At the World Artificial Intelligence Conference (WAIC) in Shanghai, Alibaba officially introduced its first AI-powered smart glasses—the Quark AI Glasses, named after its AI assistant Quark. The device is fully developed, and Alibaba plans a consumer launch by the end of 2025, though no firm date has been announced
📡 Device Overview & Key Features
- Dual‑Chip Architecture: Powered by Qualcomm’s AR1 chip for high-performance AR tasks and Bestechnic BES2800 for low-power functions such as voice and audio—balancing responsiveness and battery life
- Two Versions Planned: A lightweight audio‑first version (no display) and an AI+AR version featuring diffractive waveguide technology and a green micro‑LED display for overlays and augmented visuals
- 12MP Camera: Incorporates the Sony IMX681 sensor used in Ray‑Ban Meta glasses, supplied by Lixing and assembled by Luxshare Precision
- AI Ecosystem Integration: Deeply tied to Alibaba’s services—users can use Amap for navigation, Alipay “look-and-pay” payments via voice or QR, and voice‑based product lookup on Taobao
- Powered by Qwen 3: Uses Alibaba’s cutting-edge LLM (Qwen3-235B-A22B-Thinking) to enable proactive reasoning, dialogue, search, and task execution—all with on-face convenience
📈 Why It Matters
- Ecosystem Advantage
Alibaba leverages its dominance in cloud AI, e-commerce, payments, and local tools to build a wearable that does more than display—it performs commerce and navigation tasks seamlessly - Competing in a Crowded Market
Quark AI Glasses enter a space already occupied by brands such as Meta (Ray‑Ban), Apple’s Vision UI (under development), Rokid, and Xreal. Alibaba distinguishes itself through ecosystem depth and dual-chip innovation - Pushing Hardware Innovation
Alibaba’s leadership in China’s $53 billion AI investment strategy and its national push for self-sufficient chip-model infrastructure underscores a bold hardware expansion move AInvest
🗓 Quick Specs
| Feature | Quark AI Glasses Details |
|---|---|
| Chipset | Qualcomm AR1 + Bestechnic BES2800 dual-system architecture |
| Camera | 12 MP Sony IMX681 module |
| Display Options | Audio-only version; AR version with waveguide + green micro‑LED panel |
| AI Integration | Qwen3 LLM-powered assistant with dialogue, translation, navigation |
| Ecosystem Features | Alipay look‑and‑pay, Amap navigation, Taobao visual search |
| Target Launch | China, by end of 2025 |
🌍 Broader Context
Alibaba’s Quark AI Glasses were shown alongside other notable AI innovations at WAIC 2025, including new hardware prototypes from Huawei, Baidu, Tencent, and alliances building China’s domestic AI infrastructure
China’s wearable AI race is heating up—with domestic rivals like Rokid and Xreal expanding aggressively—while Alibaba’s entry signals ecosystem‑powered differentiation.
🔭 What’s Ahead
Expect more detailed specs, pilot demos, and possibly price reveal in the coming months as Alibaba finalizes consumer readiness. The key challenge ahead includes ensuring comfort, usability, battery life, and privacy in real-world use.
With its deep integration across payments, e-commerce, and localized AI services, Alibaba’s Quark glasses could redefine wearables—turning them into lightweight smart terminals for everyday AI tasks.
