The global AI glasses industry is entering a mass production cycle of tens of millions of units, driven by concentrated capacity expansion from industry giants. 

Meta has finalized a 2026 capacity plan for 20 million AI glasses. Huawei, Google, Apple, and RayNeo intensively launched new consumer AI glasses in the first half of the year. Smart glasses presales surged across all platforms during the 618 shopping festival. Demand for full-line capacity expansion among domestic contract manufacturers has skyrocketed, forcing automation line upgrades to accelerate. As downstream device makers expand capacity, orders for high-precision assembly, AA coupling, and full-inspection automation equipment are on the rise—a direct dividend for Starfinity’s core segment.

Consumer Lightweight Audio Glasses Gain Traction; Industrial AR Emerges as a Growth Dark Horse

The industry has formed a dual-track landscape: screenless AI audio glasses for mass consumer use, and waveguide AR glasses for industrial and medical applications. Industrial-grade AR glasses are used for production line inspection and equipment maintenance, with shipment growth exceeding 45%. Demand for customized non-standard automation lines on the enterprise side is growing rapidly.

Zhige and Crystal Optoelectronics have improved the mass production yield of diffractive optical waveguides. JBD’s micro MicroLED optical engine has been miniaturized to 0.15 cm³. As components become increasingly miniaturized, assembly requirements have escalated from ±0.05 mm to ±0.01–0.02 mm high-precision alignment, completely phasing out traditional manual labor and ordinary fixtures. High-precision visual positioning and automatic coupling equipment are being adapted to next-generation optical component assembly, demonstrating strong technological foresight.

Smart Glasses Included in National Consumer Subsidy for the First Time, with Comprehensive Policy Support

In 2026, China’s national trade-in subsidy will cover smart glasses, offering up to a 15% purchase subsidy. Beijing, Guangdong, and Shenzhen have successively introduced special support plans for smart glasses. Local industry chains are banding together to form industry alliances, accelerating localization and import substitution in the domestic supply chain.

Greater Bay Area Becomes Global Smart Glasses Manufacturing Hub, Opening an Import-Substitution Window for Domestic Equipment Makers

Dongguan and Guangzhou have clustered the full optical and structural component industry chain. Foreign giants such as Zeiss and Essilor are building new smart factories in South China, prioritizing local automation equipment. This opens up significant space for import substitution of high-end assembly equipment.

Leading Automation Equipment Providers Step Up Full-Line Smart Glasses Efforts

Peers such as Bozhon and Kangtaida are accelerating their layout in AR/AI glasses precision assembly and optical coupling equipment, transforming from single-machine equipment vendors into full-line solution providers. Industry competition is escalating from single-product equipment rivalry to full-line solution capability competition.

Flexible, Reconfigurable Production Lines Become a Cost-Reduction Imperative for Multi-Model, Small-Batch Iteration

With accelerating new product iterations and increasingly diverse models, the utilization rate of rigid fixed production lines is declining. The industry is widely promoting rapid-changeover flexible production lines. By changing fixtures or programs, production can switch among business, sports, and industrial glasses, shortening the NPI introduction cycle for new products by 50%.