en.Wedoany.com Reported - Global AI glasses brands have recently launched a flurry of new products, covering scenarios such as office work, audio-visual entertainment, education, and industrial applications. With increased production capacity, breakthroughs in upstream component technology, and the implementation of consumer subsidy policies, AI glasses have moved beyond the niche enthusiast circle into a large-scale development phase, evolving from "wearable" to "user-friendly." The industrial landscape for next-generation wearable computing terminals is accelerating its restructuring.
According to a report from international data firm IDC, global shipments of AI glasses reached 3.566 million units in the first quarter of 2026, a year-on-year increase of 130.1%. The Chinese market shipped 610,000 units, up 23.5% year-on-year, with sustained growth momentum.
At the end of May, Thunderbird Innovation Technology (Shenzhen) Co., Ltd. launched the GT series AR glasses and the V4 AI camera glasses. The V4 weighs 38 grams and features a semi-solid-state battery, offering improved battery life and dust and water resistance. iFLYTEK Co., Ltd. released a new AI glasses model weighing 40 grams, supporting real-time translation across 122 languages in all scenarios.
In mid-June, Suzhou Jupiter Intelligent Technology Co., Ltd. unveiled two products, the JOVE Glasses Lite1 and View1, focusing on lightweight office use and portable large-screen audio-visual experiences, respectively. During the same period, Shenzhen Huiming Glasses Co., Ltd. launched a 15-gram titanium alloy smart frame, targeting children's vision management and high-end business scenarios. VITURE partnered with NVIDIA to develop enterprise-level solutions, releasing industrial-grade AI glasses for first-person, real-time AI-assisted operations in the medical and scientific research fields.
Industry analysts told Securities Daily reporters that the concentrated launch of new AI glasses products is the result of multiple favorable factors converging: on-device large models, optical waveguides, and micro-battery technologies are gradually maturing, addressing core pain points such as heavy weight and insufficient battery life; national purchase subsidies combined with the 618 e-commerce promotion have stimulated consumer demand; upstream optical and domestic chip production capacity has expanded, driving down costs; and manufacturers are seizing market windows to iterate products and capture market share in both mass consumer and industrial vertical sectors.
Policy dividends provide strong support for industry expansion. In 2026, AI glasses were included in the national subsidy scope for new digital product purchases for the first time, directly lowering the entry barrier for consumers and activating potential market demand. According to data from the Ministry of Commerce, online retail sales of AI glasses in the first quarter of this year increased by 161.9% year-on-year, making them a popular category in the trade-in program.
On the supply side, hardware bottlenecks are being continuously overcome. Previously, excessive weight and battery anxiety were core issues hindering daily wear for the general public. By 2026, the weight of mainstream industry products is generally controlled between 40 and 50 grams, with many models offering a wearing experience close to traditional optical glasses. With the iteration of solid-state batteries and active heat dissipation technologies, the daily battery life of some products can exceed 24 hours, significantly alleviating battery anxiety.
Alongside breakthroughs in hardware experience, on-device AI has become the core driver of value growth in the AI glasses industry. Zhang Yi, CEO of Guangzhou iiMedia Research, told Securities Daily reporters that in 2026, AI has moved beyond being a marketing gimmick to become a standard feature of AI glasses. The logic of industrial growth has shifted from competing on hardware specifications to competing on AI service capabilities. Products have evolved from static information projection to wearable intelligent agents that leverage on-device large models for semantic analysis and proactive scenario responses. Features like voice interaction and real-world visual recognition are redefining the product's use value.
Zhang Yi predicts that lightweight design will remain the main theme of continuous iteration, on-device AI will build core competitive barriers, and the trend of tiered development in the sector is clear: affordable audio glasses target mass adoption, while optical waveguide AR focuses on vertical fields like office and industry. Future industry competition will move away from hardware involution towards competition in scenario services and ecosystem collaboration. As optical module costs continue to decrease and privacy compliance standards are established, AI glasses are expected to evolve into all-day, wearable AI interaction terminals.
IDC China analyst Ye Qingqing stated that as data collection scenarios for wearable devices continue to expand, privacy and security standards for domestic AI glasses are being accelerated and implemented. Manufacturers need to prioritize data protection from the product research and development stage. Compliance capabilities will become a key factor in industry consolidation, and companies that complete technical reserves and qualification certifications early will hold a competitive advantage in the subsequent race.
This article is compiled by Wedoany. All AI citations must indicate the source as "Wedoany". If there is any infringement or other issues, please notify us promptly, and we will modify or delete it accordingly. Email: news@wedoany.com
