Smart glasses are in fierce competition at IFA: AR interaction becomes standard, and products "simplify" to reach a moment of qualitative change.
On September 5, 2025, local time, IFA 2025 officially opened in Berlin, Germany.
Image source: On - site shooting by Lei Technology
In the mid - year summary of smart glasses, Lei Technology once mentioned a view - at present, there is a strong homogenization phenomenon among mainstream smart glasses: Smart glasses without display functions usually adopt the daily black - frame design, paired with Qualcomm's AR1 chipset and Sony's IMX 681 sensor; the display models generally use monochromatic (green) waveguide technology, providing functions such as maps, music playback, in - line prompts, and AI Q&A. Besides, the differences between different products can only be reflected in the charging methods and design styles of the glasses.
However, according to what Lei Technology observed at IFA 2025, the smart glasses category has finally waited for its "qualitative change moment".
If you don't want homogenization, "simplify" the product
First of all, more and more products are choosing to break away from the AR/XR chipset solutions provided by Qualcomm and build their own products according to their own needs. To be fair, Qualcomm AR1 is a very mature mobile platform that can provide certain IO and AI capabilities for smart glasses products. But when all products in the industry choose the "comprehensive" route, daring to simplify smart glasses is also a good way to break through.
The AI sports glasses brand BleeqUp exhibited its "four - in - one" AI smart glasses, Ranger, at IFA 2025. Different from other smart glasses brands, BleeqUp has set a very niche market route for Ranger - cycling glasses specially designed for cycling enthusiasts.
Image source: On - site shooting by Lei Technology
In terms of design, Ranger breaks away from the traditional "black - frame neutral" design style of smart glasses and takes a very radical sports route. Such a design may not be suitable for people to wear in daily life, but it is just right for use as sports equipment when cycling.
Of course, design is just one of the features of BleeqUp Ranger. What really makes BleeqUp Ranger stand out is its choice of chips. Since BleeqUp is a smart glasses focused on the cycling scenario, and the user's needs for glasses in the cycling scenario can be condensed into two points: music and shooting. Therefore, BleeqUp Ranger did not follow the trend and adopt the all - functional Qualcomm AR1 platform, but adopted a simplified chip platform specially built for low - power devices.
At first glance, the difference in platforms significantly weakens the horizontal competitiveness of BleeqUp - this pair of glasses has no AI Q&A and cannot display maps. But cyclists don't need these when cycling: cyclists have a GPS - enabled cadence meter on their handlebars, a precise power meter on their pedals, and a professional heart rate monitor on their bodies... From the beginning, cyclists only need a pair of glasses that can play music and take videos. The "non - all - functional" chip not only brings longer battery life to Ranger but also allows the chip to concentrate more computing power on AI video anti - shake.
Image source: On - site shooting by Lei Technology
In Lei Technology's view, the "simplification" route makes smart glasses transform from "all - around" to "specialized" - Instead of barely stuffing various applications into the limited hardware conditions, it is better to concentrate resources on the experiences that can really impress the target audience. The contraction in functions brings about improvements in battery life, reliability, and consistency of experience, and also reduces the user's learning cost. In this way, the product can not only enter specific vertical markets more easily but also establish higher stickiness with users.
From an industry perspective, this trend is also really promoting smart glasses to enter the "in - depth scenario exploration" stage. After all, the real difference is not the number of functions but whether it can capture the core needs of users and use limited resources effectively through trade - offs. For consumers, this pragmatism is the key to promoting the maturity of the entire category.
AR display and diversified interaction may become standard features
If simplification is the breakthrough strategy of manufacturers in niche scenarios, then in the general product line, the greater consensus in the industry is "addition" - Use waveguide technology and diversified interaction methods to make up for the interaction shortcomings of smart glasses.
For example, at CES 2025, many brands presented their products based on the "AR1 solution". But at IFA 2025, half a year later, these traditional "AR1 shooting glasses" can no longer attract the attention of professional users. Instead, those seemingly rudimentary waveguide products at the beginning of the year have now become the "guests of honor" in the smart glasses exhibition area.
Image source: On - site shooting by Lei Technology
For instance, the well - known Rokid demonstrated its latest AR waveguide smart glasses, Rokid Glasses, in Europe for the first time. Different from the Ray - Ban Meta glasses that mainly rely on voice interaction, Rokid's "waveguide + shooting" interaction mode not only brings visual input (shooting) ability to the glasses but also makes up for the shortcoming of visual output (display). Of course, due to the switch to the AI model based on ChatGPT, the overseas version of Rokid Glasses has a slightly different experience from the domestic version.
But from both Lei Technology's on - site experience and the long queue at the Rokid booth, waveguide display will inevitably become the next entry threshold for the high - end smart glasses category.
In addition, the "interaction peripherals" of smart glasses, in Lei Technology's view, will also become the next main battlefield for the smart glasses category. In the previous horizontal evaluation of smart glasses, Lei Technology mentioned that most glasses on the market can only achieve "one - dimensional interaction". After all, the input hardware of the temple touchpad has limited accuracy and can only support simple gesture commands such as sliding back and forth.
But obviously, from the three perspectives of interaction accuracy, ease of use, and perceptibility, this interaction scheme of rubbing the temples back and forth can hardly be called "passable". So at IFA 2025, many brands have begun to explore the supporting interaction devices for glasses.
Image source: On - site shooting by Lei Technology
For example, INMO launched two different interaction modes, a small wireless touchpad and a smart ring, for its smart glasses INMO Air3. Among them, the smart touchpad expands the traditional linear one - dimensional interaction into a planar two - dimensional interaction, while the smart ring brings spatial pointing interaction ability to Air3. It is precisely because of the innovation in the interaction mode that INMO Air3 can achieve an efficient interaction experience similar to that of a tablet computer in the smart glasses category.
Of course, more diverse interaction modes also bring greater technical challenges to the glasses. For example, the waveguide display module will significantly shorten the battery life of the glasses; the spatial pointing interaction of the smart ring is not only more costly but also difficult to perform fine operations.
But from a trend perspective, manufacturers have reached a consensus: without AR display or multi - modal interaction, smart glasses are destined to have a hard time standing out. Just like the process of smartphones evolving from feature phones to touch - screen phones, AI glasses also need a "must - have option" to complete the qualitative change, and in 2025, "interaction" is this must - have option.
Improving the smart glasses ecosystem can't rely solely on brands themselves
If the breakthrough at the hardware level determines whether AI glasses "can be used", then ecosystem construction determines "whether they are easy to use" and "whether they can be used in the long term". Since most smart glasses use customized "closed systems", their functions only depend on "what the manufacturer provides". And at present, the smart glasses industry generally lacks imagination, resulting in the available functions of current smart glasses products being nothing more than listening to music, taking photos, viewing navigation, translation, and serving as a teleprompter.
Image source: On - site shooting by Lei Technology
But users' expectations for smart glasses are far more than these. Therefore, in Lei Technology's view, in 2025, the smart glasses industry must change the traditional "paternalistic" development model, and must attach importance to the cultivation of user communities and "co - build" the application ecosystem of smart glasses.
Image source: On - site shooting by Lei Technology
Still taking INMO Air3 as an example, the addition of an 8 - core processor with a 4nm process gives Air 3 hardware performance far beyond that of similar products. And INMO is well aware of the importance of user co - construction. It has opened development tools and even the AI intelligent platform to the user community, allowing professional users and the brand to jointly build the application ecosystem of smart glasses and explore the future development of smart glasses.
Compared with the approach of developing in isolation, this method of letting users decide the application scenarios based on their own needs is more likely to breed killer applications that can retain users in the long term.
Summary: Smart glasses enter a new stage of seeking common ground while reserving differences
From the on - site observation at IFA 2025, it can be seen that the AI glasses industry is entering a new stage. In the past, they were more regarded as experimental concept products; now, three major trends are gradually becoming clear: AR and multi - modal interaction are becoming the industry foundation, the simplification idea for niche scenarios shows a practical breakthrough path, and ecosystem construction determines whether the industry can go further.
Of course, compared with mature consumer electronics such as mobile phones and earphones, smart glasses are still in the stage of "defining themselves", and different brands have different exploration routes for the future of smart glasses. But whether it is specialized products for vertical groups or general - purpose glasses for the public, if the smart glasses category wants to achieve greater development, it must ultimately find the core scenarios that can truly integrate into users' daily lives.
Image source: On - site shooting by Lei Technology
In Lei Technology's view, this state of seeking common ground while reserving differences and blooming with diversity is actually more worthy of expectation. After all, the gaps shown by different brands at IFA are just a microcosm of the current development trend of smart glasses, and after the end of IFA 2025, the real competition in the smart glasses category has just begun.
This article is from the WeChat public account "Lei Technology" and is published by 36Kr with authorization.