Big tech companies are competing fiercely in the AI terminal market. Alibaba, ByteDance, and Li Auto are racing on the same track.
Recently, Time Finance noticed that the Quark AI Glasses S1 were sold out as soon as they were put on the shelves on multiple channels, and the delivery cycle on some channels was extended to 45 days. In response, an insider from Quark revealed that a new production line has been added for the Quark AI Glasses, and the production capacity will be gradually released starting this week (December 15th).
It's not just the Quark AI Glasses. As 2025 draws to a close, there has been a flurry of news about AI terminals in the tech circle.
Some media reported that Meta recently announced layoffs in its metaverse - related departments and will allocate more resources to AI smart glasses and wearable devices. On December 9th, Google first revealed more details about Project Aura smart glasses and the Android XR system at The Android Show. In the domestic market, Li Auto launched its first AI glasses product; ByteDance collaborated with ZTE to launch the Nubia M153 engineering machine equipped with the Doubao mobile assistant; Huawei released the chat - companion robot "Smart Dumb", entering the emotional companionship market at a price of 399 yuan.
The competition around AI entry points is heating up. Internet giants, hardware manufacturers, automakers, and startups are all accelerating their convergence at the device end, integrating large AI models into more personal devices. Although the paths of various players differ, their goals are the same - whoever can smoothly integrate AI into users' daily operation processes will seize the opportunity to dominate the next - generation mobile ecosystem entry points.
"Regardless of success or failure, one must take risks in trial - and - error. The outside world won't remember who participated, but will remember who 'absented' from the hottest track in the Internet technology field," Zhang Shule, an Internet analyst, told Time Finance. Currently, many giants are either re - entering or increasing their investment in AI terminals. The fundamental driving force is to showcase the value of their cutting - edge technologies. At the same time, they are making early - stage layouts through trial - and - error to accumulate technical experience for the future implementation of AI technologies.
Giants Race to Occupy AI Terminals
This wave of terminal enthusiasm is most concentrated in AI glasses.
Time Finance noticed that during the period when the Quark AI Glasses S1 were out of stock on the official channels, there were spot premium listings on second - hand trading platforms. Some were priced about 300 - 500 yuan higher than the official price, and the highest was speculated to over 5000 yuan.
In response to the situation of "hard - to - get glasses", the official customer service of the Tmall flagship store said that due to the current limited production capacity, a limited quantity of products will be put on the shelves at 10 a.m. every day, and they are currently urgently increasing production and stocking up. A staff member from an offline cooperative store also revealed that it is difficult to buy spot products in the store, and new orders need to wait.
An insider from Quark AI Glasses told Time Finance that the team's current biggest goal is to fully release the production capacity in January next year to catch up with the Spring Festival consumption boom.
One week after the release of the Quark AI Glasses, on December 3rd, Li Auto officially launched its first AI glasses, Livis, with an official starting price of 1999 yuan (starting from 1699 yuan after national subsidies). As of now, the JD flagship store shows that 2005 people have made reservations for this product and indicates that the purchase will start on January 10th, 2026. Also in early December, Google first announced key details of the smart glasses Project Aura and the Android XR system at The Android Show, marking the first time that Gemini AI truly has the ability to "see the world".
Why have AI glasses become the focus of competition among various players? Fan Haoyu, the senior vice - president of the product department at Li Auto, believes that glasses are the most natural human - machine interaction entry point as they are close to the eyes, ears, and mouth and do not require users to change their habits. Song Gang, the person in charge of Alibaba's intelligent terminal business, also believes that AI glasses are the center of the next - generation human - machine interaction revolution and the device most likely to challenge mobile phones in the future.
The "2025 - 2030 In - depth Market Research and Strategic Consulting Analysis Report on the Chinese Glasses Industry" released by the China Report Hall points out that AI glasses are regarded as the next - generation computing terminals after smartphones, and the global market is growing significantly. The International Data Corporation (IDC) predicts that the global shipment of smart glasses will reach 12.8 million units in 2025, a year - on - year increase of 26%; the shipment in the Chinese market will be 2.75 million units, a year - on - year increase of 107%.
Technologically, the maturity of multi - modal capabilities such as image and voice has promoted breakthroughs in the interaction experience of smart glasses. For example, the Quark AI Glasses can meet daily needs such as knowledge Q&A, navigation guidance, shopping price comparison, voice payment, and translation; the Li Auto AI Glasses Livis emphasize the linkage with the car, enabling car owners to free their hands as much as possible in car - using scenarios, such as controlling the car's air - conditioner, refrigerator, flashing lights, horn, charging, and trunk through the glasses; Apple's first Apple Glass is planned to be released in 2026, integrating AI functions through embedded multi - cameras and a new version of Siri; Google's Project Aura in cooperation with XREAL is set to be launched in 2026, equipped with the Android XR platform and the Gemini AI system.
In addition to AI glasses, the AI toy market has also become an important area for large - scale enterprises to layout.
Recently, Ubtech released a new emotional companion robot product, "You Zai", with a pre - sale price of 519 yuan; Huawei launched the "Smart Dumb" AI toy jointly developed with Luobo Intelligence; positioned as a "huggable growth partner" for children, the AI plush toy of JD Zaozao equipped with the JoyInside system has also been officially launched; Honor reached a cooperation with Alpha Group and announced that they will jointly develop AI interactive trendy toy robots.
While large - scale enterprises are betting on new terminal forms, ByteDance chose to transform the existing terminal system through the Doubao mobile assistant. In early December, it collaborated with ZTE to launch the "Doubao Mobile" Nubia M153 engineering machine. After a small - scale release, it caused a sensation in the tech circle. The machine is priced at 3499 yuan, and it was once speculated to 12,000 yuan on the second - hand platform.
Before the emergence of the "Doubao Mobile", AI assistants on mobile phones were not new. Mainstream manufacturers have long deployed voice assistants, such as Apple Siri, Samsung Bixby, Huawei Xiaoyi, Xiaomi Xiaoai, OPPO Xiaobu, vivo Jovi, Honor YOYO, etc. In the past two years, they have also tried to integrate more applications and services into the ecosystem through intelligent agent protocols or platform mechanisms. The difference is that the Doubao mobile assistant emphasizes in - depth cooperation with the operating system layer and highlights the ability to perform cross - application tasks in demonstrations and experiences.
Regarding the path choices of large - scale enterprises in competing for AI entry points, Zhang Shule said, "The 'new species' is a carrier for exploring new entry points and a leap - forward future layout. It has high technical requirements. Once successful, it can directly form a leading moat with huge returns, but the risk of failure is also higher. On the other hand, in - depth transformation of the mobile phone system is an upgrade based on the existing entry points, a stable layout mainly relying on the experience breakthrough of AI applications. It can quickly cover users, but if the experience is insufficient, it can be replaced by similar AI applications and lacks its own foundation."
Currently, there are various forms of AI implementation carriers, and it is difficult for enterprises to cover multiple tracks. "They can only bet on one or two tracks with the most stable technical strength and foundation to advance, which results in differences in track selection," Zhang Shule added.
Behind the intensive launch of new products, large - scale enterprises are also concentrating their internal resources on AI terminals.
Alibaba recently announced the establishment of the Qianwen Consumer Business Group, headed by Wu Jia, the vice - president of Alibaba Group. This business group was formed by the merger and reorganization of the original Smart Information and Smart Connectivity business groups, including businesses such as the Qianwen App, Quark, AI hardware, UC, and Shuqi.
Time Finance learned that in internal communications, Alibaba mentioned that the primary goal of the Qianwen Consumer Business Group is to build Qianwen into a super - app, becoming users' first entry point in the AI era. In the future, Qianwen will also be further developed into an omnipresent AI assistant, covering scenarios such as glasses, PCs, and cars.
Fan Haoyu, the senior vice - president of the product department at Li Auto, also revealed in a media interview that Li Auto established a wearable robot department in January this year, which will be committed to the long - term R & D of AI terminal products.
The Industrial Chain Heats Up, but Challenges Remain
The popularity of AI terminals has quickly spread to the industrial chain and the capital market.
Regarding the production capacity of the Quark AI Glasses, an insider from Luxshare Precision Industry Co., Ltd. (002475.SZ) revealed that Quark's staff had been closely monitoring the shipments last month. "They added a new assembly production line in our factory." Zhige Technology also said that it is stepping up the production of large orders for optical waveguide sheets for the Quark AI Glasses, and the newly purchased equipment has all been put into use.
From the perspective of core components, storage is one of the first sectors to benefit from the growth. BAWAN Storage Technology Co., Ltd. (688525.SH), which specializes in AI edge - side storage products, recently stated on the interactive platform that its revenue from AI glasses products in 2024 was about 106 million yuan, and it is expected that the revenue from AI glasses products in 2025 will increase by more than 500% year - on - year.
It is understood that in addition to serving Meta deeply, BAWAN Storage's AI glasses customers have also established cooperation with many domestic first - tier brands such as Rokid and TCL Thunderbird Innovation. Starting from the second quarter of 2025, as the storage price stabilized and rebounded, the company's products for high - value fields such as AI glasses and AI mobile phones began to be delivered in batches.
Chip manufacturers are also accelerating product iteration. BES Semiconductor Co., Ltd. (688608.SH) said at a recent performance briefing that the R & D of its next - generation low - power, high - performance smart wearable chip BES6000 series is progressing smoothly and is expected to enter the sampling stage in the first half of next year. It is reported that the company's BES2800 chip has been widely used in the low - power smart hardware market such as smart watches and smart glasses. The company's chip solutions have been used in multiple AI glasses products and mass - produced and launched, such as Xiaomi AI glasses, Alibaba Quark AI glasses, and Li Auto AI Glasses Livis.
On the end of complete machines and solutions, Tianjian Co., Ltd. (301383.SZ) said on the interactive platform that the AI glasses it manufactures on an OEM basis for brand customers are currently in mass production, and it is expected that the overall order volume will increase significantly in the second half of the year.
Longcheer Technology Co., Ltd. (603341.SH) said in a recent research activity that the company has undertaken an AI glasses R & D project for a leading domestic customer. The first product is under development and is expected to be mass - produced next year. At the same time, the expansion of other domestic customers is also in progress. Overall, the smart glasses business will be one of the important driving forces for the company's continuous performance growth. In terms of sales, the sales volume this year has increased significantly compared with last year, and the prospects for AI glasses products next year and in the future also look relatively optimistic.
A research report by Huatai Securities pointed out that in 2025, the electronics industry maintained an upward trend driven by AI innovation and the recovery of terminal demand. It is expected that starting from 2026, the innovation of edge - side AI products will accelerate the replacement cycle, benefiting the entire industrial chain. A research report by Guotou Securities believes that 2026 may be the first year for the breakthrough of edge - side AI, and AIoT (Artificial Intelligence Internet of Things) is about to lead the industry.
However, beyond the popularity, AI terminals also face many challenges such as ecological compatibility, technical reliability, and compliance.
For example, there is friction between system - level AI and the existing application ecosystem. Shortly after the release of the Nubia mobile phone equipped with the Doubao assistant, some users reported compatibility and risk - control issues in mainstream application scenarios such as WeChat and Taobao. After that, ByteDance repeatedly explained the security mechanism of the Doubao mobile assistant and emphasized that it will not replace users in authorization or sensitive operations. At the same time, it also said that it will standardize and adjust the AI operation capabilities in some scenarios.
Personal terminals such as glasses and toys also cannot avoid constraints. The IDC report points out that AI glasses still face bottlenecks in battery life, comfort, privacy and security, and display effects. In the case of AI toys, the controversies mainly focus on the protection of minors' data, content compliance, and interaction security. The "Initiative on Personal Information Protection of Smart Toys" released by the China Cyberspace Security Association in September this year mentioned issues such as excessive collection of children's biometric features, illegal data storage, and obscure privacy policies. The initiative proposes eight principles, with the core including strict compliance and "maximizing the interests of children", following the principle of minimum necessity, and preferentially processing biometric data such as voice and images at the edge side.
The terminal boom at the end of 2025 is just the beginning. From Internet giants and automakers to hardware manufacturers, various forces are competing for AI entry points in diverse ways. In this long - distance race, it may take until more products truly enter daily life and more rules become clear to determine who will own the next - generation "main screen" and in what form it will appear.
This article is from the WeChat public account “Time Finance APP” (ID: tf - app), author: Pang Yu, published by 36Kr with authorization.