Xiaomi is secretly planning to launch AI glasses in collaboration with Goertek, and it is expected to be released in Q2 next year. | Exclusive from 36Kr.
Author: Qiu Xiaofen
Editor: Su Jianxun
"Intelligent Emergence" exclusively learned that Xiaomi is planning to launch a new generation of AI glasses. It has collaborated with Goertek several months ago, and the product is expected to be released in Q2 2025 (most likely in the Mi Fan Festival in April). Regarding the shipment volume of this product, Lei Jun's expectation is "more than 300,000 units."
Insiders told Intelligent Emergence that Xiaomi AI glasses will "fully benchmark against Meta Ray-ban," equipped with AI functions, audio headphone modules, camera modules, and will be released under Xiaomi's own brand.
In response, Xiaomi has not replied yet.
We can conclude that 2025 will become the first year of the AI glasses explosion.
Baidu has fired the first shot in AI glasses. On November 12, at the Baidu World Conference, Li Ying, the CEO of Xiaodu Technology, released the Xiaodu AI glasses. This product is defined by Baidu as "the world's first native AI glasses equipped with a Chinese large model", equipped with Baidu's Wenxin large model and DuerOS AI operating system, and will be released in the first half of 2025.
Not only Baidu and Xiaomi, "Intelligent Emergence" learned that OPPO, vivo, Huawei, Tencent, and ByteDance are also evaluating AI glasses projects recently; Apple has also been exposed by foreign media that it has organized a team to focus on evaluating the AI glasses market.
In terms of software reserves for AI glasses, various enterprises have made preparations in advance in the past year. Judging from the recent press conferences of mobile phone manufacturers, they have basically reconstructed the operating system and voice interaction paradigm, and seamlessly connected with the multi-modal model and AI applications from the bottom - and the operating system, large model, and voice interaction are exactly the indispensable software systems on AI glasses.
However, several industry insiders told 36Kr that the AI glasses projects of the aforementioned software and hardware manufacturers, "most of them have not yet reached the project establishment stage, but they are in intensive communication with supply chain manufacturers", "and it is expected that the earliest release will be at the end of 2025 at the earliest".
The problems faced by each manufacturer are different - for example, Huawei needs to find usable chips, and ByteDance needs to find a more suitable hardware leader.
The reason why software and hardware giants have reignited their enthusiasm for AI glasses is due to the explosion of the AI glasses jointly developed by Meta and the established eyewear manufacturer Ray-Ban - the global shipment volume of this product in the first three quarters of this year exceeded 1.1 million pairs, and it is expected that the shipment volume this year will reach 1.5 - 2 million units, making it the most popular AI hardware in 2024.
An industry insider analyzed to 36Kr that, on the one hand, the success of Meta Ray-ban provides the industry with a new idea for the implementation of AI in hardware and validates the market demand; on the other hand, the AI function of Meta Ray-ban cannot enter China, leaving a certain market gap in the domestic AI glasses industry, "Everyone hopes to become the Meta Ray-ban in China".
However, at the end of 2024, there is a slight divergence in strategies between large and small manufacturers.
Compared with the calmness of domestic large manufacturers, a group of AI glasses startup companies have recently changed their direction. In addition to rushing to release products before Xiaomi, they take the lead in occupying cooperation with domestic and foreign established eyewear/sunglasses brands.
For example, the AI glasses brand "Jiehuan" under the Xiaomi ecological chain enterprise "Hive Technology" has successively collaborated with eyewear chains such as Baoshida and Baodao Eyewear; AR manufacturers Rokid and Xreal are also rumored to collaborate with BOLON Eyewear and Gentle Monster soon; the AI glasses newcomer "Shanji" has chosen to collaborate with the Hong Kong fast-fashion eyewear brand LOHO.
In fact, as can be seen from the case of Meta and Ray-ban, the cooperation between technology brands and traditional eyewear manufacturers is a mutually beneficial match - Meta provides the ability of AI technology and builds a new selling point, while Ray-ban complements the deficiencies of the former, including the traditional eyewear channels (sales/optometry), the know-how of eyewear categories, and the brand awareness of eyewear.
An industry insider analyzed to 36Kr that AI glasses is an industry with a low threshold but a high ceiling. It is very simple to quickly make an AI glasses product - "The audio glasses in Huaqiangbei can be bought for as low as 20 yuan", but it is not easy to truly make AI glasses always on.
"How to distribute the center of gravity of the glasses to be more comfortable? How to make the shape of the glasses more suitable for the pupil distance/face shape/nose shape of Chinese people, etc.?" Various difficulties are a new major test for software and hardware manufacturers, which requires a lot of experience in the eyewear industry to support.
However, an eyewear industry insider judged that in 2025, once Xiaomi and a group of mobile phone manufacturers' AI glasses are released, "it will be difficult for startup companies to survive, with Meta in the front and mobile phone manufacturers including Xiaomi in the back".
In particular, before AI glasses truly become an independent product, resource-intensive mobile phone manufacturers still firmly hold the core entrance of this hardware, and the natural advantage is self-evident.
The "Hundred-Glasses Battle" in 2025 is about to begin, and everyone is already preparing for the future competition. But what awaits everyone may be a cruel battle.
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