AI glasses are in full swing, and giants are competing to enter the game to seize the new track

At a time when technology is rapidly iterating, AI glasses are becoming a new battlefield for major technology giants to compete. On July 30, the person in charge of the innovative product business of Xiaomi's wearable department revealed that Xiaomi's first AI glasses market performed extremely well, with sales several times exceeding previous expectations. It is understood that Xiaomi has set an ambitious goal for this AI glasses, and plans to achieve annual shipments of more than 5 million pairs within three years, demonstrating its determination to deeply expand in this field.
Coincidentally, during the just-concluded WAIC 2025 World Artificial Intelligence Conference, Alibaba made a stunning appearance with its first self-developed smart glasses," Quark AI glasses". As the flagship product in the AI hardware field of Alibaba, it adopts a cutting-edge dual microled light engine solution, attracting a lot of attention. It is reported that this product has completed research and development and is expected to be officially launched to the market within the year. By then, it is expected to bring a new AI interactive experience to consumers, and it also indicates the deep expansion of Ali's AI strategy from software to hardware.
At the same time, Zhou Hongyi, chairman of 360 Company, also released news that this month 360 Company will release two new AI hardware products,—— AI smart glasses and smart voice recorders, further enriching its AI product matrix, showing 360's layout plan in the AI hardware field, and striving to get a piece of the smart wearable device market.
The second-quarter financial report released by Essilor Rosa Otica, the world's largest glasses manufacturer, also reflects the booming trend of the AI glasses market. Data shows that sales of Ray-Ban Meta smart glasses in the first half of this year increased significantly year-on-year, more than three times that of the same period last year. This achievement not only proves the strong market demand for AI glasses, but also injects a shot in the arm into other manufacturers.
It is worth mentioning that since the beginning of this year, Huawei, Xiaomi, Ali, Baidu, 360, Thunderbird and other technology giants have added their names to the field of AI glasses, making 2025 a critical first year for the development of AI glasses. Judging from market feedback, eyewear equipment, as a typical product form of AI externalization, is gradually being accepted by consumers. Jingdong data shows that during the June 18 period this year, the transaction volume of AI glasses increased by 7 times year-on-year, and the number of AR glasses users increased by 70% year-on-year. The market potential is accelerating. However, behind the prosperity, the market has not yet formed a scale effect. In order to seize market share, some brands are willing to trade losses for sales and attract consumers through low-price strategies, making the competition increasingly fierce.
Currently, AI glasses on the market can be roughly divided into three categories. The first category is the relatively streamlined AI + audio mode. These products are mainly connected through voice and intelligent AI. With their simpler functional design, they achieve lightweight and cost-effective products. The price can even be as low as less than 1000 yuan, meeting the needs of some users who are price-sensitive and pursue basic AI functions.
The second category adds a first-person perspective shooting function based on the audio function and incorporates more practical functions. Meta's Ray-Ban Classic and Xiaomi AI glasses are representatives of them. Ray-Ban Classic's sales of more than 2 million units and Xiaomi's shipment target of 5 million pairs are enough to demonstrate the broad commercial prospects and strong demand of this model in the current market.
The third category is AR glasses with display as the core. These products integrate AI, AR, and audio functions, maximizing the application boundary of AI and more in line with the public's imagination of future AI glasses. Limited by technical costs, current AR glasses generally use Micro LEDs and advanced optical technology, and the price range is mostly 2000 - 5000 yuan. In the past two years, driven by commercial forces, Micro LED AR glasses have accelerated their iteration speed and continued to expand their market share. Breakthroughs in key technologies such as optical waveguide displays, MicroLED screens and low-power chips are helping AR glasses move towards lightweight and high-performance.

As giants step down one after another, technology continues to innovate, and market demand grows, the future development of the AI glasses field is full of imagination. Let us wait and see who can stand out in this fierce competition, successfully shape the mainstream form of AI glasses, and lead the development direction of the industry.