Alibaba unveils $450 AI glasses

Alibaba Group (BABA) on Tuesday unveiled a new generation of smart glasses, expanding its consumer electronics lineup as part of its broader artificial intelligence strategy.

The Chinese technology giant introduced its Qwen Glasses N1 series at an event in Hangzhou. Prices start at 2,999 yuan ($450) before discounts, putting the glasses in a similar price range to Meta Platforms’ (META) Ray-Ban smart glasses and signaling Alibaba’s focus on competing through features and quality rather than price alone.

The new Qwen Glasses N1 series includes improved cameras and sensors, with a Pro edition featuring new eye-tracking functions, and offers functions such as shopping, payments, and health tracking. Alibaba said the devices offer up to 25 hours of standby time or nine hours of music playback on a single charge.

The Pro edition costs 3,499 yuan, Wu Jianjun, general manager of Qwen AI hardware products, said.

Arriving roughly a year after the first edition launched in November, the new models integrate Alibaba’s Qwen AI assistant more closely and expand its capabilities. Their pricing puts them in a similar range to smart glasses from Meta Platforms (META), although Meta last month expanded its lineup with a simplified, camera-free model priced at $349, designed primarily for interaction with its new Muse AI assistant.

Alibaba also began selling its Qwen Clip AI earbuds, developed with Bose, offering consumers another way to access Qwen through wearable devices.