According to CNBC, Alibaba on Monday introduced a pair of smart glasses powered by its Qwen large language model and AI assistant, Quark—marking the company’s first step into the smart glasses market. The Chinese tech firm said the Quark AI Glasses will launch in China by the end of 2025, as noted in the report. Additional details, including pricing and technical specifications, have not yet been disclosed.

As the report indicates, Quark, updated earlier this year, is currently available as a mobile app in China. Alibaba’s move into hardware is seen as a strategy to expand the app’s reach and drive user adoption.

As noted by Chinese media outlet Zheshang Magazine, Alibaba has built a broad user base and a robust ecosystem across software and internet services, with offerings including the Qwen large language model, Quark, Alipay, Taobao, Amap, and Fliggy. The launch of the Quark AI Glasses gives these ecosystem services a new hardware platform, further strengthening user engagement within Alibaba’s ecosystem.

The Quark AI Glasses also represent Alibaba’s response to Meta’s smart glasses, which were developed in partnership with Ray-Ban, CNBC adds.

Notably, Chosun Biz mentions that as more Chinese IT companies enter the smart glasses race, the U.S.-China rivalry in AI appears to be expanding into the wearable tech space. Industry experts cited by Chosun Biz expect China to compete aggressively on price. In June, Xiaomi launched AI glasses priced at roughly half the cost of Meta’s offering. As the report highlights, ByteDance, the parent company of TikTok, is also developing XR goggles under the code name “Swan,” which weigh 127 grams.

With many competitors yet to launch their smart glasses, Meta—having entered the market early—continues to hold a leading position, as noted by Chosun Biz. According to Road to VR, Meta’s Ray-Ban smart glasses have gained strong momentum, with EssilorLuxottica’s second-quarter earnings report showing a threefold year-over-year increase in revenue from the product. This success has prompted Meta to extend its partnership with EssilorLuxottica through 2030 and reportedly invest USD 3.5 billion in the French-Italian eyewear giant.

(Photo credit: Alibaba)

TrendForce 2024 Near-Eye Display Market Trend and Technology Analysis
Release Date:2024 / 07 / 31
Languages:Traditional Chinese / English
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