There has emerged a Xiaomi product that even Lei Jun can't boost.

Lei Jun, you've changed.

I've been following Lei Jun for more than a decade because of Xiaomi phones, but I never knew that Lei Jun likes wearing glasses so much.

In the past two months, Lei Jun has worn a pair of black-rimmed glasses that don't quite match his style on every live-streaming occasion. Even on the special and significant occasion of the military parade commemorating the victory of the Chinese People's War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, Lei Jun, who was invited to attend, was captured by netizens wearing the so-called "veteran actor" black-rimmed glasses.

Although Beijing was sunny on September 3rd and the sun was quite strong, there were few people wearing sunglasses at the scene to see the parade clearly. Presumably, Mr. Lei, you weren't wearing those glasses to protect yourself from the sun.

Yes, this "veteran actor" black-rimmed glasses are the Xiaomi AI Glasses, which were launched together with the Xiaomi YU7 at the end of June.

In the past, there was a metaphysical rule in the digital circle: products personally launched and promoted by Lei Jun usually have good product strength and sell well. But things are different with the Xiaomi AI Glasses.

Even though Lei Jun has been working so hard to promote the glasses, he can't stop the downward trend of the Xiaomi AI Glasses' sales.

Has Mr. Lei lost his magic?

Declining Sales

At the "Smart Mobility, Home, and Lifestyle Ecosystem Launch Event" on June 26th, the Xiaomi AI Glasses were launched before the Xiaomi YU7. If we're being nitpicky, this was truly a "grand finale" product.

Moreover, Xiaomi has identified the AI Glasses as the main entry point for its future AI ecosystem.

At the beginning of its launch, the Xiaomi AI Glasses really lived up to expectations and had impressive sales. According to reports from media outlets such as 36Kr and 21st Century Business Herald, within the first five days of its launch, the sales volume of the Xiaomi AI Glasses on the JD flagship store alone exceeded 10,000 units. Within the first 15 days, the total sales volume of the glasses across all platforms reached approximately 80,000 units.

Such outstanding sales performance is definitely top-notch in the entire Chinese AI glasses market.

The previously high-profile Sharge AI Glasses were estimated by the media to have sold only about 500 units in the first month. The Thunderbird V3, a very mature product, sold 8,000 units on JD and Taobao in the first month after its launch, but it still lags far behind Xiaomi.

It seems that even Xiaomi internally was prematurely celebrating. There are rumors that Xiaomi urgently raised its sales target from 300,000 units to 500,000 units, exuding an atmosphere of "selling like hotcakes."

Unfortunately, this so-called "selling like hotcakes" seems to be the same as what Ai Tiecheng mentioned. After reaching 80,000 units in 15 days after its launch, Xiaomi has stopped updating the cumulative sales volume.

Meanwhile, the media started reporting that the daily sales of the Xiaomi AI Glasses on various platforms had dropped significantly.

According to a report from the Science and Technology Innovation Board Daily, based on data from Chanmama, the sales of the Xiaomi AI Glasses on Douyin clearly showed a "high start and low finish." As of August 18th, the daily sales volume had dropped to the range of 100 - 250 units, a significant gap compared to the peak of 5,000 - 7,500 units on the launch day.

Additionally, the Science and Technology Innovation Board Daily also mentioned that during an on-site visit on August 19th, they found that the number of inquiries in stores had dropped significantly. After waiting in many stores for 20 minutes, no consumers took the initiative to try on the glasses, which is highly consistent with what I saw at the Xiaomi Home in Guangzhou.

What really stirs up the public is the figure reported by multiple industry media such as XR Vision and Yicai Global - the return rate of the Xiaomi AI Glasses is "as high as 40%."

Unless a consumer electronic product has major defects, a return rate as high as 40% can only be described as "shocking." After all, according to data from the National Retail Federation, the average return rate of global 3C electronics in 2024 was only 8% - 15%.

This is the ultimate reason why Lei Jun has been so diligent in promoting the Xiaomi AI Glasses.

Unexpected Defeat

Compared to the AI glasses from Sharge and Thunderbird, Xiaomi was among the last to launch similar products. Before its launch, it was generally favored by the market, and everyone expected it to bring surprises in terms of functionality, texture, and price, becoming the "terminator" of the Ray-Ban Meta Glasses.

However, in the end, the sales of the Xiaomi AI Glasses declined, and the return rate remained high, ending in a mess.

Behind this, there are two reasons: "surface" and "deep-seated."

On the surface, there is still much room for improvement in the craftsmanship and wearing experience of the Xiaomi AI Glasses.

For example, at a price of 1,999 yuan, the strong "plastic feel" of the entire glasses can put off many users.

The frame is made of plastic to reduce weight but hasn't undergone secondary reinforcement. Netizens generally reported that the entire frame becomes loose and makes strange noises with a little force, and the hinges of the temples aren't reinforced either. They are wobbly, flimsy, and easily scratched.

Such a texture makes it hard to associate the glasses with a 2,000-yuan price tag, let alone the so-called "sense of technology" or "fashion sense."

On the other hand, many bloggers also reported that the shooting function of the Xiaomi AI Glasses isn't as good as expected.

For example, since the image sensor of the glasses is placed horizontally, the Xiaomi AI Glasses only support horizontal video shooting and can't automatically output 9:16 vertical screen files after rotation. In an era dominated by short videos, this seems out of place.

There are also problems common to AI glasses, such as poor imaging quality in low-light environments and poor anti-shake effects during shooting, which haven't been improved with the Xiaomi AI Glasses.

However, compared to the above surface problems, the more fatal "deep-seated" problem is that Xiaomi has positioned the glasses as an "AI ecosystem entry point," but lacks the most crucial "ecosystem" environment.

For example, the "glasses - car connectivity," which should be a key feature, has only achieved "customizable button on the right roller of the steering wheel to control the glasses to take photos or record videos." Moreover, this requires a Xiaomi phone connected to the glasses to be connected to the car, which has little to do with the "AI" of the glasses.

Even the basic functions of the "AI glasses," the core selling point, haven't been well implemented by Xiaomi.

For example, it doesn't support custom wake words. When you say "Xiaomi AI Assistant," it's easy to wake up the assistants on other devices at the same time. The AI Q&A and AI recognition functions mentioned in the promotion generally have a 1 - 2 second delay, and the AI often gives irrelevant answers or rambles on, resulting in a very strange experience.

With no obvious advantages in image quality and wearing experience compared to its competitors, and a crippled AI function, is the Xiaomi AI Glasses doomed to fail?

Of course not. In fact, its "master," the Ray-Ban Meta Glasses, has already shown the answer.

Essence That Can't Be Learned

As soon as you look at the product pictures of the Ray-Ban Meta Glasses, you'll be surprised to find that the Xiaomi AI Glasses look exactly the same.

In terms of functionality, the two products are highly consistent in the core product concept of "seamlessly integrating shooting, listening, and intelligent assistant functions into a pair of everyday glasses."

However, the biggest difference between the two - the AI assistant and content ecosystem they rely on - has led to a "world of difference" in the current situation of the two products. This is also the core reason why the Ray-Ban Meta Glasses have sold 2 million units.

When it comes to the success of the Ray-Ban Meta Glasses, a key factor must be mentioned:

Instagram.

Instagram has approximately 2 billion monthly active users and 500 million daily active users. It has been downloaded more than 3.8 billion times globally. Advertising and promoting on Instagram can potentially reach about 1.74 billion potential users.

Currently, the Reels (short video) feature has become the main source of traffic on Instagram, accounting for more than 50% of users' consumption time. About 70% of users watch the Stories (snapshots) feature every day.

Before the Ray-Ban Meta Glasses appeared, whether you wanted to shoot Reels or Stories, you had to take out your phone.

If you see a rainbow on a speeding high-speed train or suddenly encounter a flock of pigeons flying overhead... by the time you look down, find your phone, unlock it, and open the camera, the wonderful moment has already passed.

As a product under Meta, the Ray-Ban Meta Glasses are deeply integrated with Instagram in terms of software. Even its 3:4 vertical screen aspect ratio is specially customized for Instagram.

When you press the shooting button or give a voice command, the Ray-Ban Meta Glasses can start recording directly from a first-person perspective, leaving your hands completely free. After recording, the video will be automatically synced to the phone app, and you can share it to your Instagram account without cropping with just one click.

How powerful is the driving force of this "one-stop service"?

It unlocks countless scenarios that were previously difficult to record, creating a new and more immersive content form for Instagram's Reels and Stories.

The Ray-Ban Meta Glasses can even serve as a "live-streaming camera" on your face, allowing you to conduct first-person video live-streams directly to your fans.

At this point, the Ray-Ban Meta Glasses have transformed from a "tech toy" to a "productivity tool." Relying on Instagram's huge traffic, shooting more unique and immersive videos means getting more attention, likes, and shares, and even translating into real cash in the form of traffic dividends and advertising invitations.

Therefore, the deep integration with Instagram is the core catalyst for the Ray-Ban Meta Glasses to leap from a "decent smart glasses" to a "phenomenal hit." It provides the product with clear usage scenarios, a powerful viral dissemination channel, and indispensable core value.

At this time, buying the Ray-Ban Meta Glasses is not just a "tech novelty" or a "fashion novelty" but an investment in creating commercially valuable content.

It is precisely this investment value and tool attribute that the Xiaomi AI Glasses lack.

Even the main uses demonstrated by Lei Jun when promoting the glasses are just taking photos and recording the current scene. Such a "demonstration" not only makes the glasses seem like a toy but also fails to differentiate them from products like action cameras and handheld gimbal cameras, giving consumers no reason to choose them.

Currently, it seems that not only Xiaomi but almost all domestic AI glasses are trapped in the circle of a "novelty tech toy." So, it's not surprising that users want to return the glasses after the novelty wears off.

It's Easy to Imitate the Appearance but Hard to Capture the Essence

Actually, the Xiaomi AI Glasses also have a live-streaming function.

The product details page states that "by integrating the device center, the Xiaomi AI Glasses can be coordinated with the camera of a Xiaomi phone," which means that the glasses' camera can replace the phone's camera for live-streaming.