Review | The First Wave of the "Hundred Mirrors Battle" with Nearly 50 AI

Thanks to the impetus of multimodal AI large models and the stimulus of Ray-Ban Meta's popularity, the AI/AR/XR glasses market was exceptionally lively in 2024. As we continue to create and move forward, let's take a look back at the changes and trends in the industry in 2024. This article is part of VR陀螺's 2024 review series on AI/AR/XR hardware, focusing on smart glasses products that were publicly unveiled or officially released in 2024.

The main categories included in this review are AI audio/parking glasses, AI+AR glasses (mainly waveguide solutions), and tethered XR glasses (mainly BB solutions). According to VR陀螺's incomplete statistics, there were 46 smart glasses products that were publicly unveiled or officially released globally in 2024. Among them, there were 9 AI audio/parking glasses, 22 AI+AR glasses/AR notification glasses, and 15 tethered XR glasses/viewing glasses.

Special Note

This statistical table does not include ODM/OEM solution products, such as unnamed XR glasses reference designs from upstream manufacturers like Yijing, Goer, and Mojie, as a single glasses product usually has multiple designs, and only the first release time of the series is taken as the standard. The parameters of the smart glasses are sourced from press releases and e-commerce platforms, and the prices are the product's first release price, crowdfunding price, or standard price, which may fluctuate periodically, with the official disclosure as the main reference.

Main Industry Trends and Observations

• The Rise of "Domestic Ray-Ban Meta" Products: In 2024, most AI glasses targeting Ray-Ban Meta were in the early stages, although they had a first-mover advantage, they were still limited by the early maturity of technology and the completion of application development, mainly in the form of previews, presales, and crowdfunding. The trend of tech companies and traditional glasses manufacturers joining forces has become apparent, as both can benefit from each other in glasses design, optical fitting, and market channels, bringing greater commercial value. With the efforts of ODM/OEM manufacturers and the improvement of supply chain technology maturity, it is expected that there will be more "AI parking glasses" and more diverse ID designs in 2025.

• The Growth of AR Glasses: According to VR陀螺's incomplete statistics, there were 22 AR glasses and AI+AR glasses publicly displayed or released in 2024, with 21 of them being all-in-one AR glasses, a 66.7% increase from the previous year, indicating a further strengthening of the all-in-one trend. In terms of AR optics, silicon carbide became the biggest optical material variable in 2024, but its semiconductor material properties also doomed it to high costs, making it difficult to enter the consumer market in the short term. In the short term, single green Micro-LED+glass/resin diffraction waveguide is more valuable for the consumer market. The influx of multimodal AI has accelerated the process of AR glasses becoming standard with "cameras."

• The Persistence of Tethered XR Glasses: Although the number of tethered XR glasses based on Micro-OLED+Birdbath optical solutions decreased in 2024, there were still 15 models, with 100% of them from Chinese manufacturers. In 2024, the main manifestation of tethered XR glasses was in the changes of optics, such as replacing with higher PPI 0.55'' Micro-OLED to improve clarity, etc. The "mobile computing unit" has become a standard configuration, on the one hand, to make up for the embarrassment that some mobile phones do not support direct connection, and on the other hand, XR manufacturers can try to access many new technologies, create their own AR interaction systems, access AI large models, etc., to expand more scenes and gameplay.

I. The Emergence of "Domestic Ray-Ban Meta" Products in 2024

The reporting on AI glasses in 2024 was in full swing, with the slogan of targeting Ray-Ban Meta being heard everywhere. However, in reality, there were only 9 AI audio/parking glasses that were publicly displayed or released in 2024.

These include Li Weike Meta Lens Chat, Sharge AI Smart Parking Glasses A1, Eddie Bauer, Solos AirGo Vision, Jiehuan AI Glasses (Fengchao Technology), Emteq Sense, Xiaodu AI Glasses, Hui Che Technology Looktech, and Jia Nan KANAAN-K1. Among them, domestic manufacturers accounted for 6 models, and overseas for 3 models.

1. Keen Commercial Market Sense, Chinese Manufacturers Rush into the AI Glasses Market

Looking at the manufacturers, Li Weike and Fengchao Technology are both traditional AR glasses manufacturers and were the earliest to launch and sell AI audio glasses in 2024; the release of Xiaodu AI Glasses marked the entry of Chinese internet giants, making the market more heated; the product releases of Sharge, Hui Che Technology, and Jia Nan Technology further accelerated the AI glasses market.

Domestic manufacturers have a keen sense of new markets brought by new technologies and products. Although they have a first-mover advantage in products targeting Ray-Meta, they are still limited by the early maturity of technology and the completion of application development. In 2024, they mainly focused on AI glasses technology launches, previews, presales, and crowdfunding.

2. Collaborating with Traditional Glasses Manufacturers for Design, Fitting, and Channels

From a business strategy perspective, in 2024, it was common for tech companies to join forces with traditional glasses manufacturers to create AI glasses, as Ray-Ban Meta has already proven the value of this business cooperation. Leio Innovation &博士眼镜, Star紀Meizu & Yashik Optical, Rokid & Bolon Glasses, Sharge & LOHO, Fengchao Technology & Baodao Glasses...

The trend of tech companies and traditional glasses manufacturers joining forces, leveraging each other's strengths, can effectively improve glasses design, brand effect, and offline channels, enabling their products to quickly enter the market and meet the personalized "fitting service" concerns of consumers.

In theory, glasses are more "personalized" wearable products, and providing multiple frame and color options is definitely a trend. However, manufacturers also need to balance the initial cost and ensure later conversion. Therefore, most manufacturers usually choose the most popular frame designs in the market as the standard product for their AI glasses in the early stage, which also leads to the current "great similarity" in the appearance of most AI glasses.

With the efforts of ODM/OEM manufacturers and the improvement of supply chain technology maturity, it is expected that there will be more "AI parking glasses" and more diverse ID designs in 2025, which will be a highlight year for Chinese AI glasses.

II. AR Manufacturers Embrace AI, Optics Continue to Gain Momentum

According to VR陀螺's incomplete statistics, there were 22 AR glasses and AI+AR glasses publicly displayed or released in 2024, with 21 of them being all-in-one AR glasses, a 66.7% increase from the previous year, indicating a further strengthening of the all-in-one trend.

The representative products in this category include Meta Orion, Star紀Meizu StarV Air2, Leio X2 Lite, Rokid Glasses, Yingmu Air 3, Yingmu Go 2, Yiwen Even Realities G1, Google prototype, OPPO Air Glass 3, Holoswim 2 Pro, Brilliant Labs Frame, Spectacles '24, Journey Lens, Gudong Xingcai Star1S, Vuzix Z100, etc.

In 2024, AR glasses mainly based on waveguide solutions continuously improved the quality of optical beams, especially in reducing rainbow patterns; in addition, the impact of multimodal AI also brought a new round of high-light moments for major AR manufacturers. As the wearable device closest to the five senses, AR glasses have natural advantages in voice interaction, AR display, and first-person photography.

1. Silicon Carbide Becomes the Biggest Optical Material Variable in 2024

Looking at the most important optical solution for AR glasses, the Micro-LED+waveguide optical solution, with its high transmittance, high brightness, small size, and low energy consumption, remains the mainstream choice for brand manufacturers in 2024, with 16 related products.

In particular, Meta Orion, under the general optical path of Micro-LED+waveguide, innovatively adopted silicon carbide material waveguide, adding a new technological variable to 2024. Unlike the common glass and resin materials, silicon carbide is a third-generation semiconductor material that can bring higher optical transmission efficiency.

It is reported that the highest refractive index of glass is 2.0, with a density of 4.7g/cm³, while silicon carbide can achieve a refractive index of 2.6, with a density of 3.2g/cm³. The higher refractive index enables the waveguide to more effectively confine and guide light waves, thereby reducing light loss and improving transmission efficiency. In addition, the lower density makes silicon carbide waveguides lighter in weight, enhancing the final product's wearing experience.

However, from the perspective of underlying supply chain technology maturity and the market, silicon carbide is difficult to enter the mass market in the short term. The currently common silicon carbide is divided into conductive and semi-insulating types, with the conductive type mainly used in the semiconductor field, and the semi-insulating type being transparent, with less application, so there is no volume, and the material price is very high. For example, the price of a 4-inch silicon wafer made into a silicon carbide wafer is nearly 2000 RMB, and because it is harder than ordinary quartz glass, processing is more difficult, further increasing its manufacturing cost.

2. Single Green Micro-LED Continues to Dominate the Mainstream Consumer Market

Looking at the landing of micro-displays, in 2024, single-color Micro-LED continued to dominate. Thanks to the continuous optimization of the underlying supply chain such as JBD, single-color light engines are also continuously iterating.

For example, the first-generation MYVU glasses of Star紀Meizu adopted a 0.3cc Micro-LED monochrome light engine + resin diffraction waveguide, and the second-generation AR glasses StarV Air2 evolved into a 0.15CC Micro-LED+glass diffraction waveguide, with the light machine volume reduced by 50%, weight reduced by 50%, peak light flux increased by 80%, and typical power consumption decreased by 25%. In addition, thanks to the new high-refraction glass waveguide material and grating design, the rainbow pattern of StarV Air2 was greatly reduced compared to the previous generation, and almost invisible in indoor environments, further enhancing the AR experience.

Speaking of the optimization of rainbow patterns, the round-frame design of Even Realities G1 is also worth mentioning. When the author used it before, he almost couldn't see any rainbow patterns. On the one hand, this is due to the progress of the supply chain's coating technology and biomimetic nano-texture, achieving a high transmittance of 98%; on the other hand, its grating design cleverly avoided the area that the naked eye needs to "stare at" all the time, placing the rounded grating above the lens, greatly reducing the rainbow pattern caused by light interference.

In addition, the design of rounded gratings will also be a subtle change in optical design in the future. As early as the in-depth observation content of the 2024 Optical Expo, the author also mentioned this. This change may consider "aesthetic design," as sharp corners and angles are more likely to attract people's attention. After becoming rounded, the physical world side is not so easy to notice the grating. At the same time, it also makes the entire glasses more aesthetically appealing.

In 2024, the application of full-color Micro-LED was no longer limited to Leio Innovation, and Meta also adopted full-color Micro-LED in its prototype. The entry of giants is expected to further accelerate the maturity of supply chain technology.

3. Multimodal AI Accelerates the Influx of "Cameras" into the AR Market

For traditional AR manufacturers, the addition of AI large models has truly turned AR glasses into "smart glasses."

In fact, since 2023, many AR glasses have begun to provide basic AI voice interaction, and the AI trend in 2024 was even more intense, manifested in each family's understanding of AI interaction and the application of multimodal AI. Many manufacturers began to add cameras to AR glasses to meet the possibilities of multimodal interaction, such as Rokid Glasses, Yingmu Air 3, Spectacles '24, etc., all equipped with cameras.

Before the outbreak of multimodal AI, the industry also unanimously believed that the camera would be the standard configuration for AR glasses, which can not only take photos and videos but also expand gesture interaction, SLAM positioning, etc., promoting more application scenarios and gameplay. It can be said that the influx of multimodal AI is now accelerating the process of AR glasses introducing "cameras."

Of course, in the application of AI multimodality, Meta undoubtedly has the most say. Although Ray-Ban Meta was released in 2023, its multimodal AI functions were only gradually pushed to users in 2024. The multimodal AI functions of Ray-Ban Meta, through the camera on the glasses, allow users to achieve functions such as translating French menus in front of them, querying real-time information through voice commands, and recognizing street buildings.

In addition, based on AI parking glasses, Meta Orion, which added an AR light machine, also has very interesting multimodal functions. Through a personalized AI assistant, Meta Orion can recognize all objects on the table through the camera and provide a complete recipe suggestion and calorie reference. Due to the wearable glasses design, this allows users to free up their hands and obtain cooking guidance.

AI image recognition is not a new trick, and Meta's innovation lies in integrating it with large models, telling users what delicious dishes these ingredients can be mixed into while recognizing objects, and generating interaction.

4. Swimming and Cycling, Two Major细分 (Niche) AR Tracks

In addition to the general AI+AR scene products such as Star紀Meizu StarV Air2, Rokid Glasses, and Yiwen Even Realities G1, there are also some AR products designed for specific scenes, especially those sports scenes that need to "free up hands."

For example, Guangli Technology successively launched three AR swimming glasses products in 2024. Although the three AR swimming glasses did not have too direct changes in optical design and parameters, there were a series of subtle changes in product ergonomics, internal sensors, and software ecosystem. For example, the Holoswim 2 Pro priced at 1299 RMB can connect to the Apple Watch and supports various swimming training templates, and has passed the TüV Rheinland inspection, which may be an attractive point for swimming enthusiasts.

In 2024, Li Weike, Qidian Linjin, and Xingzhe all launched AR cycling glasses. Since the cycling scene does not have extremely demanding requirements for thin and light glasses design, the three glasses have significant differences in optical solutions.

LAWK ONE adopts a single-color Micro-LED+binocular diffraction waveguide, QIDI Vida Smart Sports Glasses adopts LCoS+diffraction waveguide, and X-lens adopts a Micro-OLED+single prism design. The commonality of their products mainly lies in the monitoring of sports data, allowing users to view relevant sports data and receive mobile phone WeChat notifications during cycling, and make timely adjustments.

III. Tethered XR Glasses, Diverse Product Forms and Technologies

Thanks to the characteristics of large FOV, high PPD, and multi-device compatibility, in 2024, although the number of tethered XR glasses based on Micro-OLED+Birdbath optical solutions decreased, there were still 15 models.

Representative products include Leio Air 2S, Leio Air 3, Star紀Meizu StarV View, VITURE Pro, Rokid Max2, XREAL One series, INAIR 2 series, ASUS AirVision M1, TQSKY T2, Tecno Pocket Go kit, etc., with Chinese manufacturers accounting for 100%.

1. Continuous Iteration of XR Near-Eye Display Optics

In 2024, many XR glasses based on the Birdbath optical solution replaced the 0.68'' inch Micro-OLED with Sony's latest 0.55'' Micro-OLED. Compared with the previous generation, the pixel density of the new Micro-OLED increased by 21%, reaching 4032ppi, which means that under the condition of unchanged FOV, the clarity (PPD) of XR glasses can be further improved.

Of course, some glasses also took some market differentiation in optical design. For example, Leio Air 3 adopted a 0.6'' Micro-OLED from domestic Shiyao Technology, coupled with its self-developed peacock optical engine, and under the collaboration of all aspects, reduced the BOM cost. Under the condition of unchanged basic optical parameters, the price of XR glasses was brought from the 2000 RMB range to 1699 RMB, which is a huge pressure for other similar manufacturers.

The optical design of XREAL One Pro is also worth mentioning. It adopted the Optic Engine 4.0 optical engine on the basis of 0.55'' Micro-OLED, making the FOV reach 57 degrees. In contrast, the FOV of current Birdbath solution glasses is mainly within 50 degrees. According to industry insiders, it may have adopted a technology similar to hybrid waveguide to achieve a breakthrough in the field of view, which may be one of the future evolutionary paths for Birdbath solution products.

Myopia is a common phenomenon in the 21st century, and for the geek users targeted by XR glasses, "diopter adjustment" is very important. Among the 15 XR glasses released in 2024, 7 products support diopter adjustment, with a maximum range of 0-600°.

In fact, diopter adjustment is a complex systematic project involving the movement of the display screen or imaging lens to adjust the most suitable imaging distance for nearsighted people. During the adjustment process, FOV and PPD may decline, and image distortion may occur, all of which need to be calibrated and compensated one by one. In the short term, it is not easy to make a good AR device with diopter adjustment.

2. Mobile Computing Units Become Standard, and "Different" Innovations Keep Coming

In 2024, among the 13 tethered XR glasses released, almost all provided the option of a "mobile computing unit," except for ASUS and Star紀Meizu, which could directly provide a "mobile phone."

For a group of XR startups, the "mobile computing unit" is not simply to increase product added value, but to make up for the embarrassment that some smartphones do not support USB 3.0 direct connection, and XR glasses cannot be used. More importantly, based on the "mobile computing unit," XR manufacturers can try to access many new technologies, create their own AR interaction systems, access AI large models, etc., to expand more scenes and gameplay, and prepare for the future transplantation of AR all-in-one machine systems.

For example, in 2024, on the Rokid Station 2 Creation Edition, Rokid added 2 spatial cameras, enabling the computing unit to also shoot spatial images, so that they can be directly watched on XR glasses. XREAL was more bold, and the upgraded Beam Pro in 2024 not only supported the shooting of spatial images but also had a screen, and even a 5G version. It is not rare for mobile phone manufacturers to do AR, but it is the first time for AR manufacturers to make mobile phones. In addition, the neck-hanging host of VITURE Pro added a camera, enabling "gesture interaction" for BB glasses.

Based on the excellent display experience of tethered XR glasses and the computing unit, multi-screen will focus on expanding the AR light office scene in the future and support the connection of keyboards and AI voice assistants. Tecno's AR entertainment kit Pocket Go from Transsion was an "oddity" in 2024. Its computing unit was designed in the shape of a game controller and was equipped with an AMD Ryzen 7 8840 HS processor, with a built-in cooling fan and three copper pipes for heat dissipation.

In 2024, it was interesting that XREAL launched the native 3DoF AR glasses with its self-developed X1 chip - XREAL One series, starting at 3299 RMB. It is claimed that its self-developed X1 spatial computing chip can reduce M2P delay to 3ms and support 0DoF and 3DoF modes. In addition, thanks to the chip's support, the glasses can also control the size, distance, and position of the screen virtual image content.

In the past, the 3DoF capability of tethered XR glasses usually required the binding of a mobile computing unit or a specific mobile phone, while the X1 chip easily achieved this capability from the glasses end. The industrial innovation of the X1 chip is worthy of affirmation, and it has also created a highly differentiated technical moat for XREAL. However, it cannot be ignored that "chips" have always been a synonym for burning money, with a starting point of hundreds of millions, and the current XR market capacity and growth are very limited. XREAL's move is a "risky chess," and the verification is left to time.

Conclusion

For the entire AR industry, 2024 was an exciting year with continuous innovation, technology, and products. Undoubtedly, the influx of AI large models has injected a powerful impetus into the AR industry, bringing the human-computer interaction of smart glasses products to a new height and expanding more dimensions.

Of course, facing such a wave of opportunities, it is more important to stay true to the original intention and make products. The Chinese market is never short of enterprises that chase hotspots and follow the trend. When an emerging field shows potential, a large amount of capital and enterprises rush in, trying to get a share of the pie in the heat. But often after the noise, what is left is a mess. And those enterprises that can truly stand firm in the market and lead industrial development are all at the intersection of consumer demand and technological innovation, making products with heart.

In 2025, let's not forget the original intention and continue to move forward.