AI glasses: Are they the next-generation "revolutionary" product or just a "flash in the pan"?
If you still think smart glasses are just geek toys, you may have missed a "turning point of the era."
In 2025, tech giants and emerging players like Xiaomi, Meta, and Rokid entered the market one after another. AI glasses have moved from the niche corner to the spotlight of consumer electronics.
Recently, Xiaomi launched its first AI glasses at its "Smart Mobility, Smart Home" press conference, with a starting price of 1,999 yuan, sparking heated discussions in the market. According to official data from JD.com, the sales of Xiaomi AI glasses exceeded 10,000 units within 12 hours of its release, ranking first in the sales of the smart glasses category.
Image source: Xiaomi's official Weibo account
The offline market was also booming. When reporters from Jiedian Finance visited a Xiaomi Home store in Shanghai, they found that only a small number of standard - version glasses were available for sale. The monochromatic electro - chromic version and the color electro - chromic version, priced at 2,699 yuan and 2,999 yuan respectively, were out of stock. A store clerk told Jiedian Finance, "Nine out of ten customers who enter the store come to see the smart glasses. Currently, there are only a few standard - version glasses in stock, and we haven't received any notice about the restocking time yet."
Lei Jun, the founder of Xiaomi, positioned the AI glasses as "a next - generation personal smart device and a portable AI entry point." In the eyes of the industry, Xiaomi's strong entry into the market has ignited the previously niche smart glasses market and announced the arrival of the "Year of AI Glasses."
With the development of generative AI and wearable technology, more than 20 manufacturers, including Xiaomi, Meta, Rokid, Huawei, and Baidu, have successively launched new AI glasses products in the past six months. In May this year, more than ten new products were launched in a single month in the global market, and the industry has officially entered the stage of the "Battle of a Hundred Glasses."
• Who are the main players in the AI glasses market?
• How do investors, industry practitioners, and consumers view the rapid rise of AI glasses?
• Is the supply chain and the software and hardware technology behind AI glasses ready?
01 The Fierce Competition in the AI Glasses Market
What are AI glasses? In a broad sense, they are smart terminals that integrate artificial intelligence technology with a wearable glasses form. They look similar to ordinary glasses but are equipped with electronic components such as cameras, microphones, and processors, and have functions such as voice assistants, human - machine interaction, image recognition, and data processing.
Currently, the AI glasses on the market can be roughly divided into three categories: AI audio glasses, which pursue lightweight design and a wireless earphone experience; AI shooting glasses, which focus on first - person perspective photo and video shooting combined with AI recognition capabilities; and AI display glasses (AR glasses), which cover functions such as recording, audio, and provide augmented reality visual feedback.
Jiedian Finance analyzed that these three types of products have different focuses. Audio glasses are the most similar to daily glasses in terms of portability. Shooting glasses give users a novel experience of "recording the world with their eyes." AR glasses represent a more complete future form, but they are often bulkier and more expensive at present.
Currently, the AI glasses market has both global tech giants and startups actively participating, resulting in a rich variety of product forms.
Image source: Meta Store official website
In the overseas market, Meta, the parent company of Facebook, is one of the most active explorers. As early as 2021, it launched "Ray - Ban Stories" in cooperation with Ray - Ban, integrating camera and music playback functions. In 2023, it launched the second - generation "Ray - Ban Meta," adding AI interaction capabilities such as the voice assistant "Hey Meta." According to its official disclosure, the sales of this series of glasses reached 2 million units in 2024, and it plans to launch the third - generation product in 2025, with a target sales volume of 5 million units.
In addition, according to analyst Guo Ming - chi from Tianfeng Securities, Apple is regarding head - mounted devices as the next major development direction of consumer electronics. Currently, at least 7 related projects are in the development stage, covering 3 Vision series products and 4 smart glasses products, and they are expected to be released successively in 2027, with an estimated shipment volume of 3 - 5 million units. The industry believes that if Apple can launch a lightweight AR glasses product in the future, it will greatly promote the industry, and its strong ecosystem and brand influence may have a revolutionary impact similar to that of the iPhone on the smartphone industry.
In the domestic market, many startups have also entered the market. Domestic manufacturers such as Rokid, TCL Thunderbird Innovation, and XREAL have launched multiple AI glasses products in the past two years. Large - scale companies have also started to take action. Huawei has also released smart glasses in cooperation with Gentle Monster.
Image source: Huawei's official website
Driven by multiple players, the AI glasses market has shown explosive growth in recent years. A report from the International Data Corporation (IDC) shows that in the first quarter of 2025, the global shipment volume of smart glasses reached 1.487 million units, a year - on - year increase of 82.3%. The growth in the Chinese market was even more rapid. In the first quarter of 2025, the shipment volume of domestic smart glasses reached 494,000 units, a year - on - year increase of 116.1%, accounting for about one - third of the global market share.
With the entry of popular brands like Xiaomi and the stimulation of consumption through subsidies, IDC expects that the shipment volume of smart glasses in China can reach 2.907 million units in 2025, a year - on - year increase of 121.1%. Although compared with smartphones, the shipment volume of 2.9 million units is still in the early stage, the industry generally believes that AI glasses are at a turning point from "0 to 1" to "1 to N."
02 Is It the Next "Revolutionary" Product or Just a "Flash in the Pan"?
Facing the rapidly heating up AI glasses market, the industry and the investment community generally have high expectations for it, but they also maintain a cautious and calm attitude.
"AI glasses may be the 'entry - level' product that is most likely to detonate the next round of computing platform revolution after smartphones," Guotou Securities said in a research report. The report believes that in the AI era, a large number of applications need a new carrier. Since smart glasses can naturally integrate voice and visual interaction and do not require hand - holding, they are regarded as the best hardware form for AI large - scale models to be implemented on mobile devices.
The enthusiasm of investors can be seen from the number of startups. As of April 2025, the number of registered enterprises related to AI glasses in China has exceeded 440. It can be said that the capital market has spotted the potential of AI glasses to become the next popular consumer electronics product.
The maturity of large - scale models is also considered one of the key backgrounds for the explosion of smart glasses. Wang Junjie, the vice - president of Rokid, said that in recent years, the capabilities of generative AI large - scale models have advanced by leaps and bounds, but they need a suitable terminal carrier to play their role, and AI glasses are one of the very ideal carriers. He said bluntly, "I think it is still in the early stage, and it is a stage with a very high growth curve."
Although all parties are optimistic about the long - term potential of AI glasses, the industry is also clearly aware of the current deficiencies. "Whether it is Meta or Xiaomi, their AI glasses are still basically in the development stage of being 'half - toy and half - tool,' and the tool attribute only accounts for about 30% - 40%," Sun Yanbiao, the chairman of Chaodian Think Tank, told the media. In other words, the practical value provided by current smart glasses is relatively limited, and to a large extent, they are still for novelty - seeking.
An industry analyst told Jiedian Finance that for AI glasses to move from concept to the daily life of the general public, there are still a series of problems to be solved, including cost, battery life, ecosystem, and the cultivation of user habits. Technically, many key indicators are still far from the ideal state. In the market, consumers' awareness and acceptance of this new product category also need time to cultivate.
In the past, smart glasses have long remained a niche product, and many ordinary users lack understanding of their functions and uses. However, driven by many manufacturers this year, consumers' attention has increased rapidly. According to statistics from Tmall, the search volume related to smart AR glasses increased by 78% year - on - year in a recent week, indicating that AI glasses are gradually "breaking out" of the geek circle and attracting the interest of a wider range of consumers.
Image source: Xiaohongshu
After the release of Xiaomi AI glasses, a large number of unboxing and evaluation contents have emerged on social platforms such as Weibo, Bilibili, and Xiaohongshu. Even some digital bloggers who usually "don't wear glasses" have started to try them out. A user who has been observing smart glasses for a long time told Jiedian Finance that Xiaomi's entry has lowered the psychological threshold: "I've wanted to try AI glasses for a long time. Finally, a big company has taken action. The price of 1,999 yuan is not too outrageous, and the 8 - hour battery life seems quite reliable." It is this combination of "endorsement by a big company + affordable price" that has stimulated the purchase impulse of many ordinary consumers.
However, there are also many complaints and doubts. Some consumers reported that there are still obvious deficiencies in the appearance and wearing experience of current AI glasses: "Compared with ordinary glasses, the frame of Xiaomi's glasses is very thick and seems not very suitable for long - term daily wearing." In addition, battery life and heat generation are also highly concerned. Although the official claims that the typical battery life of Xiaomi glasses can reach 8 hours, some users found that after 3 hours of high - intensity use, only 40% of the battery remained.
In terms of the AI function experience, many consumers said that the intelligence of current glasses is more of an extension of the mobile phone assistant function and cannot be regarded as subversive. A consumer who bought Xiaomi glasses told Jiedian Finance, "There is actually a delay in the AI real - time dialogue function. Moreover, if there are multiple Xiaomi devices at home, often one voice command will wake up all the devices to respond together, which is quite embarrassing." It can be seen that there is still room for improvement in the accuracy of voice interaction and device collaboration of AI glasses.
03 Are the Software and Hardware Ready?
For AI glasses to be truly widely applied, the maturity of the underlying technology chain and supply chain is crucial. Currently, the hardware supply chain is rapidly catching up, but there are still many shortcomings in software and hardware that need to be addressed.
According to public information, most of the core components of Xiaomi AI glasses are provided by domestic manufacturers: the whole machine is manufactured by Goertek, the optical module is from Sunny Optical, the Bluetooth audio chip uses the solution of Hengxuan Technology, the storage is provided by Biwin, the battery supplier is Desay Battery, and the processor chip uses the Qualcomm platform. In addition, there are also foreign and domestic manufacturers such as Sony providing image sensors and Knowles Electronics providing microphones.
It can be said that the supporting capabilities of China's local electronics industry chain are sufficient to meet the demand for most components of smart glasses. This mature supply chain foundation comes from years of accumulation in the smartphone and consumer electronics industries. Huatai Securities pointed out that the development of AI glasses depends on the iteration of large - scale models and the support of a complete and efficient industry chain, and many related links are already relatively mature in fields such as AI + home appliances and can be reused.
Jiedian Finance analyzed that for smart glasses to become a popular portable device, a balance must be achieved in terms of volume, weight, battery life, and display effect. However, the industry compares these three factors to an "impossible triangle" - increasing the battery size will increase the weight, enhancing the display will increase power consumption, and a lightweight and compact design often restricts performance.
Image source: Rokid's official website
It is worth noting that many AI glasses do not have a real display function. This actually avoids optical problems and allows for a lightweight appearance. These products mainly emphasize information acquisition through "ears + eyes" rather than overlaying digital content in the field of vision.
The above - mentioned analyst told Jiedian Finance that the combination of AI and AR is the ultimate form. In the future, when optical and computing power technologies mature, AI glasses are expected to replace traditional screens such as mobile phones and computers and become the entry - level device to the "metaverse."
Compared with the rapid iteration of hardware, the software and content ecosystem of AI glasses is still relatively weak at present. Many consumers often don't know what else they can do with smart glasses after the novelty wears off.
The services that a pair of AI glasses can provide depend on the ecosystem it is connected to. The reason why Meta glasses lead in sales is largely due to their seamless integration into Meta's huge social matrix. The captured images can be uploaded to Instagram and Facebook with one click and shared with friends, providing users with a closed - loop experience of instant shooting and sharing.
In China, smart glasses manufacturers are also trying to enrich application scenarios. Rokid was the first to connect with Alipay, enabling users to complete payments through the glasses without taking out their mobile phones. Xiaomi demonstrated using glasses to control smart home devices and turn on household appliances through first - person perspective dialogue. Some glasses have built - in applications such as navigation, sports recording, and real - time translation, targeting high - frequency scenarios such as daily travel and fitness.
However, overall, the existing applications are still far from being "killer - level." Many functions can already be achieved by mobile phones, and glasses have not created completely new usage scenarios.
Jiedian Finance believes that to promote the upgrade of smart glasses from "audio and shooting tools" to "personal life assistants," manufacturers need to accelerate ecological cooperation, pre - arrange applications for glasses, and migrate or innovate existing mobile - terminal services to the glasses scenario. This includes attracting more third - party developers to develop apps for glasses or opening APIs to make existing applications compatible with glasses. It can be predicted that as the hardware gradually matures, the software ecosystem will become the key battlefield for competition.
In addition, the direct factor restricting the large - scale popularization of smart glasses is the insufficient product experience. Problems such as weight, battery life, heat generation