Chi Xu, the founder and CEO of Xreal, believes the smart glasses industry has finally reached a turning point after years of false starts and overhyped promises.
The company, which has partnered with Google to develop next-generation augmented reality glasses, says advances in display technology, battery efficiency, and miniaturization have now made truly consumer-ready smart glasses possible for the first time.
Xreal has been shipping AR glasses for several years, but Xu acknowledges that earlier generations were primarily developer-focused. The upcoming product line, developed alongside Google, aims to bring AR to mainstream consumers with a sleeker design and more practical everyday use cases.
Industry analysts have long been skeptical of smart glasses following the failure of Google Glass and the lukewarm reception to early consumer AR products, but recent advances from Meta, Apple, and now Xreal suggest the category may finally be ready for prime time.
