"By 2049, most smartphones will be replaced by smart glasses." Kevin Kelly has repeatedly proposed the concept of a "mirror world." In his book “2049: What's Possible in the Next 10,000 Days”, he believes that AI assistants will be as ubiquitous as GPS navigation, as intelligent and vivid as those in the movie *Her*. When you wear AI glasses, the real world will be overlaid with a digital twin: looking at a cabinet or refrigerator will display the items stored inside and their expiration dates; scanning a machine will display operating instructions for each part; walking along the blue line on the sidewalk will show you the best route to your destination; looking at the buildings on the street, you can choose to overlay images from 100 years ago onto the real scene, allowing the past to converse with the present… While such a "mirror world" is a vision, it is not far-fetched.
2025 is considered by many to be the "Year Zero of Smart Glasses." According to a report released by IDC, global shipments of smart glasses reached 4.065 million units in the first half of the year alone, a year-on-year increase of 64.2%. Chinese manufacturers accounted for over 1 million units, representing 24.6% of the global market share, demonstrating extremely rapid growth.
A fierce battle for smart glasses is unfolding, with Meta and Samsung continuously upgrading their products, while startups like Thunderbird and Rokid, deeply rooted in the XR field, are accelerating the iteration of new products, stirring up the entire market. At the same time, AI glasses products are becoming lighter, more practical, and more affordable, with their aesthetics and technological appeal being praised by fashion-conscious consumers.
From geek experimentation to mass consumption, this has prompted the industry to rethink AI glasses. Has it truly reached a singularity? First, consider this question: Why do I need a pair of AI glasses?
After the advent of smartphones, people had a completely new human-computer interaction interface—the touchscreen. Entering the AI era, the continuous evolution of large-scale models has brought new imaginations; any flat surface can become a screen, and the mobile phone is no longer the only hardware form. Smart glasses integrate three core interaction methods: vision, hearing, and language, offering a more immersive experience and are considered by the industry as one of the best application scenarios for AI.
Research firm Well-sennXR predicts that the market will reach a staggering 1.4 billion units by 2035. Kevin Kelly also optimistically believes in his book that smart glasses will completely replace smartphones and gradually integrate diverse functions such as video calls, medical diagnosis, classroom teaching, screen display, home entertainment, and gaming devices.
Currently, manufacturers of all sizes are actively exploring the ultimate form of next-generation display, interaction, and computing platforms. Starting from first principles, the essence of AI glasses is still "glasses"—let's begin by making people willing to wear them for extended periods.