Chinese artificial intelligence (AI) smart‑glasses are breaking into the global mainstream, reshaping how consumers interact with AI in daily life and signaling the country's growing edge in wearable AI hardware.
China shipped 2.46 million smart glasses in 2025, up 87.1 percent year on year. Chinese brands accounted for 23 percent of global shipments, according to International Data Corporation (IDC).
Industry leaders see the surge as more than numbers, with Rokid's founder predicting smart glasses will become the defining AI device for everyday users.
"Smart glasses or AI glasses will be the most popular AI terminal devices to the end user in the AI era. So, I think it's going to get more popular, so maybe in the coming three to five years everybody will put AI glasses on," said Zhu Mingming, founder and CEO of Rokid, a Hangzhou-based technology company specializing in Augmented Reality（AR）and AI hardware.
The rise of multimodal AI is giving smart glasses new momentum. They have become tools for translation, navigation, note-taking, photography, entertainment, and even real-time assistance.
And in scenarios that demand richer visual experiences, AR glasses or AI-powered AR glasses are becoming portals for work, entertainment, communication, and spatial computing.
"This product is our current high-end Xreal One Pro series, and below it there is the Xreal One S. Both products are based on our self-developed optical engine technology and also incorporate the spatial computing chip we just mentioned," said Yang Shiqi, marketing director of Xreal.
China's smart-glasses industry has built a strong hardware foundation, with lighter designs and AI now standard. The diversity of smart glasses is shaping the future of the industry, according to a tech influencer.
"There are like XR glasses, AR glasses, AI glasses, MR (Mixed Reality) glasses. So these are completely different types of glasses and I will use them in different scenarios. I think AI definitely pushed a lot of buttons for a lot of brands, that's the future," said Wang Hongcheng, a tech influencer.
Chinese tech firms push smart‑glasses worldwide, reshaping consumer AI experience
As floodwaters from Typhoon Maysak receded, the jasmine fields of China's "jasmine capital" Hengzhou in Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region sprang back to life, with the local flower market welcoming its peak buying season.
In early July, the typhoon drenched the region with storm and flood, inundating nearly 60 percent of Hengzhou's jasmine plantations, totaling around 100,000 mu (about 6,700 hectares).
Government relief and company support have spurred a swift recovery, with farmers once again hauling freshly picked jasmine blossoms into Hengzhou's Shijing trading market.
The current harvest is the first post-disaster flush from the less-damaged fields. Though yields are lower, having flowers to sell cheered local farmers up.
"My home was flooded for around four or five days. The government helped, and the whole jasmine chain has been rebuilt by now," said farmer Li Yeji.
As the jasmine market entered its peak procurement window, tight supply drove prices to 82 yuan (about 12 U.S. dollars) per kilogram, which is twice the usual rate.
"If growers see plenty of tea companies still buying, it gives them a real boost," said Chen Hongfei, marketing director at a local agritech firm.
"We can get through this. At these prices, we are definitely happy," local farmer Zhou Ailian went straight forward.
From the business side, tea merchant Lin Yongjian, who has worked in Hengzhou for years, saw his daily flower intake plunge to 30 percent of normal levels. He has juggled production schedules to fulfill orders while paying more to reassure growers.
"We raised prices early on to restore growers' confidence, and handed out free medicine and fertilizer to affected farmers. We are doing everything to help them recover and improve flower quality," he said.
With more farmers back in the fields, the daily trading volume at the Hengzhou jasmine market has climbed to roughly 400,000 kilograms.
"The new-style tea beverage industry currently has a large jasmine demand. As the weather improves and temperatures rise, we are fully confident about the jasmine production ahead," said Luo Yuzhen, head of the local flower tea association.
Typhoon‑hit jasmine industry in Guangxi rebounds as farmers return to fields
