Look out, Meta Ray-Bans! These AI glasses just raised over $1M in pre-orders in 3 days

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ZDNET’s key takeaways

• Rokid Glasses are a competitor to Meta Ray-Bans however provide a number of extra superior options.
• The corporate launched a pre-order advertising marketing campaign by way of Kickstarted and raised over $1 million in pre-orders within the first 3 days.
• The AI glasses are prone to enchantment to tech early adopters who worth options over a number of type alternatives.

The favored Meta Ray-Bans good glasses are about to get much more competitors, together with from huge tech corporations like Samsung and Google. Nonetheless, Rokid Glasses are shaping as much as be one of many up-and-coming merchandise to look at on this house. On August 26, Rokid launched a Kickstarter campaign to attempt to nail down $20,000 in pre-orders for its good glasses by October 10. Lower than 72 hours later, Rokid Glasses had already cleared over $1 million in pre-orders.

I am undecided anybody within the tech trade is all that shocked. 

The Rokid Glasses mix the three greatest options of Meta Ray-Bans — handy images, ear buds-like audio, and a quick-access AI assistant — with a head-up show like those you will discover in AR glasses such because the Even Realities G1 and Brilliant Labs Halo. 

Past simply the heads-up show, the Rokid Glasses additionally provide a number of different upgrades over the Meta Ray-Bans:

• Help for 89 languages (in comparison with 4)
• Shoot photographs in horizontal or vertical mode (somewhat than simply vertical)
• 210 mAh battery (in comparison with 154 mAh)
• Native ChatGPT help (in comparison with the Meta’s Llama AI mannequin)
• Audio Memo for notes and reminders (no equal characteristic)
• Magnetized pop-in lenses (in comparison with conventional lenses)

With all of that tech inside, the Rokid Glasses weigh 49g — the identical as Meta Ray-Bans — and have a really related bodily footprint to the flagship Wayfarer type of Meta Ray-Bans in black.

Additionally: 5 Meta Ray-Ban upgrades I want to see on September 17

The Rokid Glasses will retail for $599, in comparison with $299 to $379 for Meta Ray-Bans, $299 for Sensible Labs Halo, $599 for Even Realities G1, and $399-$499 for the more moderen Meta Oakley good glasses. However for the Kickstarter, Rokid is providing the primary 2,000 backers a 20% low cost at $479. Rokid says it would ship the ultimate product in November 2025. 

To be clear, that is extra of a pre-order advertising marketing campaign than a Kickstarter marketing campaign. Rokid is a Chinese language firm with a presence in Silicon Valley and has been constructing good audio system and good glasses since 2014. Extra not too long ago, the corporate has been targeted on extra cumbersome and full-featured AR glasses such because the Rokid Max 2 and partnering with over 200 museums in China to combine immersive digital content material.  The corporate has been giving demos of the Rokid Glasses since CES in January 2025, where ZDNET first tried them. 

ZDNET spoke with Liang Guan, Rokid’s US Common Supervisor based mostly in Redwood Metropolis, California and Irene Lengthy, Head of World Operations based mostly on the firm’s headquarters in Hangzhou, China. Guan stated that globally the corporate has already obtained orders for over 300,000 items of the Rokid Glasses. For the reason that US Kickstarter marketing campaign solely has about 1,900 orders as of September 1, the overwhelming majority of the pre-orders are possible from companions and retailers.

Guan talked about that there are completely different variations of the product for various markets, and that features some completely different options as properly. For instance, the model for the Chinese language market will embrace a wi-fi fee characteristic whereas the model for the US and world markets will embrace turn-by-turn navigation. Rokid expects each options to be highly regarded of their respective markets. Many of the different options are the identical or related throughout markets.

Lengthy stated, “At CES in January, our glasses had been extra like a prototype, and now they’re prepared. And so mass manufacturing begins in October.” 

Meta has stated it would unveil its subsequent good glasses merchandise at its Meta Connect occasion at its Silicon Valley headquarters on September 17. The corporate is predicted to launch its “Hypernova” glasses that may reportedly embrace a small coloration display in a single eye, a neural wristband to allow hand gestures, and can value $800. Analyst Ming-Chi Kuo said Meta is making ready to promote 150,000 – 200,000 items of those Hypernova glasses over the subsequent two years. 

Additionally: Report: Samsung’s tri-fold phone, XR headset, and AI smart glasses to be revealed on Sep 29

Nonetheless, Meta can also be reportedly going to launch a successor to its audio-only Meta Ray-Ban glasses at Meta Join with quite a lot of upgrades — prone to match or exceed the capabilities of the Meta Oakley smart glasses launched in summer season 2025. The three.o model of Meta Ray-Bans are anticipated to retail between $300-$500. 

So the Rokid Glasses would sit proper in between the 2 Meta merchandise — extra succesful than the audio-only glasses however not fairly as superior as Hypernova. Additionally they will not have the model energy of Ray-Bans, the extensive retail distribution within the US, or provide the number of completely different types that the Meta Ray-Bans do. Nonetheless, amongst tech early adopters who need essentially the most superior options, Rokid Glasses are prone to be very aggressive.