As AI large models rapidly merge with wearable devices, smart glasses are once again becoming a focal point for the tech industry. From Meta’s AI glasses developed with Ray-Ban, to Apple’s Vision Pro, and Google’s renewed push into the AR ecosystem, global tech giants are competing once again for the next major computing platform. In this race, Chinese companies are also beginning to take center stage.
Today, at the opening ceremony of BEYOND Expo 2026 in Macau, XREAL CEO Xu Chi shared his views on AI glasses, globalization, and the next generation of computing devices. As the founder of Chinese AR glasses company XREAL, he revealed that XREAL has established a long-term partnership with Google, and that products jointly developed by the two companies are expected to launch later this year.
Xu Chi recalled that after the launch of Apple Vision Pro, the industry quickly realized that high prices and bulky form factors remain the biggest obstacles to mass adoption of XR devices. By comparison, lighter and more wearable smart glasses are emerging as the new direction. Truly mature AI glasses will eventually become as natural as ordinary prescription glasses, where once you put them on, AI and the real world merge together, he said.
In fact, lightweight design has become the clearest trend in today’s smart glasses industry. Over the past decade, the AR sector has consistently pursued immersion, but whether it was Google Glass in its early exploration phase or Microsoft HoloLens later on, issues such as weight, battery life, and cost prevented these products from reaching the mass market.
Although Vision Pro reignited excitement around XR, it also exposed how far high-end XR hardware still is from mainstream consumer adoption.
As a result, companies including XREAL, Meta, and Rokid are now pursuing another path: making devices lightweight first, then gradually improving AI capabilities and display performance. Among these developments, AI has become the industry’s biggest variable this year.
The true killer app for AI glasses will not be navigation or translation, but rather an all-day personal AI assistant, according to Xu. Unlike smartphones, which require users to actively open and interact with them, glasses naturally offer continuous companionship while also understanding the world from the user’s first-person perspective.
Combined with eye-tracking technology, AI could even understand what users are focusing on and proactively provide assistance.
This perspective is increasingly becoming an industry consensus. Mark Zuckerberg, CEO of Meta, has said that AI glasses could become the next major computing platform and that glasses are the ideal hardware form for AI.
Meanwhile, Google has also recently intensified its AR and multimodal AI efforts, aiming to combine its Gemini capabilities with wearable devices. As large AI models gain real-time visual understanding abilities, “AI that can see the world” is gradually moving from concept to reality.
However, beyond hardware, the real challenge remains ecosystem building and globalization.
During the discussion, Xu said Chinese companies used to rely heavily on cost-performance advantages when expanding overseas. Today, however, global competition is no longer just about price, but increasingly about branding, culture, and localization capabilities.
He used a metaphor to explain his thinking: “If you beat everyone 6–0 every time, no one will want to keep playing with you.” In his view, Chinese technology companies must shift from simply exporting products to co-creating value together with global markets.
This transition also reflects the changing role of China’s tech industry. In the past, Chinese companies were primarily manufacturers within global supply chains. Today, however, in fields such as AI, robotics, new energy, and AR, Chinese companies are beginning to play a major role in defining next-generation technologies.
For the smart glasses industry as a whole, the true iPhone moment may not have arrived yet, but an increasing number of Chinese companies are already positioning themselves at the forefront of this new wave.
