XREAL sprinting, Rokid closely following, TCL RayNeo lurking: Countdown to the first AI glasses public listing

In 2026, the smart glasses track is in full bloom.

On the policy front, trade-in subsidy programs across multiple regions in China have for the first time included smart glasses within the scope of financial support. On the capital front, XREAL has officially submitted its Hong Kong Stock Exchange prospectus, Rokid has completed the shareholding system reform in preparation for a public listing, and Thunderbird Innovation has quietly released signals of capitalization, pushing the race for the "first smart glasses public listing" into the final countdown.

Facing this fierce "hundred-glasses battle", the five leading players — Thunderbird Innovation, Rokid, Xreal, Quark, and Xiaomi — have all laid out their respective trump cards.

Thunderbird Innovation: Hardcore Tech Enthusiast, the "Overload Champion" in Optical Technology

Among the five major smart glasses brands, Thunderbird Innovation is one of the few players with solid scientific research capabilities.

Thunderbird has an extremely deep technological moat, which is primarily concentrated in the field of optical technology. In China's AR smart glasses market, it is a leading manufacturer that possesses full-link independent R&D capabilities for core optical components, and can achieve large-scale mass production. Its self-developed binocular full-color MicroLED waveguide solution far exceeds the industry average in light efficiency, effectively avoiding the homogeneous competition brought by generic public solutions.

On the distribution channel front, Thunderbird has adopted a differentiated path of "endorsement by state-owned enterprise shareholders". In January this year, Thunderbird secured over 1 billion yuan in investment from China Mobile and China Unicom. This allows Thunderbird to access the shareholders' "contract device" distribution channels, which not only expands its customer base, but also further lowers the purchase threshold for its AR glasses products.

In terms of product experience, Thunderbird does not pursue full coverage of all scenarios, but focuses on breaking through commercial scenarios. Its products are optimized for essential business features such as real-time translation, teleprompter, and cross-border navigation, building extremely strong user stickiness among business professionals and groups that frequently travel across borders.

An extreme product design orientation can sometimes be too niche to gain broad appeal, and this is the case for Thunderbird. Due to relatively high material costs, Thunderbird AR glasses carry a premium brand positioning, with price points anchored in the mid-to-high-end range, making it difficult to penetrate the mass market below 1000 yuan, and its target customer group is naturally relatively niche.

Strong external dependency on the software side is also one of the weaknesses of Thunderbird AR glasses. As a mid-sized technology company, Thunderbird Innovation cannot cover every aspect of R&D, so the AI models and system software deployed on Thunderbird AR glasses rely on external suppliers such as Alibaba and Tencent. If these tech giants choose to enter this market themselves, Thunderbird could face unfair competitive pressure.

The longer-term challenge lies in user education — that is, how to translate complex AR technology into perceivable experience advantages for ordinary users. In other words, in scenarios such as photography, navigation, and office work, can AR as an augmented reality technology truly improve efficiency? This question deserves in-depth exploration by Thunderbird.

Rokid: Cross-Ecosystem "Diplomat", Surging Forward on the Eve of IPO

If Thunderbird Innovation is a tech enthusiast who buries themselves in R&D work, then Rokid (Lingban Technology) is a cross-ecosystem diplomat who maintains good relationships across major tech groups.

Rokid is currently preparing for a Hong Kong Stock Exchange listing, and every move the company makes now will attract the attention of investors.

Rokid's most distinct label is openness. Rokid smart glasses can freely switch between mainstream global large models including Qwen, DeepSeek, and Gemini, providing users with extremely high software freedom, which is a refreshing presence in the current IT industry. This "non-aligned" choice objectively provides Rokid with a certain level of risk resistance.

This flexible business philosophy is also reflected in Rokid's supply chain system. On the eve of its Hong Kong IPO, the company has intensively introduced upstream and downstream industry players such as Lens Technology and Conant Optical as shareholders — by transforming suppliers into a community of shared interests, it secures supply chain stability and priority access, which also serves as a safeguard against potential price wars.

Rokid's early-mover advantage cannot be ignored either. It was among the first batch of enterprises to enter the AI glasses market, which has helped Rokid build substantial brand awareness. This also makes Rokid highly focused on marketing: the company previously reached an agreement with China Media Group to become the exclusive AI glasses broadcast partner for the 2026 World Cup, marking the first such collaboration for viewing channels at a global top-tier sports event.

However, those who wear the crown must bear its weight. Huge marketing exposure can also amplify hidden operational risks for Rokid.

Among investors' perceptions of Rokid, concerns about profitability are widespread. Since its founding, Rokid has never publicly disclosed any profit-related data. Referring to its industry peer XREAL, which has already submitted its listing application, reported a net loss of 456 million yuan last year, and Rokid, which is at a similar development stage, is very likely facing a comparable financial situation.

In addition, Rokid's open approach on the software side is a double-edged sword. Admittedly, this strategy saves a large amount of development costs, but it also results in Rokid glasses "lacking an independent soul". The brand remains in a passive position in user acquisition and scenario integration, and risks being reduced to a pure hardware carrier under the squeeze of tech giants.

The bottleneck in interaction fluency restricts the development of the entire smart glasses industry, and Rokid is no exception. In noisy public environments, the convenience and accuracy of voice operation and gaze-tracking interaction are not necessarily superior to smartphones — this is an unavoidable reality and a common challenge facing the entire smart glasses industry.

XREAL: Betting on Self-Developed Chips, Can the "Lone Warrior" Break Through?

As a strong contender for the title of "first public listed smart glasses company", XREAL has made the fastest progress in its listing process, having already submitted its prospectus to the Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission.

The reason XREAL has taken the lead is largely attributed to the decisive judgment of its management: the company has chosen an extremely difficult heavy-asset development path — independent R&D of spatial computing chips.

Similar to the CPU in smartphones, spatial computing chips are the core "brain" of AR smart glasses, which largely determines the upper limit of product performance. In this niche track, while established giants such as Qualcomm and NVIDIA are present, there are not many companies like XREAL that directly serve end consumers.

Perhaps due to its direct access to the frontline market, XREAL's self-developed high-end X1 series chips accurately address user pain points.

XREAL's high-end AR glasses achieve industry-leading performance in field of view and image latency. They not only deliver an immersive spatial experience, but also alleviate the two core pain points of dizziness and visual fatigue that many users experience when first using AR devices — a feature that is extremely attractive to productivity users who need to wear AR glasses for extended periods.

XREAL's global layout is also ahead of the curve. In an interview with tech media 36Kr, XREAL founder Xu Chi stated that the company's overseas revenue accounts for over 70% of its total revenue. This "overseas-first, domestic-later" strategy effectively avoids the "involution" pressure in the domestic market, providing the company with broader room for growth.

However, precisely because of its heavy bet on chip R&D, XREAL's financial pressure cannot be overlooked. Its prospectus shows that XREAL has accumulated losses exceeding 2 billion yuan over the past three years. More concerningly, the company's cash on hand is only 63.63 million yuan, and XREAL has not yet achieved self-sustaining profitability.

At the same time, XREAL's software ecosystem is relatively lagging behind. Despite leading in hardware and chips, the NebulaOS system deployed on its products is an open-source ecosystem, resulting in a low proportion of software service revenue. Last year, XREAL's total revenue reached 516 million yuan, of which service and other income amounted to only 40 million yuan, accounting for just 7.8% of total revenue.

A more hidden risk is path dependency. XREAL is deeply tied to Google's Android XR ecosystem. If Google adjusts its AR ecosystem strategy or tightens interface permissions, XREAL's global expansion narrative will face a direct impact. Considering external market factors across the Pacific, this scenario is entirely possible.

Quark: Backed by Alibaba's Pedigree, What Is the Capability of This "Steward Hero"?

As an internet giant, Alibaba will certainly not miss out on this booming market. With the launch of Quark smart glasses last December, a wave of excitement swept across the smart glasses industry.

In the smart glasses market, Quark has an unrivaled pedigree advantage. Leveraging Alibaba's complete application ecosystem, Quark glasses integrate high-frequency scenarios such as navigation, payment, and shopping. This highly Agent-driven intelligent experience allows mainstream consumers to more easily perceive its value.

In terms of positioning, Quark smart glasses are more "down-to-earth". To draw an analogy with characters from superhero movies: Quark smart glasses are not Jarvis by Iron Man's side, but the loyal butler who has accompanied Batman throughout his journey. The latter cannot fight on the front lines, but can skillfully handle all the trivial matters of daily life.

To address the battery life challenge, Quark has proposed a simple and practical solution: adopting a battery-integrated glasses frame. This hot-swappable battery design does offer certain advantages in outdoor scenarios where charging facilities are not readily available.

However, excessive Alibaba DNA is not necessarily a good thing. The common problem of cross-sector businesses at large internet companies — insufficient experience in hardware development — also plagues Quark smart glasses. There is still much room for improvement in Quark glasses' refined supply chain management and production line yield control, as evidenced by the launch delay in January this year.

Another challenge is the cost of brand migration. After March this year, due to internal adjustments at Alibaba, the smart glasses business was merged into the Qwen division, and future new products will be branded as "Qwen AI Glasses". However, due to timing differences, the first-generation products still carry the "Quark" name, which easily confuses users and requires additional marketing investment.

Finally, ergonomics still need to be improved. Compared with competing products, Quark smart glasses are slightly less lightweight, and the pressure on the bridge of the nose becomes more noticeable after extended wear.

Xiaomi: The Cost-Effective Choice for Practical Users, a Budget-Friendly "Aesthetics-Focused Player"

Different from other players that bet on the AR technology path, Xiaomi has a relatively conservative stance on smart glasses, and it is one of the typical representatives of camera-focused smart glasses.

Xiaomi's core strength is extreme cost control. The reason Xiaomi chose this path is largely due to its mature smartphone business. By reusing its existing supply chain resources, the cost of smart glasses can be significantly reduced. The end result is that Xiaomi AI glasses are priced starting at just 1999 yuan, replicating the blockbuster success of the first-generation Xiaomi smartphone.

Another trump card of Xiaomi smart glasses is seamless integration across the "entire ecosystem of personal devices, vehicles, and smart home". Xiaomi AI glasses are not just a camera device, but also a mobile remote control for the entire Xiaomi ecosystem. For example, after the glasses detect that the user has woken up, they can automatically open the bedroom curtains and start the living room coffee machine. When the user approaches their Xiaomi car, the glasses will automatically unlock the doors and turn on the air conditioning, delivering an unobtrusive intelligent experience.

Intuitive and fashionable design is also one of the key factors behind the popularity of Xiaomi smart glasses. Drawing on the successful experience of Ray-Ban Meta, Xiaomi prioritizes the fashionable appearance of the glasses. By adopting a classic sunglasses design, it lowers the threshold for ordinary consumers to try this new product.

However, the price of this conservative path is the limitation of its narrative space. Giving up AR display functionality means Xiaomi smart glasses can easily be defined as an advanced action camera, rather than a next-generation productivity tool. At the same time, due to the relatively low technical threshold, there are many competing products for Xiaomi smart glasses, which will likely lead to cutthroat price competition over time.

Due to the characteristics of the Xiaomi ecosystem, the customer base of Xiaomi glasses is highly tied to existing "Mi Fans", making it difficult to break through to broader user groups. Meanwhile, during the rapid distribution phase, Xiaomi glasses also encountered quality control issues, and product details still need further refinement.

Where Is the Path Forward for AI Glasses?

Judging from the current industry trends, 2026 may become a "watershed" for the smart glasses track, with three clear development directions emerging.

First, the competition shifts from "chasing parameters" to "building ecosystems". Just like in the smartphone industry, the hardware performance of digital products will inevitably become excessive for ordinary users, and the same applies to the smart glasses industry. At this stage, competing purely on technical parameters no longer holds meaning for the mainstream market. The key to future success lies in which brand can truly integrate into and take over users' digital lives — this not only tests AI performance, but also the strength of the software ecosystem.

Second, supply chain stability will determine survival or elimination. The prerequisite for improving product hardware performance is a stable supply chain system. Therefore, whether through self-construction or establishing shared-interest partnerships, smart glasses manufacturers must maintain sufficient discourse power and priority access within their supply chain networks, otherwise they will be eliminated during the industry reshuffle.

Third, the AR-focused and camera-focused product lines will coexist in the long term. The smart glasses market needs both high-end innovative products and accessible, mass-market offerings. Not all consumers are core productivity users. Positioning smart glasses as a new perspective for recording daily life represents a more mainstream market demand, and manufacturers can appropriately adjust their focus to cater to this need.

As for which of the five major smart glasses manufacturers will win more favor from consumers in the future? Let's wait and see.

This article originates from the WeChat official account "Liu Feng's Channel", authored by Liu Feng's Channel, and is republished by 36Kr with authorization.