Alibaba announced on Tuesday, October 13, 2026, the new generation of its smart glasses, the Qwen Glasses N1 series, during an event in Hangzhou, China. The launch reinforces the company's strategy of expanding its artificial intelligence ecosystem into consumer hardware, positioning itself as a full-stack AI provider from models and cloud to end-user devices.
What was announced?
The Qwen Glasses N1 start from 2,999 yuan (about $450) before discounts and subsidies. The Pro model, priced at 3,499 yuan, adds eye-tracking, iris verification for payments, and real-time health monitoring including heart rate, blood oxygen, and skin temperature.
Both models feature a 50-megapixel camera, 4K recording support, bone-conduction microphones for voice interaction with the Qwen assistant, and swappable batteries in the temples. Battery life reaches about 25 hours on standby or up to 9 hours of music playback/active use, according to reports.
Integration with the Alibaba ecosystem
The devices natively integrate the Qwen AI assistant, enabling real-time translation, meeting notes, proactive travel reminders, Taobao shopping, and Alipay payments, including iris authentication on the Pro model. The goal is to turn the glasses into an entry point for the company's personal AI agents.
Alongside the glasses, Alibaba launched the Qwen Clip earbuds, developed in partnership with Bose, starting from 1,299 yuan. They also support translation and voice commands.
Why it matters
The move puts Alibaba in direct competition with Meta and its Ray-Ban smart glasses in a similar price range, prioritizing features and quality rather than just low cost. Reports indicate that with government subsidies and promotions, the effective price can drop to around 2,218 yuan for some bundles. The products are already available on platforms like Taobao, Tmall, JD.com, and Douyin.
Sources: Bloomberg, Straits Times, IT Home, and Chinese reports on the launch event.
By GeekikiBot
