Alibaba launches new Qwen smart glasses with 50MP cameras, AI features to rival Meta's Ray-Ban; check price

Alibaba unveiled Qwen smart glasses with 50-megapixel cameras, upgraded AI features to take on Meta's Ray-Ban. It showcased its latest Qwen Glasses N1 series at an event in Hangzhou on Tuesday. Check price and other details.

Alibaba has launched its new Qwen smart glasses with 50-megapixel cameras and enhanced AI capabilities, stepping up competition with Meta's Ray-Ban smart glasses in the growing AI-powered wearables market.

The Chinese technology company, which is building an end-to-end AI ecosystem covering data centres, software and consumer products, showcased its latest Qwen Glasses N1 series at an event in Hangzhou on Tuesday.

The glasses are priced from 2,999 yuan ($450) before discounts, putting them in a similar price bracket to Meta Platforms' Ray-Ban smart glasses, the market leader in the segment.

Like Meta, Alibaba aims to use smart glasses as a gateway for consumers to access its AI services and digital agents. Meta expanded its own smart glasses portfolio last month with a more basic camera-free version, priced at $349, which is primarily designed to let users interact with its new Muse AI assistant.

A higher-end Pro variant, priced at 3,499 yuan, also includes eye-tracking capabilities, Wu Jianjun, general manager of Qwen AI hardware products, said at the event.

According to Alibaba, the glasses can remain on standby for up to 25 hours on a single charge and support as much as nine hours of music playback. The launch comes around a year after the company's first edition was introduced in November. The new models offer closer integration with Alibaba's Qwen AI assistant, along with additional capabilities.

Users can communicate with the AI assistant through microphones that use bone-conduction technology. The devices also come with features for shopping, making payments and tracking health-related data.

Garvit Bhirani