AI glasses boom: China industry group touts AI+AR as next big interface

Summary

At an event in Macao, the China Electronics Chamber of Commerce argued that AI-powered augmented reality glasses are emerging as the most promising consumer device category after smartphones. Citing IDC forecasts that global AI-glasses shipments will exceed 10 million units in 2025, the group framed AI+AR as the next major human-computer interface, driven by advances in multimodal perception, spatial computing and micro-displays. The release emphasises the need to align "technology–standards–scenarios–ecosystems" across the value chain, signalling Beijing’s interest in steering how hardware makers, software platforms and content providers coordinate on AI-glasses standards. It also positions Chinese vendors to compete with US and European players not just on hardware but on integrated AI experiences, including vision-based assistants and persistent digital overlays. For the broader AI race, the push underlines how quickly the frontier is shifting from chatbots to ambient, wearable interfaces where large models and on-device inference blur together.