On July 25, it was announced that Alibaba's Tmall Genie team will officially launch its first self-developed AI smart glasses series, "WOW," at the World Artificial Intelligence Conference (WAIC 2025) in Shanghai. One of the glasses in the series will have AR display functionality.
Image source: AI-generated (not a product image)
According to relevant media reports, the appearance of the AR glasses has been revealed, and a model of the product was displayed at the Alibaba Tmall Genie booth at WAIC 2025.
Based on currently available images, the AR glasses feature a rear-mounted design, with the motherboard and battery located at the ends of the temples. The overall shape of the glasses more closely resembles ordinary glasses, and both eyes have display capabilities. Reportedly, the glasses offer functions such as photography, music playback, navigation, payment, translation, and teleprompter functionality.
According to information currently available online, the WOW AR glasses utilize two JBD-supplied ...
In terms of chips, the WOW AR glasses adopt a dual-chip dual-system architecture of Qualcomm AR1 chip + Hengxuan BES2800; in terms of imaging, it uses a 12-megapixel camera from Sony, and the camera module is provided by Luxshare Precision's subsidiary, Luxshare Innovation.
In terms of software ecosystem, the WOW AR glasses will be equipped with multiple Alibaba applications. Regarding AI applications, the glasses will feature an AI interaction system developed jointly by the Quark team and the Tmall Genie team, supporting the Quark AI + Tongyi Qianwen AI large model. On the software side, the glasses will support applications such as Gaode Maps, Alipay, and Taobao, providing scenario-based functions such as navigation, payment, and product recognition.
It is reported that WOW AR glasses are expected to be officially launched on Double 11 this year.
Alibaba's AR Glasses Development Path: A Full Industry Chain Layout <br /> The AR glasses market has seen a continuous surge in popularity in recent years, and the upcoming release of Alibaba's new AR glasses is expected to further fuel this trend. Latest forecasts indicate that AR device shipments are projected to reach 32.11 million units by 2030.
In reality, Alibaba had already recognized the future growth potential of the AR glasses market. Prior to this new product launch, Alibaba had been quietly investing in the AR glasses field for many years, and its presence is felt behind many AR-related companies.
In the field of AR display, as early as 2016, Alibaba invested $793.5 million in Magic Leap, a US company specializing in augmented reality technology development. In the same year, Alibaba also invested $15 million in Infinity AR, an Israeli AR engine and solutions company.
In 2017, Alibaba participated in the Series C funding round of Lumus, an Israeli AR headset lens manufacturer, with an investment of $6 million.
In 2023, Alibaba invested in JBD, a Micro LED microdisplay chip company. In 2024, Ant Group, an Alibaba-backed company, led a pre-B round of financing of hundreds of millions of yuan for JBD, increasing JBD's R&D investment in core Micro LED microdisplay technologies, product mass production, high-end talent recruitment, and global market expansion.
Regarding AR glasses end products, in 2022, Alibaba led a $60 million Series C+ funding round for Xreal, a domestic consumer-grade AR glasses manufacturer. In addition, Alibaba has also invested in several other AR hardware companies, including Magic Mirror Technology, Singularity Nearby, Vision Technology, and Tribute to the Unknown.
Beyond investments, Alibaba's AR application ecosystem development is also noteworthy. Its continuous enrichment of the functionality of multiple domestically produced AR glasses products lays the foundation for self-developed AR glasses. Just this January, Thunderbird Innovation partnered with Alibaba Cloud, an AI technology company under Alibaba. Alibaba will develop a customized "cloud + edge" model for Thunderbird's new AR glasses based on the Tongyi series large model base, helping the product achieve a high-response, low-latency, and high-quality multimodal AI interactive experience.
Regarding AR glasses terminal products, in September 2023, Alibaba's AI business company, Future Elf, released Future Elf AR glasses. This product was developed in cooperation with Thunderbird Innovation and adopts a Micro LED + diffractive waveguide display solution. It supports 16.7 million colors for binocular full-color display, with a peak brightness of up to 1,500 nits and a contrast ratio of up to 100,000:1. The release of this product marked Alibaba's official entry into the AR field.
Alibaba's AR strategy reveals that it has a long history of investments in areas such as screen display, hardware, and application ecosystem, penetrating every corner of the AR field.
Alibaba's latest AR glasses launch signifies its further expansion in the AR field, accelerating the adoption of AR glasses in the consumer market and creating more opportunities for its consumer electronics business. (Text: Irving)
