With the continuous iteration and upgrading of related products, the pace of new product releases is accelerating, and the smart glasses market is experiencing explosive growth. According to institutional predictions, the shipment volume of China's smart glasses market is expected to reach 4.5 million units by 2026, with a year-on-year increase of up to 77%. The surge in sales has also strongly stimulated the comprehensive upgrading of the upstream and downstream industrial chains in the industry. At the beginning of 2026, Thunderbird's innovative first eSIM smart glasses, "Thunderbird X3 Pro Project eSIM," were unveiled. This product is a binocular full-color AR smart glasses that integrates eSIM communication module and 4G protocol support. It can independently achieve functions such as calling, AI conversation, and real-time translation without the need for mobile phone networking. Prior to this, Rokid Leqi and Guangzhou Automobile Group jointly released the application results of Rokid AI glasses based in car full scenario technology: before users get on the car, they can remotely control the vehicle to unlock, turn on and off the air conditioning and trunk through voice commands of AI smart glasses, and even achieve automatic parking in and out of the vehicle. In addition, during the driving process, AI smart glasses can also display real-time key information such as navigation and vehicle speed. In the past two years, with breakthroughs in integrated bonding optical technology, lightweight design, multi model adaptation, eSIM independent communication and other fields, the pain points of "bulky, short battery life, poor interaction, and dependence on mobile phones" in smart glasses have been continuously solved, achieving a transition from accessories to independent terminals. Compared to the previous AI glasses that mainly focused on extending the mobile phone ecosystem, car infotainment provides a new interactive perspective for wearable devices. ”Datong Securities stated in a research report that in the long run, such cross-border integration may have an impact on the industry's competitive landscape, and is expected to drive technological iteration and collaborative development in upstream supply chains such as sound and light sensors. In fact, Rokid AI glasses not only have functions such as translation, navigation, telepromptation, photography, video recording, payment, and AI assistant, but also have been applied in areas such as scenic area traffic command, customs mail inspection, fire emergency safety investigation, transportation safety investigation, and power safety inspection. At present, eSIM、 The accumulation of key technologies such as multi model adaptation and ED optics has been relatively mature, but product iteration is a process of technological balance. From a hardware perspective, continuously promoting product lightweighting and making it more comfortable for users to wear is our core direction that we always adhere to. ”Xiang Wenjie, co-founder of Hangzhou Lingban Technology, said in an interview with Economic Reference Daily. Datong Securities believes that under the dual drive of technological iteration and market cultivation, the smart glasses industry chain has long-term development potential and is expected to become the next major consumer electronics category after smartphones. At the policy level, AI glasses will be included in the "national subsidy" in 2026, which is expected to further increase consumer demand. According to data from International Data Corporation (IDC), the Chinese smart glasses market is expected to ship 2.536 million units by 2025, a year-on-year increase of 92.9%; The Chinese smart glasses market is expected to ship 4.508 million units in 2026, a year-on-year increase of 77.7%. In addition, the shipment volume in 2025 will be slightly reduced, and the growth will be concentrated in 2026, mainly affected by the pace of manufacturers' new product releases. The timing of market growth will be slightly delayed. The overall market still maintains a relatively optimistic growth momentum. The core growth points of smart glasses in 2026 will still be concentrated in consumer level scenarios, especially in high-frequency and essential fields such as home, travel, health management, content creation, and information services. The landing of AI driven native applications in these scenarios will be the key for manufacturers to achieve experience breakthroughs and ecological loops. ”International Data Corporation (IDC) China analyst Ye Qingqing said in an interview with Economic Reference News. The upgrading technology and iteration of demand driven industrial chain are also restructuring the upstream and downstream of the smart glasses industry chain. On the one hand, it promotes deep collaboration between the upstream and downstream of the industry chain, such as joint development between optical and structural component manufacturers and terminal brands, which significantly improves product integration and production efficiency. On the other hand, the enhancement of multi model adaptation and communication capabilities also promotes closer cooperation between chips, algorithms, content, and service links, accelerating the speed of new product development and implementation, and expanding the application scope of products, "said Ye Qingqing. In this process, listed companies in the industrial chain are also constantly upgrading, becoming typical samples of demand driven industrial restructuring. The pursuit of a better life by people has driven the continuous expansion of AI glasses' functions and application fields, and the requirements for the visual system's capabilities have also increased accordingly. Image sensors are developing towards lightweight, low-power, and high-performance directions. ”Sitwei, a high-tech enterprise engaged in the research and development, design, and service of CMOS image sensor chip products, revealed that the company has launched the SC1200IOT AI glasses application CMOS image sensor product with 12 million pixels in the first half of 2025. It has performance advantages such as small size, low power consumption, high sensitivity, and low noise, which can match the comprehensive imaging capability requirements of lightweight and high-quality AI glasses. The company will uphold efficient iteration efficiency, continuously improve product performance, continuously match market demand, and actively expand into emerging fields. Hisense Vision stated that in October 2025, the company officially released the Vidda G11 smart glasses product, which weighs only 27 grams. Based on a profound understanding of industry pain points, Hisense Vision has chosen a differentiated track, focusing on lightweight and all-weather wearing needs, to provide users with a seamless intelligent audio experience. In the future, the company will continue to track user needs, optimize equipment wearing comfort and display effects, actively explore cooperation opportunities with industry chain partners, and steadily promote product iteration based on technological maturity and market feedback. Xingchen Technology also disclosed that its self-developed ISP 6.0 is a new generation ISP algorithm architecture, specifically designed for dynamic scene optimization of mobile imaging devices. It breaks through the bottleneck of previous technologies in low light environments where motion images are blurry and noise is obvious. Even in low light motion, it can present high-quality imaging with clear details and full colors. The main control chip of the company's second-generation mobile imaging equipment targets advanced AI/AR glasses, sports/panoramic cameras, etc., with the goal of becoming a leading domestic substitute enterprise and continuously entering top brand customers. Guotou Intelligence stated that the "Smart Eye" AI smart glasses jointly developed by the company and customers have functions such as personnel recognition, inspection, vehicle screening, task collaboration and distribution. The main application scenarios include patrol and prevention, traffic investigation, command and dispatch, social governance, etc. As of now, it has been piloted in some customer locations. As a leading provider of one-stop precision manufacturing solutions for the entire industry chain of intelligent terminals, Lansi Technology stated that in the future, it will seize the opportunities brought by the hardware transformation of AI end side, focus on systematic breakthroughs in "materials+processes+equipment", and fully meet the explosive demand for various end side hardware through the highly vertical integration capability of the entire industry chain. Although technology and applications are developing rapidly, the industry believes that the current smart glasses industry still faces many challenges, despite the need for collaborative solutions to multiple challenges. This mainly includes the difficulty of controlling the balance between product weight, battery life, performance, and price, the coordination of key component yield and production capacity, the need to improve user education and market awareness, and the limitations of application scenarios. ”Ye Qingqing said. In his view, in the first half of 2026, optical displays are expected to make progress in brightness, field of view, and slimness, while AI chips and storage will evolve towards higher computing power, lower power consumption, and larger capacity. However, the implementation of these technologies still faces common challenges such as mass production yield, cost control, supply chain collaboration, and standard standardization, and requires coordinated promotion in multiple aspects such as technological innovation, cost optimization, and ecological construction. 2026 is a crucial year for the vertical implementation of smart glasses, and ecological construction will become the core driving force for industry development. ”Xiang Wenjie stated that through an open ecosystem, AI's multi scenario and multimodal capabilities will truly land on the glasses end and empower frontline users through vertical intelligent agents, forming a closed loop of "lightweight products+rich ecology". As the weight of core components such as display glass lenses and chips continues to decrease, AI glasses will achieve a dual breakthrough of 'more comfortable wearing and richer functions', thereby promoting the true popularization of products. ”Tell Wenjie. (New Society)