Alibaba Debuts Its First AI-Powered Smart Glasses

Alibaba has officially entered the consumer wearables market with the launch of its first AI-powered smart glasses — the Quark AI S1 and G1 — bringing direct competition to Meta’s Ray-Ban smart glasses and strengthening its push into AI-driven hardware.

Key Product Details

Two models:
- Quark S1 priced at 3,799 yuan (~$536)
- Quark G1 priced at 1,899 yuan (~$268)
Priced significantly below Meta’s $799 Ray-Ban Display glasses
Features include:
- Translucent display lenses
- Cameras & microphones
- Swappable batteries
- Full integration with Qwen AI (Alibaba’s ChatGPT-style model)
- Controlled via Alibaba’s revamped Qwen app

Competing Directly With Meta and Other Tech Giants

Meta has led the early market for smart AI glasses, but the competitive landscape also includes:

Apple
Google
Snap (Snapchat)

Alibaba’s entry signals its ambition to expand beyond e-commerce and cloud services and embed AI directly into consumer electronics.

Why Alibaba Is Expanding Into Wearables Now

The announcement follows:

Stronger-than-expected Q2 results
The relaunch of its Qwen AI chatbot
A broader push to position Alibaba as an AI-first company

By pricing its glasses aggressively, Alibaba aims to accelerate adoption in China and potentially global markets.

Wearables Market Outlook

The AI-glasses industry remains small but is expanding rapidly:

Shipments expected to exceed 10 million units by 2026
That would be double the 2025 shipment estimates (Omdia data)

Growing demand for hands-free AI interfaces and lightweight AR devices is accelerating competition among major tech players.