Barcelona – Mobile World Congress (MWC) has increasingly become a showcase for Chinese tech innovation, and this year was no different. While European companies maintain a presence, the event was heavily influenced by firms like Xiaomi and Honor. This year, Alibaba joined the fray, launching its Qwen smart glasses – and after a hands-on demo, it’s clear Meta has a latest competitor to watch. These glasses represent Alibaba’s first major foray into consumer-facing wearable AI, building upon its Qwen family of large language models.
Alibaba showcased two distinct models at MWC: the Qwen S1 and the Qwen G1. The Qwen S1, featuring a heads-up waveguide display, directly challenges Meta’s Ray-Ban Meta smart glasses, though it omits the gesture control features found in the Ray-Ban model. My initial impression was striking – the glasses are remarkably lightweight and comfortable, feeling barely noticeable during wear. A key design element is the swappable battery modules located at the finish of each arm, allowing users to extend battery life on the proceed.
Credit: Angela Moscaritolo / PCMag
Activation is simple: a voice command, “Hey Qwennie,” is recognized by the glasses’ five integrated microphones. I tested the glasses with a series of tasks, including capturing a photo and identifying the architectural landmark in front of me – Barcelona’s Sagrada Familia. The glasses displayed a miniature version of the captured photo on the heads-up display and accurately identified the building, presenting the information both visually and through bone conduction audio delivered via the arms of the S1. Perhaps the most compelling feature was the turn-by-turn navigation. This functionality has the potential to become indispensable for navigating urban environments, offering a more convenient alternative to smartphones or smartwatches.
I also experimented with the teleprompter feature, which scrolls text on the display for easy reading. While functional, it wasn’t as intuitive as a similar demo I experienced earlier in the week with the MemoMind One glasses. During a demonstration with an Alibaba representative speaking in Chinese, the glasses simultaneously displayed and translated the speech into English, though a slight delay hindered seamless conversation.
The Qwen G1 glasses offer a similar feature set – microphones, cameras, and bone conduction – but lack the heads-up display present in the S1. This makes them a more streamlined and potentially more affordable option.
Credit: Wency Chen
I was impressed by the Qwen glasses’ design, comfort, audio quality, and capabilities. For many, these glasses may serve as their first introduction to Alibaba’s Qwen AI, accessible through the integrated Qwen App. Preorders are already live in China, where users will be able to leverage the glasses for hands-free tasks like ordering food and hailing taxis. Alibaba has announced that the Qwen G1 glasses will start at around $275, positioning them competitively against Meta’s Ray-Ban Gen 2 glasses, which retail for $379 . Pricing for the more advanced Qwen S1 has not yet been disclosed.
Official sales in China will begin on March 8, with Alibaba planning an international rollout later in 2026, promising integration with popular global services. The company is also expanding its AI ecosystem with AI rings and AI earphones, according to sources close to the company .
The launch of the Qwen glasses comes as the smart glasses market is experiencing rapid growth. Global shipments more than doubled in the first half of 2025, driven by demand for Meta’s glasses and new offerings from Xiaomi, according to market research firm Counterpoint .
Alibaba’s entry into the smart glasses arena signals a growing competition in the wearable AI space. As the company expands its Qwen AI ecosystem, it will be interesting to observe how these devices integrate with daily life and challenge established players like Meta. The success of the Qwen glasses will likely depend on the strength of its AI capabilities and its ability to seamlessly integrate with existing services and platforms.
The broader trend at Mobile World Congress 2026 highlighted the increasing importance of artificial intelligence across the tech landscape, with Chinese firms demonstrating a viable path to share the benefits of AI innovation . The coming months will be crucial in determining whether Alibaba can capitalize on this momentum and establish itself as a major player in the smart glasses market.
