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Alibaba is taking a bold step into the future of wearable technology and artificial intelligence, unveiling its first-ever AI-powered glasses alongside a new ChatGPT-style assistant. The company priced its Quark AI Glasses at 4,699 yuan ($660), signaling a direct challenge to Meta’s Ray-Ban smart glasses and Xiaomi’s recent AI eyewear.

Pre-orders for the glasses began on October 24 through Alibaba’s Tmall platform, with official shipments expected to start in December 2025. Early buyers can grab the device for a discounted 3,999 yuan, thanks to promotional offers designed to generate momentum in China’s growing AI hardware market.

Alibaba’s New Consumer AI Push

The Quark AI Glasses are powered by Alibaba’s Qwen large language model and its Quark AI assistant, offering an array of advanced features such as real-time language translation, hands-free calling, and music streaming. Designed to blend functionality with style, these glasses aim to redefine how users interact with technology beyond traditional smartphones.

Alibaba first teased the concept of the Quark AI Glasses in July 2025, but the official launch solidifies its ambition to make AI an integral part of everyday life. While the company has previously focused heavily on enterprise AI through its cloud division, this latest move marks a deeper push into consumer-grade AI products — an area previously dominated by Western firms like Meta and OpenAI.

Aiming to Compete with Meta and Xiaomi

The smart eyewear market is quickly becoming the next battleground for tech giants. Meta recently unveiled its updated Ray-Ban Meta Smart Glasses, featuring built-in cameras and live-streaming capabilities. Xiaomi, too, entered the race earlier this year with its own AI-powered glasses priced in a similar range.

By launching its own device at a competitive price point, Alibaba aims to capture a share of this fast-growing segment, particularly among China’s tech-savvy consumers. The company’s integration of AI-driven translation and real-time interaction tools could give it an edge in multilingual markets and travel use cases — areas where Meta’s offerings have yet to fully expand.

Introducing Quark AI Chat Assistant

Alongside the glasses, Alibaba launched AI Chat Assistant, a new chatbot feature within its Quark app. Powered by the company’s latest Qwen3 models, this chatbot combines AI search and conversational functions into one interface, enabling users to chat, search, and generate content seamlessly through text or voice.

According to Alibaba, the assistant supports a range of intelligent features including photo-based problem-solving, AI-powered writing, and smart image editing — functionalities that make it a direct rival to OpenAI’s ChatGPT, Google’s Gemini, and DeepSeek, a rapidly emerging Chinese AI platform.

Quark has been Alibaba’s most successful consumer-facing AI application, and the integration of conversational tools could make it one of the most powerful AI ecosystems in China.

Market Impact and Stock Reaction

The announcement sent Alibaba’s shares 1.7% higher in Hong Kong, while its U.S.-listed stock also climbed in premarket trading, reflecting investor optimism over the company’s pivot toward high-margin AI consumer products. Analysts predict that the combination of wearables and conversational AI could significantly expand Alibaba’s user base, especially as China’s domestic AI market is projected to surpass $40 billion by 2026.

A Strategic Bet on Everyday AI

Alibaba’s twin announcements underscore a clear message: the company wants to be more than just an e-commerce and cloud powerhouse. By merging its AI research with sleek, consumer-ready products, it is positioning itself at the forefront of AI-powered lifestyle technology — a market poised to transform how people connect, learn, and communicate.

As global tech giants race to bring AI closer to consumers, Alibaba’s latest innovations could mark the beginning of a new phase in the company’s evolution — one where wearable intelligence becomes the new smartphone frontier.