Alibaba unveils Qwen Glasses N1 AI glasses with a 50 MP camera
Alibaba unveiled the Qwen Glasses N1 smart glasses with a 50 MP camera, an AI assistant, eye tracking, and payment and health-monitoring features.
Qwen Glasses N1 offer a 50 MP camera, AI features, eye tracking and up to nine hours of music playback; the price is around $450. For now, the glasses are available only in mainland China, and their claimed capabilities have not been independently verified.
Alibaba unveils Qwen Glasses N1 smart glasses with a 50 MP camera
Alibaba unveiled the Qwen Glasses N1 this week—smart glasses with a high-resolution camera and a suite of AI-powered features. On paper, the new glasses outperform the latest Ray-Ban Meta Gen 3, but for now they are available only in mainland China.
Camera and battery life
The Qwen Glasses N1 are equipped with a 50-megapixel camera. By comparison, the camera in the Ray-Ban Meta Gen 3 glasses has a resolution of 12 MP.
According to Gizmodo, the Qwen Glasses N1 are rated for up to 25 hours of standby time and nine hours of music playback. Meta’s glasses, by comparison, offer around six hours of music playback.
The Pro version features eye tracking. A miniature 1.7 mm camera detects where the wearer is looking, allowing the AI assistant to respond more accurately to requests. This feature is demonstrated in the device’s official presentation video.
Paying with a glance and temperature tracking
The camera pointed at the wearer’s eye can also be used for biometric authentication. QR code payments via Alipay are widespread in China, and the service is integrated into the glasses. The wearer is expected to be able to authorize a payment simply by looking at a QR code.
The device also has a built-in AI assistant and a health-monitoring feature. A sensor positioned on the nose bridge tracks temperature.
Alibaba’s pricing and strategy
The Qwen Glasses N1 start at 2,999 yuan, or around $450. That is no cheaper than Meta’s offerings. Bloomberg sees the price as a sign that Alibaba intends to compete on quality rather than low cost.
Given their limited availability and the lack of independent testing, it is too early to say how well all the claimed features work, Gizmodo notes. However, the publication says there are no direct equivalents to these glasses on the U.S. market.
Bloomberg also describes Alibaba as a full-stack Chinese AI provider: the company is developing data center infrastructure, software and consumer devices.
Amid interest in camera-free glasses
Another trend has emerged in the smart glasses market. Following mounting criticism over privacy concerns, Meta released a camera-free model—audio glasses designed for listening to music and other audio features.
Reviews of this model, including one in The Verge, have been generally positive. Reviewers note its light weight and say they feel less awkward wearing these glasses than camera-equipped devices.
