China Launches Its Revolutionary AI Glasses

The smart device sector powered by artificial intelligence is booming. Baidu, often referred to as the “Chinese Google,” has launched a new generation of smart glasses — the Xiaodu AI glasses — that are making waves. They are being presented as a serious competitor to Google’s AI glasses and the Ray-Ban smart glasses developed by Meta.

These glasses stand out with their sleek design and impressive capabilities. They are designed to seamlessly integrate into daily life. Baidu appears to have struck the right balance between utility and aesthetics, offering a lightweight, minimalist device packed with features.

At the core of these glasses is Hernibot, Baidu’s powerful language model. It enables real-time voice interaction, object recognition, and instant translation. Unlike many AI glasses that require pairing with a smartphone or manual input, Baidu’s glasses function fully autonomously. The user can simply ask a question, get an immediate response, and interact with their surroundings — all without needing to pull out their phone.

This launch represents a major leap forward in consumer AI. Baidu’s Xiaodu AI glasses offer real-time contextual assistance for tasks such as understanding foreign languages, reading signs or menus, and identifying unfamiliar objects.

Beyond intelligent interactions, the glasses also serve as an advanced health and wellness tool, seamlessly integrated into daily routines. They can track calorie intake, remind users to stay hydrated, monitor posture, and provide useful insights about overall well-being. Unlike smartwatches that often require manual input or syncing, these glasses collect and analyze data passively, making them both efficient and discreet. One particularly impressive feature is their ability to scan food and estimate calories in real time — a valuable tool for those looking to manage diet and fitness.

This marks a significant shift in Baidu’s strategy, which had previously focused on AI software (chatbots, language models, search engines). The company is now pivoting toward AI hardware, integrating artificial intelligence into physical devices tailored for everyday use.

In contrast to Western smart glasses, which often rely heavily on third-party app ecosystems, Baidu’s approach is built on full integration with its own digital infrastructure. The Xiaodu AI glasses are fully compatible with BUMAPS, Baidu’s mapping service, allowing users to navigate and find their way without a phone. They also tap into Biky, China’s equivalent of Wikipedia, delivering AI-generated information about points of interest. This level of integration turns the glasses into a natural extension of China’s AI-driven digital ecosystem.

These glasses are part of a broader strategy to position China as a global leader in wearable AI technology. While the U.S. pioneered AI assistants, China is now materializing AI in the form of tangible smart devices. Baidu’s emphasis on localized, highly integrated services makes these glasses potentially essential for China’s tech-savvy population.

When comparing Baidu’s Xiaodu glasses with Google’s, two distinct visions emerge:

• Google’s glasses focus on immersive augmented reality, overlaying interactive digital layers (like navigation arrows and building labels) and requiring high processing power. They primarily target a niche audience.
• Baidu’s glasses take a more practical, everyday approach, prioritizing functional assistance (translation, health tracking, reminders, voice interaction) without complex visual overlays. Their main strength lies in their simplicity and efficiency for routine tasks.

Google’s key advantage lies in the smooth integration with its global ecosystem (Gmail, Google Assistant, Google Maps). In contrast, Baidu’s Xiaodu AI glasses are deeply embedded in China’s digital landscape, leveraging BUMAPS, Biky, and Herni AI for localized services — making them highly relevant in a market where Google services are largely inaccessible.

Their true strength lies in accessibility. While Google’s AI glasses are expected to target the high-end market, Baidu’s are priced at just $290, making wearable AI affordable for the Chinese mass market.

The launch of Xiaodu AI glasses represents a significant milestone for China in the AI hardware space — a domain historically dominated by U.S. companies. Baidu’s entry disrupts the balance of power and challenges American dominance. In response to this rising competition, Western tech companies may be forced to rethink their strategies, accelerate R&D, and adopt a more aggressive approach to maintain technological leadership. The AI-powered smart device market is undergoing rapid transformation, and Xiaodu AI glasses are just the first step.