On Thursday Alibaba launched its first artificial intelligence-powered smart glasses, called Quark AI Glasses, marking a new step in its strategy to expand into consumer AI. Available in two models, the S1 at 3,799 yuan (around $536) and the G1 at 1,899 yuan (around $270), the glasses aim to compete with the Ray-Ban Display from Meta and EssilorLuxottica, which have been on the market since September. Equipped with the Qwen models developed by Alibaba, they enable voice interactions with the AI, instant translation and the generation of summaries.
The Quark AI Glasses feature displays embedded in the lenses and an onboard camera, with a notable function that can recognize a product and display its price via Taobao. The S1 model stands out for its superior display quality. Initially intended for the Chinese market, these glasses are already facing local competitors such as Xiaomi and Xreal. According to Omdia, global sales of smart glasses could exceed 10 million units in 2026.
This launch is part of a broader push by Alibaba to invest in artificial intelligence. Its Qwen app has surpassed 10 million downloads in one week. Meanwhile, the group's cloud division, the engine of its AI growth, has recently seen a sharp increase in revenue. Determined to establish itself against Tencent and Baidu, Alibaba intends to capitalize on this new generation of devices to accelerate the rollout of its AI solutions to the mass market.
