April 1 – Major tech companies are accelerating the development of AI-powered smart glasses. Xiaomi and ByteDance are expected to release their AI smart glasses in the second quarter, with more brands following suit in the second half of the year.

Xiaomi’s AI smart glasses are reportedly designed to rival the Meta Ray-Ban model, likely featuring a Qualcomm AR1 + Bestechnic 2700 chipset. The device is expected to integrate a camera and audio module while leveraging AI for various functions, such as smart vision, object recognition, and automatic restaurant identification with price and rating suggestions. According to estimates from Wellsenn, the total hardware cost of Xiaomi's AI smart glasses is around $177.5. Xiaomi is also expected to introduce electrochromic sunglasses and a colored electrochromic version, with estimated costs of CNY 1,438 and CNY 1,651, respectively.

Huawei's Pangu Large Models, which have evolved from version 1.0 in 2021 to version 5.0, enhance understanding of the physical world by integrating cross-modal language and visual information. Huawei’s AI smart glasses are anticipated to combine cutting-edge hardware with its advanced AI model, delivering a faster and more intuitive user experience.

TCL RayNeo , Xiaodu, Rokid, and LAWK already releasing products. As more models enter the market, sales are projected to surge.

Wellsenn forecasts that global AI smart glasses shipments could reach 5.5 million units in 2025, marking a 135% year-over-year increase. Additionally, with breakthroughs in waveguide technology, lighter and thinner AR smart glasses are expected to gain market traction. Global AR device shipments in 2024 are estimated at 500,000 units, with WellsennXR predicting that AR glasses shipments will reach 1.5 million units by 2027.