Baidu and Alibaba are about to enter the market, escalating the "battle" of AI glasses.

Multiple AI glasses manufacturers will release new products in the near future.

Thunderbird Glasses will launch the world's first smart viewing glasses product supporting HDR on October 23. On October 16, INMO Technology released its new - generation AI smart glasses, INMO GO3, and announced the co - construction of an AI + AR native content ecosystem with Tencent, Ant Group, Zhipu AI, etc.

Regarding the Alibaba Quark AI glasses scheduled to be released within this year, screenshots of the e - commerce pre - sale interface have circulated. According to exclusive information obtained by Science and Technology Innovation Board Daily, the Quark AI glasses are currently accelerating mass production, but the specific release time is undetermined.

Science and Technology Innovation Board Daily also exclusively learned that the Xiaodu AI glasses under Baidu are planned to go on sale within this year. The Xiaodu AI glasses made their debut at the 2024 Baidu World Conference.

IDC data shows that in the first half of 2025, the shipment volume of Chinese smart glasses manufacturers exceeded 1 million units, a year - on - year increase of 64.2%, accounting for 26.6% of the global market share.

Driven by AI technology and industry demand, the landscape of domestic manufacturers will undergo significant changes starting from the second half of the year. Multiple manufacturers represented by ByteDance, Alibaba, Baidu, and Meizu will successively launch audio and audio - shooting glasses products featuring AI functions, further intensifying market competition.

Alibaba and Baidu's AI Glasses Are About to Be Released

The Ray - Ban Meta jointly launched by Meta and Ray - Ban has enabled many manufacturers to see the huge potential of the AI glasses market. In February this year, the sales volume of this model of glasses exceeded 2 million units. According to media reports, Ray - Ban also plans to cooperate with Meta to increase the annual production capacity to 10 million units by the end of 2026.

Ye Qingqing, an analyst at IDC China, believes that Meta's case has clarified a relatively feasible commercialization path for smart glasses at present. Instead of pursuing advanced technology stacking, it reduces functions and weight and focuses on solving users' actual pain points to create products. Secondly, Meta's cooperation with traditional eyewear brands such as Ray - Ban and Oakley also confirms the importance of lightweight and fashionable design. This is not only a key step to open the mass market and complete user education but also transforms smart glasses from technology products to daily wearables, thus releasing greater market growth potential.

Led by this wave of AI glasses, Xiaomi, Alibaba, Baidu, Meizu, etc. have all entered the smart glasses market.

Among them, the Quark AI glasses under Alibaba are planned to be officially released within this year, focusing on integrating Alibaba's AI capabilities and ecological synergy. For example, the Quark AI glasses will be deeply integrated with Alibaba and Alipay's ecosystems, equipped with the Tongyi Qianwen large - model and Quark AI capabilities, and also support Gaode Navigation, Alipay's "Take a Look" payment, Taobao price comparison, Fliggy travel reminders, etc. Taking the navigation scenario as an example, the R & D team has jointly developed a near - eye display navigation system suitable for AI glasses with Gaode Map, which can provide guidance in mobile scenarios such as cycling and walking.

Previously, screenshots of the Tmall pre - sale interface of the Quark AI glasses circulated. According to the page, Alibaba's Quark AI smart glasses will launch a 9.9 - yuan reservation activity, and reservation users can enjoy benefits such as a replaceable battery worth 99 yuan.

Science and Technology Innovation Board Daily exclusively learned from informed sources that the Quark AI glasses are currently accelerating mass production, and the specific release time has not been finally determined.

At the beginning of October, the Quark AI glasses carried out a wave of marketing pre - heating, including inviting Ho Chiu - lin to be the product beta tester of the Quark AI smart glasses. She wore the Quark AI glasses at Paris Fashion Week for show - field shooting. The Quark AI glasses also appeared at the NBA China Game held in Macau, and players experienced them before the game.

Science and Technology Innovation Board Daily also exclusively learned that the Xiaodu AI glasses under Baidu are planned to go on sale within this year. The Xiaodu AI glasses made their debut at the 2024 Baidu World Conference. According to the official introduction at that time, the Xiaodu AI glasses have functions such as first - person perspective shooting, asking questions while walking, calorie recognition, object recognition and encyclopedia, audio - visual translation, and intelligent memo.

In addition, ByteDance is also exploring the R & D of AI glasses. A relevant person in charge of ByteDance responded in August this year that the AI glasses - related products are in the early exploration stage, and there is currently no release plan.

Limited Production Capacity of Core Components

According to the latest IDC data, the annual shipment of the Chinese smart glasses market is expected to reach 2.846 million units this year, a year - on - year increase of 116.4%.

Ye Qingqing believes that driven by AI technology empowerment, supply - chain optimization, the development of optical solutions, and the entry of industry giants to lead the ecosystem construction, the industry will enter a stage of rapid development. It is expected that with more manufacturers joining the competition in the second half of the year, the industry competition landscape will also undergo a new round of reshaping.

As an emerging product, the supply chain and production capacity of AI glasses still face challenges.

Many emerging AI glasses manufacturers have faced delivery difficulties. For example, the Rokid Glasses were released at the end of last year, but the first batch of deliveries did not start until June this year. INMO Technology also issued an apology statement for the shipping delay in June this year.

It is reported that since the official release of the Rokid Glasses, it has received more than 300,000 global pre - order requests. An informed person told a reporter from Science and Technology Innovation Board Daily that the production capacity of the Rokid Glasses faces many bottlenecks, with relatively large production and delivery pressure.

Ye Qingqing said that in terms of the supply chain of AI glasses, on the one hand, the production capacity of core components is limited and cannot meet market demand, and the inability to mass - produce components on a large scale also leads to insufficient supply on the product side.

"On the other hand, the production process requirements for AI glasses are high. Achieving precise assembly in a lightweight structure makes it difficult to guarantee the yield rate, significantly driving up the production cost. At the same time, in the context of the rapid expansion of the market, the supply chain needs to simultaneously cope with the dual pressures of technological iteration and scale - up, posing extremely high requirements for the supply chain's deployment and rapid adaptation capabilities."

This article is from the WeChat public account "Science and Technology Innovation Board Daily". Author: Huang Xinyi. Republished by 36Kr with permission.