RealWear Navigator 520 vs. 500 | Smart glasses review

The new year is off to a good start: RealWear launched its new RealWear Navigator 520 smart glasses at the beginning of 2023. It’s the successor to the RealWear Navigator 500, which was presented just over a year ago.

Now the question is: To what extent does the Navigator 520 differ from its predecessor? Are the latest smart glasses from RealWear really worth buying? We have the answer.

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Test: RealWear Navigator 520

As the model name already suggests, the Navigator 520 is rather the latest model within the Navigator 500 series and thus not a completely new RealWear product. You can find our review of the RealWear Navigator 500 in our magazine.

So, there are many similarities with the predecessor model, as a look at the hardware already shows.

Design & wearing comfort

The Navigator 520 barely differs visually from the Navigator 500: The smart glasses have the same subtle, lightweight design to ensure comfortable wearing even over several hours of work. In fact, the Navigator 520 weighs almost the same as its predecessor: 274 grams instead of 272 grams.

The smart glasses for industry have a modular design, which means that individual components such as the battery, camera or display can be easily exchanged. Thus, the user is ideally equipped for different tasks and challenges.

Due to the excellent voice control, the RealWear Navigator 520 only has three buttons plus a power button with integrated fingerprint sensor. In addition, the new model, like the Navigator 500, is equipped with four microphones, a camera including a flashlight on the side of the head, and the so-called boom arm. To this boom arm, the display is attached – and that is what significantly differentiates the Navigator 520 from its predecessor.

HyperDisplay & camera

While the RealWear Navigator 500 still has the same display as the RealWear HMT-1 – 854 x 480 pixel resolution and 20° field of view – the RealWear Navigator 520 offers a much better view with its new HyperDisplay. It’s roughly equivalent to an 8.4-inch display.

Bigger screen: Image information is displayed without borders; the view is 20% larger overall.
Sharper image: Thanks to the HD resolution of 1,280 x 720 pixels, image details are clearly visible
Higher contrast colors: The color representation is characterized by better rendition

Added to this are the 24° field of view and the significantly larger eye box of 14 x 14 mm. Furthermore, the viewing distance can be extended to position the display further away from the eye. This means that the perfect viewing angle can always be set.

Like the Navigator 500, its successor also has a high-resolution 48 MP camera. Videos are recorded in Full HD with a frame rate of 60 frames per second.

Control

There are no major innovations in terms of control: Like its predecessor, the Navigator 520 is controlled by voice, with the addition of an action, forward and back button. However, these are hardly needed due to the excellently functioning voice control.

The user can send commands to the smart glasses in 17 languages – more languages are being added gradually. These are recognized and executed even with ambient noise of up to 100 dB (equivalent to a jackhammer at a distance of 5 meters).

The following languages are currently available: German, English, French, Italian, Dutch, Polish, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish, Czech, Chinese, Cantonese, Indonesian, Japanese, Korean, Mandarin and Thai.

Storage & battery

The RealWear Navigator 520 also does not differ from the Navigator 500 in terms of storage and battery. Both smart glasses models are equipped with 64 GB of internal storage and 4 GB of RAM. The storage can be expanded by up to 512 GB via microSD card.

A hot-swappable 2600 mAh battery is included and can be replaced during operation. Thus, the industrial smart glasses do not have to be restarted. The battery runtime is about 6-8 hours.

Scope of delivery & accessories

The standard scope of delivery of the Navigator 520 includes:

1x RealWear Navigator 520
1x USB-C 3.0 charging cable
1x Workband

Optional accessories include the following:

Hard hat clips
Head straps
Headphones (with hearing protection)
Thermal camera
Wind noise filter
LTE / 4G Modem
Batteries and chargers
Bags and cases

RealWear Navigator 500 price

The price for the RealWear Navigator 520 is currently 2,999.00 euros. Included in the price are installation and support by Bitnamic.

Fields of application of the Navigator 520 – Ideal for use in industry

Like its predecessor, the Navigator 520 is IP66 rated, making it dustproof and jet water resistant. The Navigator 520 can easily withstand falls of up to 2 meters onto concrete, as well as extreme temperatures (can be used at -20°C to +50°C).

These conditions make the RealWear Navigator 520 the ideal smart glasses for industry. It can be used both outdoors and indoors (unlike augmented reality smart glasses such as the Microsoft HoloLens 2, which are primarily suited for indoor industrial or medical environments) and is mainly used in the following areas:

Oil, gas, automotive & heavy industry
Construction sites
Manufacturing
Logistics

Advantages of the RealWear Navigator 520

Daily tasks such as commissioning machines and systems, maintenance and repairs – especially those under extreme conditions – are made much easier by the RealWear Navigator 520.

Thanks to the effective voice control, both hands always remain free for work on machines etc. This has a major impact on safety during challenging operations, such as repairs at extreme heights.

With regard to remote service, the new HyperDisplay of the Navigator 520 simplifies communication between expert and technician, as descriptions and explanations are much more clear. But even when working alone, for example when carrying out step-by-step instructions, the user benefits considerably from the improved display of the RealWear smart glasses.

The low weight and hot-swappable battery ensure that the Navigator 520 can be comfortably carried and used for an entire working day.

The major advantages of the RealWear Navigator 520 at a glance:

Robust, dust-proof, jet water-proof, drop-proof up to 2 meters
Ideal for use in industrial environments
Excellent voice control  both hands remain free
17 languages available
Noise cancellation up to 100dB
High resolution HyperDisplay
Individual adjustable camera and display
High photo and video quality
High wearing comfort
Long battery life
Hot-swappable battery

RealWear Navigator 520 vs. Navigator 500 – Technical data in comparison

Purchasing RealWear Navigator 520 – is it worth it?

Comparing the new RealWear Navigator 520 with the Navigator 500, not much has changed at first glance: Visually, hardly anything has been changed, and the same features are offered. There are also no innovations in terms of operating system, processor, protection and camera. Basically, only one part of the new industrial smart glasses from RealWear has been changed: the display.

But this update is a significant improvement. Good visibility or readability is essential in practical use – especially in remote service. Technicians in the field need to be able to quickly understand what the next step in the maintenance or repair process is. The new HyperDisplay guarantees that.

We tested the RealWear Navigator 520 with our remote service solution bitnamic CONNECT and found that transmitted images are actually displayed much sharper and with higher contrast. Details can be seen much better and the 20% larger field of view makes a significant difference.

Our conclusion: Anyone who has been using the RealWear HMT-1 and is thinking about upgrading should get started right away with the RealWear Navigator 520. Those who already use the RealWear Navigator 500 are faced with a more difficult decision: Is it worth buying its successor?

Fortunately, there is an alternative solution: the HyperDisplay is expected to be available separately in the near future. Thanks to the modular design of the RealWear Navigator series, the boom arm of the Navigator 500 can be easily removed and replaced by that of the Navigator 520 including HyperDisplay.

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RealWear Navigator 520 vs. Navigator 500 | What is the successor capable of?