Rokid and Alibaba Introduce Eye Tracking to Smart Glasses Hardware
Eye tracking is emerging as a potential major input trend for smart glasses, with new entrants into the category adopting the technology. Major hardware manufacturers in China, including Rokid and Alibaba, have integrated pupil-tracking technology into their latest display glasses to eliminate the need for external wristbands or complex manual controllers.
Rokid Color Hardware Features and Micro-LED Display Specs
The newly announced Rokid Color smart glasses utilize a micro-LED display while maintaining a lightweight form factor of 55 grams. On paper, the device shares architectural DNA with the Meta Ray-Ban Display, offering screen real estate for notifications, video playback, and a camera viewfinder.
Where Rokid diverges from Meta’s hardware approach is the control scheme. The Rokid Color pairs touch controls with a touch-sensitive smart ring, mirroring the input style of the Even Realities Even G2. Crucially, the glasses incorporate a tiny eye-tracking module measuring approximately 1 millisecond—err, 1mm in physical size—that follows user pupils to handle menu navigation and selections hands-free.
Alibaba Qwen Glasses N1 Health Tracking and Camera Capabilities
Alibaba has entered the same hardware race with the introduction of its Qwen Glasses N1. The new frames incorporate a 50-megapixel camera alongside integrated eye-tracking capabilities and health-tracking features. Like Rokid’s hardware, the Qwen Glasses N1 rely on internal optical sensors to streamline user input without requiring supplementary gear.
Rokid announced the Rokid Color today at their Rokid Jungle 2026 event. They are 55g binocular waveguide glasses with ONE full color 0.16cc microLED display (not 2). Price starts at $750. No resolution, framerate or fov was given. Shipping April 2027. pic.twitter.com/J4aiNpim0S
Contrast With Meta Ray-Ban Display Input Architecture
The pivot toward integrated optical tracking highlights a widening design split within the smart glasses market. Meta currently requires users of the Meta Ray-Ban Display to wear a specialized muscle-reading wristband paired with pinch gestures to interact with the interface. While some users adapt to the external band, others find extra hardware cumbersome during mobile daily use.
With Rokid and Alibaba abandoning wrist-worn peripherals in favor of built-in pupil tracking, consumer hardware expectations for lightweight display glasses are shifting toward zero-peripheral operation.
More on Rokid Color
Today in China we launched a set of new Rokid products for the China market.To be clear for friends abroad: those are China editions. The global editions of Rokid Glasses 2 and Rokid Color launch officially at CES 2027, with much more to show.See you in Vegas! pic.twitter.com/Lry5PpwPQI
