With the launch of its AI-powered smart glasses, Chinese tech giant Xiaomi is entering a crowded yet promising market. Will the company be able to leverage its vast ecosystem and supply chain strength to outpace competitors like the Ray-Ban Meta glasses?
Introduction: A new gamble for a tech giant
Chinese tech giant Xiaomi’s entry into the country’s booming AI glasses market is likely to benefit from the company’s extensive ecosystem and supply chain strength, according to early users and analysts. Xiaomi launched its smart glasses on June 26, describing the product as a “new generation of personal smart devices.” Priced starting at 1,999 yuan ($278.54), the glasses feature a 12-megapixel ultra-wide camera and Qualcomm’s AR1 chip, with a battery life of 8.6 hours.
Apple plans to launch smart glasses in 2026
Early user experience: Between admiration and aspirations
Many users who purchased Xiaomi’s smart frames upon their release last month found the first-person perspective video recording and AI features useful for documenting personal moments and assisting with office tasks, although there are improvements and missing features they hope to see in future versions.
Xiaomi’s smart glasses were useful for hands-free photography and videography, which was ideal for situations like cycling where users’ hands are busy. A media industry worker in Singapore said: “I rode a bicycle through the narrow alleys (Hutongs) when I was in Beijing recently. All I had to do was tell XiaoAI ‘start recording,’ and it started filming the trip effortlessly.”
Pan Yanzhou, a Beijing-based photographer, said the first-person video shooting angle in Xiaomi’s glasses “offered a unique and fun perspective.” He added that the quality of photo and video capture on Xiaomi’s glasses was among the best in China, largely thanks to the company’s expertise and superiority in developing smartphone imaging systems.
Ecosystem strength and integration
Xiaomi’s Siri-like AI assistant, XiaoAI, can be utilized for a range of AI-powered tasks, such as real-time translation for 10 languages, and recording and transcribing meeting calls, which proved useful for office collaboration. One user said they had tried other smart glasses—including the popular Ray-Ban Meta glasses—but Xiaomi’s integration with the XiaoAI assistant and its ability to connect with other Xiaomi products helped it stand out.
He Wangzheng, an analyst at WellsennXR, said Xiaomi’s main strength in the smart glasses market will be its large ecosystem, which includes a range of smart home appliances and electric vehicles. Luo Xuan, a Shenzhen-based AI entrepreneur, said he was able to use Xiaomi’s frames to control other Xiaomi products, a function he found convenient and useful. “I have a lot of Xiaomi smart devices, so if you are an avid Xiaomi user, [Xiaomi’s smart glasses] will surprise you.”
Competition and future challenges
The global AI glasses market has seen rapid growth in the past few years, following the success of Meta Platforms and Ray-Ban’s collaboration. In February, Counterpoint said in a report that 2025 will witness a “hundred smart glasses war.” Ivan Lam, an analyst at Counterpoint, said Xiaomi’s supply chain strength puts it in a good position compared to other Chinese smart glasses makers in the race to capture a slice of the market.
However, early users of Xiaomi’s glasses hope that future generations of the product will look more like a pair of regular glasses. Luo said the device currently looks more like a tech gadget trying to pass as glasses. “Anyone who takes a look at it will notice they are not ordinary glasses, and this is the biggest problem.”
Conclusion: A promising step
Xiaomi’s entry into the smart glasses market represents an important strategic move for the company. By leveraging its loyal user base and integrated ecosystem, Xiaomi has a unique opportunity to deliver a connected experience that many competitors cannot match. If the company can improve the design and address early user feedback, it may be able to repeat its smartphone market success and become a major player in the next generation of wearables.
