Payment only takes 2.8 seconds. Will AI glasses eat into the mobile payment market?
In the early morning convenience store, busy office workers hold coffee and breakfast in their hands and quickly walk to the cashier. There's no need to put down the items in their hands - they just need to glance at the payment code, softly confirm the amount, and the payment is completed instantly. This is the "glance-to-pay" function brought by the latest firmware upgrade of Xiaomi AI Glasses. It's extremely convenient and is likely to reshape consumers' payment habits.
According to tests, the entire process of "glance-to-pay" only takes an average of 2.8 seconds, which is 40% faster than scanning the code with a mobile phone. This "super speed" may very well erode the mobile payment market in the near future.
Upgrade of the payment function of AI glasses, claiming to combine safety and convenience
In September 2025, Xiaomi AI Glasses pushed the official firmware update of version 1.2.31.0. This update introduced several practical functions, and the most eye - catching one is the Alipay "glance - to - pay" function.
Glasses products naturally have the characteristic of freeing hands. This contactless payment experience gives AI glasses the same practical value as devices such as mobile phones and smartwatches.
Users can set it up in three simple steps: after wearing the glasses, bind the device to the Alipay account through system prompts and enable the "glance - to - pay" permission. The subsequent specific usage process is also extremely simple: wake up Xiaomi's intelligent voice assistant through voice commands to complete the QR code payment, without any manual operation of the mobile phone throughout the process. This innovative payment method is especially suitable for daily consumption scenarios such as shopping checkout and taking public transportation where both hands are busy or carrying items.
The "glance - to - pay" function is jointly developed by Xiaomi and Alipay. The entire payment process relies on Alipay's multi - dimensional risk control system to ensure that each transaction undergoes real - time security verification. Multiple protection mechanisms such as biometric recognition and behavior analysis are used to safeguard the security of funds. In addition, the technical team has specifically optimized the recognition efficiency in complex lighting environments to ensure that payments can still be completed quickly in scenarios such as shopping malls and outdoors. Both the "security" of funds and the "convenience" of transactions, which users value most, are well - taken care of.
Payment may become the first true "killer - app" for AI glasses. This cross - device, contactless payment experience may drive the transformation of AI glasses from technology accessories to personal intelligent terminals.
Military parade marketing & founder marketing, a large amount of exposure to promote the product
Xiaomi AI Glasses were released on June 26, 2025. They have functions such as first - person image recording, real - time translation of 10 languages, linkage with the Mi Home ecosystem, and gesture - controlled color - changing glasses, which are convenient for freeing hands at any time to record life and work efficiently. According to Li Chuangqi, the project leader, the product was personally approved by Lei Jun, the founder of Xiaomi Group. After its release, the sales volume exceeded expectations by several times. Although the stock volume exceeded the annual output of half of the startup companies in the industry, it still ran out of stock quickly.
Lei Jun, the founder of Xiaomi Group, is a well - known entrepreneur with over 26 million followers on his personal Weibo. With personal labels such as approachability, high - knowledge, and diligence, he has won the hearts of a large number of users and gained many market supporters, having great influence. The founder's IP is the best lever for brand communication, and Lei Jun understands this well.
At the important node of the upgrade of Xiaomi AI Glasses, coinciding with the 80th anniversary of the victory of the Chinese People's War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression and the World Anti - Fascist War, Lei Jun wore Xiaomi AI Glasses at the "September 3rd Military Parade" to "promote the product".
The military parade scene just demonstrated the product advantages of Xiaomi AI Glasses: recording the grand occasion from the first - person perspective, real - time translation for international audiences, and intelligent ecosystem linkage showing technological strength. When Lei Jun shared his experience of attending the parade on social media, emphasizing "remembering history and cherishing peace", he received over 170,000 likes. This not only made Xiaomi AI Glasses "go viral" again but also strengthened users' trust. The highest level of marketing is to integrate the product into national emotions and awaken collective memories. This approach avoids the stiffness of commercial advertisements and creates an emotional connection point between the brand and users.
The essence of scenario - based marketing is to let the product naturally demonstrate its value in the appropriate scenario. Lei Jun's move avoided the dullness of function introduction. Through the real scenario of a national - level grand event, consumers can intuitively understand the product's capabilities. At the same time, binding the product with positive narratives such as "patriotism" and "strengthening the country through science and technology" greatly enhanced the brand's height.
By combining his personal IP with the product, Lei Jun not only saved a huge amount of advertising expenses but also achieved more efficient communication and conversion. The Xiaomi AI Glasses project has attracted much attention since its inception, and the sales performance after its release far exceeded the team's expectations.
The market competition is intensifying, AI glasses are moving towards practicality
As of 2025, there are more than 700 million myopic people in China, and the market potential of smart glasses is huge. Lei Jun and Xiaomi's marketing measures during the military parade are also helping the entire industry to effectively educate the market and promote products. The precise matching of product functions with scenario requirements is the key to the popularization of AI glasses.
The smart glasses market is experiencing explosive growth. Xiaomi is not the only player. The Rokid Glasses launched by Chinese startup Rokid only weigh 49 grams, featuring "comfort, beauty, and versatility", with a "small and beautiful" charm. It is reported that in just 5 days, 40,000 units of Rokid Glasses were sold out, and even the production capacity in September was fully booked. In the international market, the AI glasses jointly launched by Meta and Ray - Ban focus on functions such as shooting, real - time translation, and large - model voice interaction.
Smart glasses are becoming the next - generation interaction platform after smartphones. It is no longer just an AI glasses for taking photos and videos, nor an audio glasses in the form of headphones. Instead, it is a device that integrates AI interaction, shooting, and display capabilities, and begins to truly free hands and replace some scenarios where mobile phones are used.
As AI glasses become a "battleground" for technological development, user experience has become the key to victory for AI glasses manufacturers, and no detail can be overlooked. Glasses are products worn all day long, and they have strict requirements in terms of aesthetics, weight, function, and energy consumption.
From the perspective of technological development trends, AI glasses are evolving from simple information display to complex human - machine interaction. In the future, they may become an important tool to enhance human capabilities and integrate into all aspects of daily life, just like mobile phones and smart bracelets.
Conclusion
With the firmware update, more users of Xiaomi AI Glasses will experience the convenience of "glance - to - pay". Li Chuangqi, the project leader of Xiaomi AI Glasses, expects that with the advantages of the Xiaomi platform, the annual shipment of Xiaomi AI Glasses is expected to exceed 5 million units in the next three years.
The addition of the payment function makes AI glasses move from concept to practicality and become a real - sense infrastructure. This revolution starting from payment is redefining the way we interact with the digital world.
This article is from the WeChat official account "TopMarketing" (ID: TMarketing), author: TOP Jun, published by 36Kr with authorization.