Chinese tech giant Alibaba is entering the smart glasses market, announcing on Monday the launch of its AI-powered eyewear. The new “Quark AI Glasses” mark the company’s first big move into the wearable tech category.
Powered by Alibaba’s own advanced AI models, Qwen and Quark, the glasses are slated for release in China by the end of 2025. This launch puts Alibaba in direct competition with rivals like Meta, which has its smart glasses made with Ray-Ban, and the Chinese electronics company Xiaomi. Like other tech giants, Alibaba views smart glasses as the next major computing platform after smartphones.
So what can they do? According to Alibaba, the glasses will support hands-free calling, music streaming, and real-time language translation. They will also feature a built-in camera and be able to transcribe meetings.
Crucially, the glasses will integrate with Alibaba’s other popular services. Users will be able to navigate using their mapping service, make payments with the Alipay app, and even compare prices on Alibaba’s shopping website, Taobao, all through the glasses.
While Alibaba hasn’t revealed key details, such as price or full technical specifications, yet, the announcement is a clear signal that the e-commerce giant is serious about competing in the next wave of personal technology.
