Alibaba unveils Qwen Glasses N1 AI eyewear, base model priced at about $450
Alibaba is launching a new AI glasses series in China. The base model costs 2,999 yuan and the Pro version 3,499 yuan. New features include eye tracking.
Archive image · Photo: Thomas LOMBARD, designed by HASSELL (architects) / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0 (cropped and resized)
Chinese internet group Alibaba has unveiled its new Qwen Glasses N1 series of AI glasses for the Chinese market. The base model costs 2,999 yuan, or about $450, while the Pro version is priced at 3,499 yuan. According to trade outlet AI Weekly, the glasses went on sale on Tuesday, and state subsidies and launch offers can bring the price down to 2,218 yuan.
The glasses run Alibaba's Qwen AI assistant and are controlled by voice through bone-conduction microphones. They are meant to help with shopping, payments and health tracking, among other things, and add new eye-tracking functions. According to AI Weekly, the Pro version can also scan the iris for payments.
Alongside the glasses, Alibaba launched Qwen Clip AI earbuds, co-developed with US audio maker Bose and priced at 1,299 yuan on Taobao. Chief executive Eddie Wu last month reaffirmed Alibaba's ambition to build AI across the full stack, from language models and chatbot apps to chips and hardware.