Xiaomi Launches China’s Alternative to Ray-Ban Meta Smart Glasses with Standout Features

Alright, so here’s the thing. Xiaomi just dropped their new AI Glasses at this ‘Human x Car x Home’ event, and it’s kinda nuts, right? You know how Meta and EssilorLuxottica have been doing their smart glasses thing? Well, Xiaomi’s pitching in. I read somewhere last year—as rumors do their dance—that Xiaomi was teaming up with Goertek for this AI glasses gig. I mean, whether it’ll match up to Ray-Ban Meta… who can say? But fun fact: you can’t even get those Ray-Ban ones officially in China. Just, you know, in case that matters to you.

The glasses, which they’ve oh-so-creatively dubbed Xiaomi AI Glasses (who comes up with these names?), apparently pack a Hyper XiaoAi voice thingy. Ah, technology. It also boasts a 12MP camera with electronic image stabilization. And surprise! There are five mics and two speakers in there. It’s like your whole techy universe perched right on your nose. Oh, plus, the Snapdragon AR1 is in the mix. It’s like they’re taking a swipe at Meta and Oakley’s new Oakley Meta HSTN glasses.

And get this, no displays on these things. We’re talking voice and touch—totally hands-off sorta. Oh! And the whole translating foreign languages with a glance! It’s sci-fi stuff, right? That and snapping pics or shooting videos just by chatting to it, or, you know, tapping the frame a bit. Technology!

Battery life’s interesting too. It’s got a 263mAh silicon-carbon one, so they say 8.6 hours mixed use. But like, specifics? Fifteen quick video bursts or 50 snaps, 90 minutes of chatting away on Bluetooth, or a bit of XiaoAi chatting. But it can chill in standby for 21 hours. Or hey, jam out to music for 7 hours if you’re in that mood.

A quirky bit: wave it near an Alipay QR code, mutter a magic word and ka-ching! You’re through with the payments. Expect that coolness as an OTA update coming September 2025.

As it stands, the launch is China-bound. The global play? Hmm, remains mysterious. Xiaomi’s crafted them with Asian face shapes in mind, kinda narrowing the target, you know? Also, we get just one frame design… bummer, right? But they’ve got three color vibes: black, semi-transparent tortoiseshell, and an eye-catching parrot green. Choices are beautiful.

And if you’re crunching numbers, the base model runs about ¥1,999 RMB, which translates to around $280 USD. Fancy electrochromic shaded ones hit ¥2,699 RMB (~$380 USD), while the ultra-fancy colored ones demand ¥2,999 RMB (~$420 USD).

Neat thing? You can nudge the shading level by tapping the right side. And yeah, if prescription lenses are your jam, they’ve ladled on options from their partners – both online and offline.

Stepping back a bit: this isn’t Xiaomi’s first rodeo with smart glasses but definitely the first cameras-on venture bearing their brand. Earlier models (remember Mijia Smart Audio Glasses 2?) stayed in China and skipped the camera stuff. They did dabble with the whole Mijia Glasses Camera—50 MP main and 8 MP periscope gig with some micro-OLED heads-up display. A mouthful, huh?

Here’s the rough specs rundown: a 12MP camera, decent aperture, wide-angle, EIS, and 45 minutes for some serious video recording. They weigh kinda light, 40 g, and use a USB Type-C for charging.

Okay—before I lose track—Vrtuoluo, a Chinese outlet, noted mad interest brewing on JD.com with 25,000 reservations knocked down by 9:30 AM local time. So yeah, that’s happening.

Whew. So, did I cover everything? Maybe. Maybe not. Anyway, glad you stuck around.