Hello, I’m Evelyn. I am writing to you from Beijing. Welcome to the latest edition of The China Connection. This is a concise summary of what I have seen and heard from local companies.
Today, we spoke to a smart glasses executive about why price-sensitive Chinese consumers are willing to pay $100 more for an AI frame. What is his strategy to counter Meta’s Ray-Ban display outside of China?
big story
Smart glasses wearers in the US got a small corner screen with the release of the Meta Ray-Ban display, but here in China two companies are selling smart frames that place a virtual display in front of the user’s eyes.
Rokid tops the sales list in China. Despite the price being about $100 more than its closest rival alibabaAccording to JD.com, an online consumer electronics retailer, Rokid’s AI-equipped frames have remained in first place for the past three months. This is a big deal in budget-conscious China.
One of Rokid’s most popular features is a virtual screen that scrolls through the text of your prepared speech during your presentation. Gary Cai, the company’s vice president, said it’s popular with business executives and government officials.
“Many people buy our glasses because of this teleprompt feature,” he said in Mandarin, as translated by CNBC.
Rokid is expanding its sales globally and had a market share of 3.9% last year. Meanwhile, Alibaba is also planning to expand overseas after unveiling its smart glasses at this year’s Mobile World Congress in Barcelona. meanwhile, meta The overseas launch of Ray-Ban displays has been delayed due to inventory constraints and “unprecedented” U.S. demand.
Rokid currently ships AI display glasses to countries including the UK and Canada, but not the US, according to the company’s website. The frame sells for $599 outside of China. That’s cheaper than the Meta Ray-Ban display, which starts at $799, although it’s not officially sold in China, where firewalls block access to Facebook.
According to Omdia, the global AI glasses market is expected to grow by more than 70% this year to 15 million units sold, and frame sales in China are expected to double to 2.1 million units.
But AI glasses with virtual displays remain a niche, with only modest growth expected to account for just 10% of global sales, according to Jason Low, research director for connected life at Shanghai-based Omdia.
However, he noted that in China, despite some “rudimentary” displays, consumers prefer them because they want to interact with their devices this way.
Technically, Rokid and Alibaba use augmented reality technology to display green text and some images on the glasses, while Meta offers a color screen. And the fact that Meta’s frames are Ray-Bans certainly makes them fashionable.
But in China, Rokid users on social media say they like the central display. Because it’s easy to navigate while riding a bike, and you can order coffee while walking and talking.
This spring, Rokid integrated the AI agent OpenClaw into its frames, allowing users to manage the AI assistant by talking to the glasses. Important to commercialization plans, Rokid also allows users to complete Alipay mobile payments by viewing a QR code, connect to Teslas with AI agent store functionality, provide homework guidance, and manage internet-connected home appliances.
On November 13, 2025, in Hangzhou, eastern China’s Zhejiang Province, Rokid CEO and founder Misa Chu will collaborate with Boron to unveil the company’s latest smart glasses.
Hector Retamal | AFP | Getty Images
early days
Getting consumers to adopt new technology, let alone new hardware, is never easy.
Since its founding in 2014, Rokid has struggled for years to attract customers, but its “try before you buy” mentality has allowed Hainan Airlines passengers to watch movies while wearing their glasses. Younger competitors such as Xreal have made strides with better hardware.
Currently, Lokid reportedly plans to file for an initial public offering in Hong Kong by the end of April. The company did not respond to requests for comment on its plans.
Cai acknowledged that previous versions of Rokid’s glasses, before the introduction of current display technology, were primarily used as niche products by gamers.
But he said the company’s close relationships with suppliers allow it to manufacture the new AI display glass at scale, and it’s 20 grams lighter than Meta’s. Rokid already generates 40% of its revenue outside mainland China and aims to sell up to 1 million pairs this year, including through a collaboration with eyewear brand Bolon.
Still, will that be enough for Lokid to survive? Tsai predicts that large companies such as ByteDance and Huawei may join Alibaba in entering the smart glasses market.
Chinese parts manufacturers also hope to enter the market. At the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas earlier this year, Chinese laser company Apotronics unveiled rival optical engines, including one for color displays. Michael Chen, general manager of Apotronics’ Innovation Center, told me at the time that the company planned to meet with Google and Meta after the expo.
Tsai said smart glasses still have many privacy issues that need to be resolved. But he is bullish on the technology, saying AI-powered display glass could make smartphones obsolete.
need to know
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very soon
April 14: China’s March trade statistics
April 16: China Q1 GDP and March retail sales, industrial production and investment data
April 16th-25th: Beijing International Film Festival
April 19: 2026 Beijing Yizhuang Half Marathon and Humanoid Robot Half Marathon
April 20: People’s Bank of China monthly loan prime rate announcement
