R-Glass vs Mentra Live
Same price. Same hardware class. Both MIT licensed. The real question is not which device is better — it is whether you want a platform to build on or a tool that already works.
Where we agree
Mentra built the right thing.
Mentra Live is the best open smart-glasses platform on the market, the SDK is real, and putting the whole OS under an MIT licence was the correct call. We are not going to pretend otherwise to sell you something.
If you employ developers and have a specific idea, buy theirs and build it. That is what it is for, and you will do well with it.
Where we differ
Most service companies are not software companies.
A 30-technician mechanical contractor does not have a TypeScript team, and telling them to go build a MiniApp is telling them no. That is the gap we are in: the same hardware, sold as a finished field-service tool, set up by us, for one trade at a time.
Their buyer is a developer. Ours is a service manager who is tired of paying for callbacks.
Head to head
Line by line.
| Specification | R-Glass RG-1 | Mentra Live | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Price | $349 | $349 | Same class, same price. |
| Weight | 43 g | 43 g | |
| Camera | 12 MP · 119° | 12 MP · 119° | |
| Display | None | None | Audio-first. Lighter, longer runtime. |
| Runtime | 12 h mixed use | 12 h mixed use | |
| Open source | Yes — MIT | Yes — MIT | Neither locks you in. |
| Trade workflows included | Yes | Build your own | The difference that matters. |
| Fleet management | Included | Not offered | Assign, track and update units across a crew. |
| Onboarding | Guided pilot | Self-serve SDK | We set the first crew up ourselves. |
Mentra Live figures are taken from Mentra’s published product page at mentraglass.com/live. R-Glass figures are engineering targets and may change before shipping — we will update this table if they do. If you spot something out of date here, tell us and we will fix it.
Which one
Buy theirs if… buy ours if…
Buy Mentra Live
- You have developers and a specific idea to build.
- You want the largest existing app ecosystem.
- You are prototyping, researching or experimenting.
- Owning the software roadmap matters more than time to value.
Buy R-Glass
- You run a service company and employ technicians, not engineers.
- You want it working on trucks this quarter, not after a build.
- Your problem is callbacks, documentation or training a thin bench.
- You want someone to set it up and stay on the hook for it.
Comparison questions
Answers before you ask for them.
Is Mentra Live a good product?
Yes. It is the strongest open smart-glasses platform available and the SDK is genuinely good. If you have engineers and want to build something specific, buying Mentra Live and building on it is a completely reasonable decision.
So why does R-Glass exist?
Because most service companies do not have engineers. A 30-technician HVAC contractor is not going to staff a TypeScript project to get value out of a wearable. We ship the finished workflows so the buyer is a service manager rather than a developer.
Are the specs really identical?
They are the same class of device with the same headline figures — 43 g, 12 MP at 119°, no display, roughly 12 hours mixed use. We publish our targets openly and will correct this page if anything shifts before we ship.
Can I use Mentra apps on R-Glass, or the reverse?
They are separate stacks, so no, not today. Both are MIT licensed, which means neither can trap your data — but portability between them is not something either of us has built.
What if I want to build my own thing on R-Glass anyway?
You can. The stack is open and the hardware is unlocked. You are just not obliged to, which is the whole point.
Next step
Same price. Try both.
Both devices cost $349. Run a pilot with us alongside whatever else you are evaluating — we would rather you compare them on your own jobs than take our word for it.