HANGZHOU: China, AI glasses let the wearer pay in shops with just a glance at a QR code and a voice command, as a growing number of companies look to conquer both the growing domestic and overseas markets.

“China’s advantages are self-evident,” Rokid CEO Misa Zhu said after a recent launch in the eastern city of Hangzhou.

“The ecosystem and its supply chain are all in China, and China produces a lot.” Domestically, Chinese companies have an undeniable edge — Meta’s services are blocked there, inaccessible without a VPN.

Smart glasses sales are expected to have grown 116 percent there on-year in 2025, according to market intelligence provider IDC. Daily life is already highly digitalised, with even older citizens using smartphones for everything from payments to transport.

China’s internet-based infrastructure, such as QR payment codes in shops, is “already more developed than in Europe and the United States”, said Zhu.

The Rokid glasses are not locked to one generative AI model.

“We are very open that we use OpenAI, and can also connect with Llama, Gemini, and Grok,” Zhu said.

With weight also a crucial factor, Rokid says its models are among the world’s lightest.

Despite interest in smart glasses rising, Chinese and foreign firms alike face major challenges ahead of widespread adoption.

Across the board, the user experience needs more polish and accessibility, said Will Greenwald, writer for consumer electronics outlet PCMag.

“I don’t think anyone has really made it a smooth experience just yet,” he said.

Privacy concerns remain a hurdle, with the ramifications of widely worn glasses discreetly and near-constantly recording raising potential regulatory pitfalls.

Still, manufacturers such as Zhu remain confident. “Today, our AI glasses are phone peripherals,” he said. “But in the near future... phones will become accessories to the glasses.”

Published in Dawn, December 4th, 2025