A Direct Challenge to Meta’s Ray-Ban Smart Glasses in the Chinese Market

At its ‘Human x Car x Home’ event, Xiaomi, the Chinese tech giant, has finally unveiled its answer to Meta and EssilorLuxottica’s series of smart glasses: the Xiaomi AI Glasses. These AI-powered glasses have been highly anticipated, with rumors of a partnership with China-based ODM Goertek to produce a new generation of AI-assisted smart glasses that would “fully benchmark” against Ray-Ban Meta, which is not officially available in China.

The Xiaomi AI Glasses come equipped with a range of impressive features, including an onboard Hyper XiaoAi voice assistant, a 12MP camera with electronic image stabilization (EIS), five mics, two speakers, and a low-power BES2700 Bluetooth audio chip and Qualcomm’s Snapdragon AR1. The camera can capture photos and videos, and the glasses also boast foreign language text translation, which can be toggled with a voice prompt or a tap on the frames.

The glasses are powered by a 263mAh silicon-carbon battery, which Xiaomi rates at 8.6 hours of use. However, the company claims that the battery life can last up to 21 hours in standby mode, 7 hours of music listening, and 45 minutes of continuous video capture. This is made possible by the device’s low-power chip and efficient power management system.

One of the most interesting features of the Xiaomi AI Glasses is the ability to simply look at an Alipay QR code and pay for goods and services with a vocal prompt. This feature is expected to arrive as an OTA update in September 2025. This seamless payment experience is a testament to Xiaomi’s commitment to integrating its smart glasses with its ecosystem of services.

The Xiaomi AI Glasses are set to launch today in China, although global availability is still in question. The device is optimized for Asian face shapes, which may limit its broader global launch. However, Xiaomi has stated that it plans to expand its smart glasses offerings to other markets in the future.

The glasses will be offered in three colors – black, semi-transparent tortoiseshell brown, and parrot green – and three lens options, including clear lenses, electrochromic shaded lenses, and colored electrochromic shaded lenses. The electrochromic lenses allow for gradual shading depending on the user’s comfort, letting them change the intensity of shading by touching the right frame.

Notably, the base model can optionally include prescription lenses through Xiaomi’s online and offline partners, making the Xiaomi AI Glasses the company’s first mass-produced smart glasses with cameras marketed under the Xiaomi brand. This move is a significant step forward for the company, which has previously focused on developing smart glasses without cameras.

The Xiaomi AI Glasses have already seen strong initial interest on e-commerce platform JD.com, with over 25,000 reservations made as of 9:30 AM CST. This level of interest is a testament to the demand for smart glasses in the Chinese market.

The base model with clear lenses is priced at ¥1,999 RMB (~$280 USD), while customers can also choose electrochromic shaded lenses at ¥2,699 RMB (~$380 USD) and colored electrochromic shaded lenses at ¥2,999 RMB (~$420 USD). With its impressive features and competitive pricing, the Xiaomi AI Glasses are set to shake up the smart glasses market in China and beyond.