Big Tech's Next AI Battleground Is Your Face: Alibaba Takes Aim At Meta Ray-Ban With New Smart Glasses

Alibaba Group Holding unveiled a new generation of AI smart glasses early Tuesday, intensifying competition with its challenger Meta Platforms, which currently sells a lineup of Ray-Ban smart glasses, as Big Tech positions eyewear as the next big battleground.

The Qwen Glasses N1 series, introduced in China, starts at $450 before discounts, putting it in the same price range as Meta's Ray-Ban smart glasses. A Pro version, expected to cost around $520, adds eye-tracking capabilities.

According to Alibaba, the smart glasses feature 50-megapixel cameras, bone-conduction microphones, and AI assistant integration with the Qwen model. The glasses will support shopping, payments, and health tracking, with battery life of up to 25 hours on standby or nine hours of music playback.

Last month, Loop Capital analyst Rob Sanderson told clients that smart glasses are becoming the "next major computing platform" and that an "inflection point" has already arrived.

As we've previously noted, Meta currently leads the space, with Google, Samsung, Apple, and SNAP preparing their own AI-powered eyewear.

Bloomberg's Mark Gurman said earlier this year that Apple is planning to release its first smart glasses in "late 2027."

Apple's smart glasses will feature "oval-shaped cameras, unique colors, and multiple frame styles," according to Gurman. "Over time, Apple believes the glasses could evolve into a health device and eventually incorporate augmented reality technologies capable of improving how people see," he said.

Read the Loop Capital report here in a note we titled "Big Tech's Next AI Battleground Is Your Face."