IDC: In the second quarter of 2025, the shipment volume of smart glasses in the Chinese market will reach 664,000 units, a year-on-year increase of 145.5%

According to the latest "Global Smart Eyewear Market Quarterly Tracking Report" released by International Data Corporation (IDC), the global smart eyewear market is expected to ship 2.555 million units in the second quarter of 2025, a year-on-year increase of 54.9%. Among them, the global audio and audio recording eyewear market is expected to ship 1.618 million units, a year-on-year increase of 256.8%; the AR/VR market is expected to ship 937,000 units, a year-on-year decline of 21.6%. The smart eyewear market is still primarily driven by Meta globally, with shipments concentrated in the US and Western European markets. In the second quarter of 2025, China's smart eyewear market is expected to ship 664,000 units, a year-on-year increase of 145.5%.

Audio and Audio Recording Eyewear Market

In the second quarter of 2025, China's audio and audio recording eyewear market is expected to ship 514,000 units, a year-on-year increase of 256.6%. The Chinese audio recording eyewear market welcomed the launch of new products from Xiaomi in the second quarter, with the Xiaomi AI glasses and Thunderbird V3 shipments jointly driving the market share of audio recording eyewear to 19.7%.

AR/VR Market

In the second quarter of 2025, China's AR/VR market is expected to ship 150,000 units, a year-on-year increase of 18.7%. The growth is mainly driven by the AR&ER category, with the AR&ER market share reaching 76.4% in the second quarter, a year-on-year increase of 61.8%; the VR&MR market continues to decline, with a year-on-year decrease of 36.2%. The overall market landscape has changed significantly, with the new Thunderbird Air 3S performing excellently, significantly boosting its market share; Xreal maintains stable shipments with Xreal One; Inmo also achieved year-on-year shipment growth driven by the new go 2; however, Pico experienced a decline in market share due to a product transition period and failed to maintain its original market ranking.

The shipment volume of China's smart eyewear (Smart Eyewear) market is expected to reach 2.846 million units in 2025, a year-on-year increase of 116.4%, with audio and audio recording eyewear shipments expected to reach 2.202 million units, a year-on-year increase of 183.2%; AR/VR device shipments are expected to reach 644,000 units, a year-on-year increase of 19.8%.

In the second half of 2025, the Chinese smart eyewear (Smart Eyewear) market will exhibit the following development characteristics:

The construction of offline channels for the smart eyewear market is accelerating. In the second half of 2025, the offline channel for the smart glasses market will enter an accelerated implementation period, with manufacturers shifting from strategic layout to substantial resource investment in offline channels. According to IDC data, in the second quarter of 2025, the retail channel's shipment volume in the smart glasses market increased by 4.0% year-on-year, while the direct sales store channel's share rose by 4.4% year-on-year. Among them, the audio and audio recording glasses market will further deepen its penetration into traditional eyewear channels, with leading manufacturers strengthening their cooperation with professional chain channels such as DOCTOR and Baodao Glasses while solidifying their online base, promoting products to more offline stores.

In the AR/VR market, the channel structure of leading manufacturers has also undergone significant changes, shifting from reliance on online channels to large-scale offline channel shipments. In addition to stocking in traditional eyewear channels, manufacturers are actively collaborating with shopping malls, collection stores, and operator stores to set up dedicated counters and experience areas, lowering the decision-making threshold for users. At the same time, they are accelerating the construction of brand offline direct sales stores to facilitate the conversion of users from experience to purchase.

Domestic smart glasses manufacturers are accelerating their expansion into overseas markets, with strategic cooperation driving new growth

In 2025, domestic smart glasses manufacturers will continue to increase their efforts in overseas expansion and present a diversified pattern. According to the latest IDC data, domestic smart glasses manufacturers have seen significant year-on-year growth in overseas shipments, mainly concentrated in North America, Europe, and the Asia-Pacific region. Xreal continues to deepen its global layout, expanding into the Asia-Pacific and Western European markets while collaborating closely with Google to launch Project Aura; Thunderbird is rapidly increasing its presence in the North American and European markets and has announced a technical cooperation with B&O; Xiaomi is also testing the Latin American and Southeast Asian markets with cost-effective audio glasses. Chinese manufacturers, through diversified overseas cooperation, have not only achieved large-scale product exports but also further established their global position in technology cooperation and ecosystem co-construction.

The product access rate of large models in the smart glasses market is expected to rise in the second half of the year

With the entry of leading manufacturers in the second half of the year, more lightweight smart glasses products that integrate large models will be launched. IDC data shows that in the second quarter of 2025, the proportion of products supporting large model voice assistants in the smart glasses market increased by 14.4% year-on-year, with shipment volume growing by 281.5% year-on-year. In the future, the ability to access multiple models will become a competitive focus, helping smart glasses to call the most suitable AI solutions in different scenarios. Smart glasses will enter a deeper exploration and optimization phase in AI large model adaptation and software collaboration.

IDC China market analyst Ye Qingqing believes that in the second half of 2025, the Chinese smart glasses market will show a trend of comprehensive deepening development. While maintaining a steady growth pace, the industry's competitive focus will shift to AI ecosystem integration, channel system optimization, technological collaborative innovation, and scenario demand matching. Manufacturers are actively building differentiated technological barriers, which will to some extent drive the market towards a more mature and complete form