Halliday Glasses
| Halliday Glasses[1][2][3][4] | |
|---|---|
| Basic Info | |
| VR/AR | Augmented reality |
| Type | Smart glasses |
| Subtype | AI Glasses |
| Developer | Halliday |
| Manufacturer | Halliday |
| Announcement Date | January 2025 (CES 2025) |
| Release Date | Kickstarter campaign 22 January to 8 March 2025; limited shipments early 2025; general availability late October 2025 |
| Price | US$489 announced retail price (January 2025); US$399 Kickstarter early-backer price; US$499 retail (October 2025) |
| Website | https://application.hallidayglobal.com/pages/halliday-glasses |
| Requires | iOS or Android smartphone with the Halliday app |
| Successor | Halliday G2 |
| Display | |
| Display | "DigiWindow" monochrome green Micro-LED near-eye projection module above the right eye; Halliday describes the image as equivalent to a 3.5-inch screen |
| Optics | |
| Optics | Mirror-based projection module ("reverse telescope"); no waveguide or in-lens optics |
| Ocularity | Monocular |
| Adjustable Diopter | -8.00 to +2.00 (module focus adjustment) |
| Audio | |
| Audio | Open-ear speakers in the temples |
| Microphone | Built-in microphones |
| Connectivity | |
| Connectivity | Bluetooth 5.3 |
| Ports | USB-C charging port on the temple tip |
| Battery Life | Halliday claims 12 hours of regular use and 8 hours of continuous use |
| Charge Time | 45-60 minutes (Halliday claim) |
| Device | |
| Dimensions | 151 x 49 x 48 mm |
| Weight | 28.5 g frame without lenses; about 40 g with prescription lenses (35 g claimed at CES 2025) |
| Color | Matte black; tortoiseshell |
| Input | Right-temple touchpad, action button, voice, control ring |
| Compliance | IP54 |
Halliday Glasses (also marketed as Halliday AI Glasses) are a pair of camera-free smart glasses developed by Halliday, a Shenzhen-based wearables company. Instead of a waveguide built into the lenses, they use a small projection module called the DigiWindow, mounted on the inside of the frame above the right eye, which shows a monochrome green image to one eye. Halliday describes the result as the equivalent of a 3.5-inch screen in the upper part of the wearer's view.[2][5]
The glasses were shown at CES 2025 in January 2025 with an announced retail price of US$489 and a planned March 2025 launch.[2] A Kickstarter campaign that ran from 22 January to 8 March 2025 raised more than US$3.3 million from more than 8,000 backers.[6][4] Deliveries slipped past the original schedule; UploadVR reported in September 2025 that the glasses had shipped in limited quantities early that year, and Engadget's October 2025 review listed them as available at the end of that month at US$499.[7][4]
Reviews of the shipping product were poor. Engadget scored it 54 out of 100 and Android Police 5 out of 10, both praising the light, conventional-looking frame and criticizing the display position, audio and software.[4][3] In July 2026 Halliday announced a successor, the Halliday G2, which replaces the DigiWindow with a binocular waveguide display.[8]
Announcement and crowdfunding
Halliday first showed the glasses to press in early January 2025 around CES 2025 in Las Vegas. 9to5Google published a hands-on on 5 January 2025, and TechRadar, Tom's Guide and BGR followed on 6 January.[9][10][11][12] According to TechRadar, the company is named after a character in the novel Ready Player One.[10]
At CES the company quoted a full price of US$489 and said shipping would begin in March 2025. Reservations were taken at US$369 with a deposit of about US$10 ahead of the crowdfunding campaign.[2][9] TechRadar gave the United States price as US$489.99.[10]
The Kickstarter campaign opened on 22 January 2025 with a US$20,000 goal and closed on 8 March 2025.[6] AndroidGuys reported that it passed US$1 million within 24 hours and US$2 million in its second week, with an early-backer tier at US$399 that included prescription lenses, against an expected retail price of US$489.[13] Engadget put the final total at US$3,305,917 from more than 8,000 backers.[4] Android Police reported that a follow-on Indiegogo campaign raised around the same amount.[3]
| Date | Event |
|---|---|
| 5-8 January 2025 | Hands-on demonstrations at CES 2025; US$489 retail price announced[9][2] |
| 22 January 2025 | Kickstarter campaign opens[6] |
| 8 March 2025 | Kickstarter campaign closes with about US$3.3 million pledged (US$3,305,917 per Engadget; US$3,304,720 from 8,020 backers per Kicktraq)[6][4] |
| Early 2025 | First units ship in limited quantities[7] |
| October 2025 | Engadget and Android Police reviews published; listed availability late October at US$499[4][3] |
| 21 July 2026 | Halliday G2 announced with September 2026 shipping[8] |
Company background
Halliday is based in Shenzhen, China. TechTimes reported that the company was founded there in 2021.[14][5] TechNode described the glasses as a product of Moody, a Chinese contact lens brand, developed with the optics company Gyges Labs.[15] Carter Hou is the company's co-founder and chief operating officer.[16]
The DigiWindow module is supplied by Gyges Labs.[17] According to 36Kr, Gyges Labs was founded by Jia Jieyang, a Stanford PhD who worked at Mojo Vision from 2016 to 2018 on augmented reality contact lens prototypes.[18]
Design and hardware
Frame
The glasses are designed to pass as ordinary eyewear. There is no camera on the front; the frame carries the DigiWindow module, microphones, open-ear speakers in the temples, a touch surface on the right temple and an action button.[2][1] The frames came in matte black or tortoiseshell finishes.[5][10]
Halliday quoted a weight of 35 g at CES 2025.[9][10] Its later product page lists 28.5 g without lenses, and Android Police's specification box gives 28.5 g for the frame alone and 40 g with prescription lenses fitted, with dimensions of 151 x 49 x 48 mm, Bluetooth 5.3 and an IP54 rating.[1][3] Android Police called the frame well balanced and comfortable to wear for long periods, with metal supports and silicone pads on the bridge; Engadget wrote that the plastic construction looked and felt cheap and flimsy and that the plastic temple tips cannot be adjusted.[3][4]
Because the display module does not use the lenses, the glasses accept ordinary prescription lenses. The product page lists compatibility with plano, photochromic or sunglass, and single-vision or progressive lenses, and the glasses can also be worn without lenses.[1] Android Police listed a prescription lens upgrade at US$149.[3]
DigiWindow display
The DigiWindow is a small round module on the inside of the frame above the right eye. TechCrunch described it as smaller than a fingernail, projecting light directly into the eye, and noted that it slides back and forth a few centimeters and tilts a few degrees to suit the wearer.[2] Halliday's campaign materials called it "the world's smallest display module at 3.5mm", a monochrome green Micro-LED source with projection optics; Engadget's review gives the module size as 3.6 mm.[19][4] The image appears as a green-on-black readout the apparent size of a smartwatch or a 3.5-inch phone screen, positioned above the wearer's normal line of sight.[9][10] Halliday states the display remains readable in bright sunlight and is invisible to onlookers except as a faint green light at night.[12][5]
Display analyst Karl Guttag examined the design in January 2025. He described it as a single monocular projector using mirror optics in a "reverse telescope" arrangement: a curved secondary mirror reflects light from the Micro-LED onto a larger concave primary mirror, which moves the focal plane from the display surface out toward infinity. The design uses no waveguide or combiner and does not overlay imagery on the real world, so Guttag argued it is not augmented reality in the usual sense. He listed as advantages its efficiency compared with waveguides, its compatibility with any prescription lens, the absence of rainbow artifacts and the fact that nothing projects forward. Against these he counted a relatively small eye box, stray light that produces a glow and a ring around the image and lowers contrast, a resolution path he considered limited by the module size, and above all the need to rotate the eyes upward to look into the projector, which he expected to be uncomfortable over long periods.[20] 36Kr's report on Gyges Labs likewise describes the optics as an inverted telescope with a projector "smaller than a soybean" and a front ring that adjusts focus for short-sighted wearers, and notes the small eyebox and stray light as limitations.[18]
Halliday's product page markets the module as having zero light leakage and no rainbow effect, with slide, tilt and rotation adjustments and a vision correction range of -8.00 to +2.00 diopters.[1][19]
Controls
Input is through a touch surface on the right temple (taps and swipes), an action button for a user-chosen shortcut, voice commands and a separate control ring worn on the index finger that responds to taps and swipes.[1][10][2] The ring was bundled with crowdfunding rewards; at the time of the October 2025 reviews it was sold separately at about US$69 to US$70 but included free with the glasses, charged magnetically and came in US ring sizes 8 to 15.[4][3]
Audio, battery and connectivity
Speakers in the temples handle calls, music and the voice assistant, and the built-in microphones capture speech for translation and memos.[10][2] The glasses connect to a phone over Bluetooth and rely on the Halliday app on iOS or Android for most functions.[10][12]
Halliday's battery claims changed between announcement and campaign. CES coverage quoted eight hours per charge; the Kickstarter specifications listed more than 12 hours of normal use, 8 hours of continuous use and a 45 to 60 minute charge over USB-C.[9][12][19] The product page advertises 12 hours.[1] In Android Police's testing the battery fell from 100 to 35 percent after five minutes of translation, 30 minutes of audio and a period of notifications, and the reviewer estimated a few hours of general use at most.[3] The USB-C port sits on a temple tip behind a rubber gasket that Engadget found hard to open.[4]
Software and features
The Halliday app provides the features shown on the display. Halliday's central pitch was a "proactive" assistant that listens to conversations with the user's permission and offers information without being asked, including answering questions and summarizing meetings.[10][11] Other functions announced at CES were real-time translation in 40 languages, phone notifications with replies, turn-by-turn navigation, a teleprompter mode called Cheat Sheet, voice notes, an Audio Memo mode that records and summarizes conversations, an Echo Mode of proactive suggestions, and synced music lyrics.[9][2][12]
| Feature | Description (as announced) |
|---|---|
| Proactive AI | Listens to conversation and volunteers answers or context[10] |
| AI translation | Live translation of speech, 40 languages at announcement[2] |
| Cheat Sheet | Teleprompter-style notes on the display[9] |
| Audio Memo | Records and summarizes conversations[9] |
| Notifications | Phone notifications with quick replies[9] |
| Navigation | Turn-by-turn directions[12] |
| Music | Playback through the temple speakers with lyrics display[12] |
AI features consume credits. The product page states that the starter pack includes 9,200 free credits valid for one year, that 480 free credits are added each month, and that additional credits cost US$9.90 per 1,000 in the app.[1]
In hands-on demonstrations at CES, TechCrunch observed about one second of delay in live translation, while Tom's Guide found that translated words (Chinese to English) appeared almost immediately after they were spoken.[2][11] TechCrunch reported that the proactive assistant was not ready to test at the show.[2]
Reception
Early CES impressions were cautiously positive about the hardware and unsure about the concept. 9to5Google's Ben Schoon wrote that he was hopeful Halliday had a solid pair of smart glasses, while questioning long-term software support and competition from Meta, Samsung and Google.[9] Mark Spoonauer of Tom's Guide was impressed by the technology but found the product rough ahead of launch, with a narrow field of view and a sweet spot that was hard to find.[11] Lance Ulanoff of TechRadar compared the upward-glancing display position to Google Glass and doubted a virtual 3.5-inch screen would sell against full field-of-view AR glasses expected from Meta and Snap.[10] Karl Guttag concluded that the optical design's disadvantages outweighed its advantages and that he did not like it as a product on a technical level.[20]
Reviews of shipping units in October 2025 were negative. Daniel Cooper of Engadget gave the glasses 54 out of 100, describing a set of good ideas on paper that failed in execution: the display was positioned where glasses wearers struggled to refocus, the plastic construction looked and felt cheap and flimsy, the clickpad was so small that it needed constant scrolling and a control scheme he called cumbersome, and the microphones produced audio he called "crunchy".[4] Andy Boxall of Android Police scored them 5 out of 10, praising the comfortable, well-balanced Wayfarer-style frame but criticizing the awkward upward gaze required to see the screen, tinny speakers, laggy and unfinished software, a ring that felt cheap and a short practical battery life. He recommended Ray-Ban Meta glasses instead.[3] In July 2026 Engadget summarized the first generation as one of the lowest-scoring products in its history, and Halliday's Carter Hou attributed the manufacturing problems in part to the company's inexperience: "As a newcomer to the industry, we didn't speak [the manufacturer's] language."[8]
Successor
On 21 July 2026 Halliday announced the Halliday G2, a second-generation model that drops the DigiWindow in favor of a binocular waveguide display with dual Micro-LED projectors, 600 x 300 pixels per eye and up to 1,600 nits peak brightness. It weighs 49 g, keeps the camera-free design, adds a four-microphone array and a 73 mm touch bar on the right temple, and replaces the control ring. The retail price is US$599; a refundable US$10 deposit secured a US$100 discount, and Engadget reported that owners of the first-generation glasses could buy the G2 for US$299.[8][21][22] Halliday's G2 page states that non-prescription orders placed by 15 September 2026 began shipping that day, with prescription orders expected to start in October 2026.[22] Tom's Guide noted after a hands-on that, unlike the first generation, the G2 image appears in front of both eyes rather than only on the right.[23]
See also
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 1.7 "Halliday Glasses". Halliday. https://application.hallidayglobal.com/pages/halliday-glasses. Retrieved 2026-09-20.
- ↑ 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 Maxwell Zeff (2025-01-08). "Halliday's $489 smart glasses beam a tiny screen to your eye". TechCrunch. https://techcrunch.com/2025/01/08/hallidays-489-smart-glasses-beam-a-tiny-screen-to-your-eye. Retrieved 2026-09-20.
- ↑ 3.00 3.01 3.02 3.03 3.04 3.05 3.06 3.07 3.08 3.09 Andy Boxall (2025-10-15). "Halliday Glasses review: Buzzword-laden curiosity I stopped wanting to wear". Android Police. https://www.androidpolice.com/halliday-glasses-review/. Retrieved 2026-09-20.
- ↑ 4.00 4.01 4.02 4.03 4.04 4.05 4.06 4.07 4.08 4.09 4.10 4.11 Daniel Cooper (2025-10-15). "Halliday Glasses review: Ambitious smart glasses with frustrating flaws". Engadget. https://www.engadget.com/wearables/halliday-glasses-review-ambitious-smart-glasses-with-frustrating-flaws-130000207.html. Retrieved 2026-09-20.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 Paula Parisi (2025-01-09). "CES: Halliday's AI Smart Glasses Project Directly into the Eye". ETCentric. https://www.etcentric.org/ces-hallidays-ai-smart-glasses-project-directly-into-the-eye/. Retrieved 2026-09-20.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 "Halliday: #1st Proactive AI Glasses with Invisible Display". Kicktraq. https://www.kicktraq.com/projects/halliday-ai-glasses/halliday-proactive-ai-glasses-with-invisible-display/. Retrieved 2026-09-20.
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 David Heaney (2025-09-11). "Everyone Is Making Smart Glasses Now". UploadVR. https://www.uploadvr.com/everyone-is-making-smart-glasses-now/. Retrieved 2026-09-20.
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 8.3 Daniel Cooper (2026-07-21). "How do you bounce back from making the worst smart glasses of 2025?". Engadget. https://www.engadget.com/2216393/halliday-g2-smart-glasses/. Retrieved 2026-09-20.
- ↑ 9.00 9.01 9.02 9.03 9.04 9.05 9.06 9.07 9.08 9.09 9.10 Ben Schoon (2025-01-05). "Hands-on: Halliday smart glasses project a display on your eye, and they look good". 9to5Google. https://9to5google.com/2025/01/05/halliday-smart-glasses-hands-on/. Retrieved 2026-09-20.
- ↑ 10.00 10.01 10.02 10.03 10.04 10.05 10.06 10.07 10.08 10.09 10.10 10.11 Lance Ulanoff (2025-01-06). "I can't decide if I love or hate Halliday Smart Glasses with its ultra-tiny display and nosey AI". TechRadar. https://www.techradar.com/computing/virtual-reality-augmented-reality/i-cant-decide-if-i-love-or-hate-halliday-smart-glasses-with-its-ultra-tiny-display-and-nosey-ai. Retrieved 2026-09-20.
- ↑ 11.0 11.1 11.2 11.3 Mark Spoonauer (2025-01-06). "I just went hands-on with the Halliday smart glasses with an invisible display - and I'm shocked". Tom's Guide. https://www.tomsguide.com/computing/smart-glasses/i-just-went-hands-on-with-these-breakthrough-smart-glasses-with-an-invisible-display-and-im-shocked. Retrieved 2026-09-20.
- ↑ 12.0 12.1 12.2 12.3 12.4 12.5 12.6 Joshua Hawkins (2025-01-06). "These New Smart Glasses From CES Have A Screen, But It's Not On The Lenses". BGR. https://www.bgr.com/tech/these-new-smart-glasses-from-ces-have-a-screen-but-its-not-on-the-lenses/. Retrieved 2026-09-20.
- ↑ Scott Webster (2025-02-08). "Halliday Smart Glasses Break Records with $2 Million Raised on Kickstarter". AndroidGuys. https://androidguys.com/news/halliday-smart-glasses-break-records-with-2-million-raised-on-kickstarter/. Retrieved 2026-09-20.
- ↑ Jackie Manning (2026-07-23). "Camera-Free Halliday G2 Smart Glasses Fix One Privacy Problem: China's Data Laws Create Another". TechTimes. https://www.techtimes.com/articles/321371/20260723/camera-free-halliday-g2-smart-glasses-fix-one-privacy-problem-chinas-data-laws-create-another.htm. Retrieved 2026-09-20.
- ↑ Shuang Jing (2025-01-10). "CES 2025: Spotlight on smart glasses, but what did Chinese companies bring to the table?". TechNode. https://technode.com/2025/01/10/ces-2025-spotlight-on-smart-glasses-but-what-did-chinese-companies-bring-to-the-table/. Retrieved 2026-09-20.
- ↑ Sabrina Ortiz (2026-07-21). "Halliday rebuilds smart glasses around meetings". The Deep View. https://www.thedeepview.com/articles/halliday-rebuilds-smart-glasses-around-meetings. Retrieved 2026-09-20.
- ↑ "Halliday AI Glasses Feature Proactive Assistance and Invisible Micro LED Display amid Crowdfunding Buzz". LEDinside. 2025-04-15. https://www.ledinside.com/news/2025/4/2025_04_15_05. Retrieved 2026-09-20.
- ↑ 18.0 18.1 "Is Gyges Labs the Future Solution for AI + AR Glasses?". 36Kr. 2025-11-24. https://eu.36kr.com/en/p/3566521389947008. Retrieved 2026-09-20.
- ↑ 19.0 19.1 19.2 "Halliday Proactive AI Smart Glasses feature invisible display, real-time translation, and hands-free control for $369+ (Crowdfunding)". CNX Software. 2025-02-27. https://www.cnx-software.com/2025/02/27/halliday-proactive-ai-smart-glasses-feature-invisible-display-real-time-translation-and-hands-free-control/. Retrieved 2026-09-20.
- ↑ 20.0 20.1 Karl Guttag (2025-01-25). "Halliday AR(not?)/AI Glasses". KGOnTech. https://kguttag.com/2025/01/25/halliday-arnot-ai-glasses/. Retrieved 2026-09-20.
- ↑ Aamir Siddiqui (2026-07-21). "Halliday G2: Camera-free smart glasses bring heads-up meeting AI". Android Authority. https://www.androidauthority.com/halliday-g2-smart-glasses-launch-3689649/. Retrieved 2026-09-20.
- ↑ 22.0 22.1 "Halliday G2". Halliday. https://hallidayglobal.com/products/halliday-glasses. Retrieved 2026-09-20.
- ↑ Mike Prospero (2026-07-21). "I went hands-on with the Halliday G2 - the smart glasses made for meetings". Tom's Guide. https://www.tomsguide.com/computing/smart-glasses/i-went-hands-on-with-the-halliday-g2-the-smart-glasses-made-for-meetings. Retrieved 2026-09-20.