt Expectations". SlashGear. https://www.slashgear.com/epson-moverio-bt-40-bt-40s-smart-glasses-get-a-big-field-of-view-and-blunt-expectations-02661787/. Retrieved 2026-09-27.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 Artem Alekseenko (2020-12-14). "Epson Announces a New Generation of Moverio Smart Glass Technology". Display Daily. https://displaydaily.com/epson-announces-new-ar-glasses/. Retrieved 2026-09-27.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 "Moverio BT-40S Smart Glasses with Intelligent Touch Controller". Epson US. Epson America. https://epson.com/c/Moverio-BT-40S-Smart-Glasses-with-Intelligent-Touch-Controller/p/V11H969120. Retrieved 2026-09-27.
- ↑ Valeria Ricca (2021-03-25). "Epson Unveils Moverio BT-40 and BT-40S AR Smart Glasses". Engineering.com. https://www.engineering.com/epson-unveils-moverio-bt-40-and-bt-40s-ar-smart-glasses/. Retrieved 2026-09-27.
- ↑ "Epson Advances Immersive Workforce Collaboration with New Generation of Moverio AR Smart Glasses". Epson US Newsroom. Epson America. 2022-10-11. https://news.epson.com/news/moverio-bt-45c-45cs-ar-smart-glasses. Retrieved 2026-09-27.
- ↑ 8.00 8.01 8.02 8.03 8.04 8.05 8.06 8.07 8.08 8.09 "BT-40/BT-40S User's Guide". Epson Support. Seiko Epson Corporation. https://files.support.epson.com/docid/other/4140169.pdf. Retrieved 2026-09-27.