- Lightweight designs and AI integration have gathered momentum for the industry's shift toward mass adoption.
- Although the hardware foundation is largely complete, true core user value remains to be further explored.
China's smart glasses shipments reached 2.46 million units in 2025, surging 87.1% year-on-year, according to data released Wednesday by market research firm IDC.
Lightweight designs and the integration of artificial intelligence have built momentum for the industry's transition to mass market adoption, though true user value has yet to be fully uncovered, IDC said.
Chinese tech vendors are playing an increasingly vital role in the global market. In 2025, China accounted for 23.3% of global smart glasses shipments, while Chinese companies held a dominant 87.4% share in the AR and ER segments.
Backed by the country's mature consumer electronics supply chain, local enterprises are able to rapidly translate cutting-edge technologies into mass-produced devices.
AI glasses equipped with cameras are gradually replacing audio-only products to become the main driver of market growth. Shipments of audio and camera-equipped audio glasses in China reached 1.726 million units in 2025, a year-on-year jump of 122%.
Tech giants such as Xiaomi and Huawei captured the major market share in this segment, while the proportion of products featuring large language model (LLM) voice assistants has reached 50.5%, according to IDC.
As the hardware rollout is largely complete, the true core value for users still needs further exploration.
Currently, most AI features remain limited to general scenarios such as voice Q&A and translation, failing to form sticky usage habits, IDC noted.
How to deeply bind AI capabilities with users' daily commutes, office work, and health management remains a critical challenge for the industry.
In 2026, smart glasses were included in China's national trade-in subsidy program, a fiscal policy expected to boost device sales in the consumer market.
Facing an increasingly fierce competitive landscape, vendors urgently need to sustain their efforts in core scenario implementation, offline channel conversion, and product form differentiation to seize the strategic high ground of the next-generation interactive gateway, IDC said.
