What features make the glasses useful for everyday life?

  • After visiting Rokid’s first global flagship store in Hong Kong, Goldman Sachs remains optimistic about AI/AR glasses: brands are moving products from entertainment devices toward everyday tools, using more use cases to attract consumers.
  • Rokid’s flagship glasses can display real-time translation subtitles, navigation directions and teleprompter text directly in the wearer’s field of view. They also support voice-based questions and answers and hands-free photography and video recording. These changes mean glasses are beginning to take on travel, communication and presentation tasks, expanding the reasons to use them.
  • Its AI system connects to models including Qwen, DeepSeek, Doubao and Zhipu; the global version also includes ChatGPT and Gemini. Low-latency intent routing supports visual question answering, translation and task execution. Goldman Sachs sees an opportunity in bringing AI capabilities into these specific use cases.

How does the hardware support the positioning as an ‘everyday tool’?

  • The Rokid glasses cost 4,688 Hong Kong dollars and use binocular Micro-LED diffractive optical waveguides to display information in monochrome green, with an emphasis on readability in bright outdoor conditions. For translation and navigation, display capability determines whether information can be read clearly in real-world conditions.
  • The product weighs 49 grams, uses a TR90 frame and titanium-alloy hinges, and supports prescription lenses for myopia. Its 210 mAh battery provides approximately 8 hours of normal mixed use. Its light weight, prescription-lens support and battery life under these conditions together support its positioning for everyday wear.
  • The camera has a resolution of 12 million pixels and supports first-person capture, video stabilization and visual search. It records content and also provides input for visual question answering, connecting the camera hardware with AI features.

How strongly does industry data support the optimistic view?

  • The report cites IDC data: global smart-glasses shipments reached 3.5 million units in the second quarter of 2026, up 35% year on year; cumulative first-half shipments reached 7.1 million units, up 70.5% year on year. Second-quarter growth was slower than cumulative first-half growth. Demand is still expanding, but the two observation windows show different growth rates.
  • In the second quarter, AR glasses shipments rose 76% year on year, glasses with audio and cameras grew 54%, and VR headsets grew 23%. Goldman Sachs believes this growth cycle is driven mainly by glasses-form devices, with the product mix shifting toward more premium, AI-integrated designs.
  • Goldman Sachs expects new product launches and cross-technology convergence in the second half of 2026 to further reshape the competitive landscape. Its optimistic industry outlook comes alongside changes in brands’ competitive positions.

Where does Goldman Sachs see opportunities across the industry?

  • Goldman Sachs rates Lingyi iTech a buy, citing the precision structural components, miniature cooling and complete-device assembly capabilities needed for AI glasses, including titanium-alloy hinges and ultralight frames. Its investment thesis rests on demand for lighter products and system manufacturing.
  • Goldman Sachs also rates Lenovo a buy, based on its expansion into edge AI hardware through wearable products, particularly the commercial launch of its ultralight AI Glasses V1. Lingyi represents manufacturing, while Lenovo represents brands and product commercialization; the two participate in industry growth through different paths.