Citic Securities: Iteration of AI Glasses Accelerates, Moving Towards the Future

CITIC Securities research report stated that in September 2023, Meta will open the era of AI glasses, and by 2025, the industry will enter a period of explosive growth in products. It is expected that companies like Google will also gradually launch AI glasses products between 2026 and 2027. In terms of policy, AI glasses are expected to be included in national subsidies in 2026, potentially driving consumer demand further. Currently, AI glasses face the "impossible triangle" dilemma, where there are trade-offs in cost, weight, performance, and battery life. At present, AI audio glasses and AI photography glasses are relatively mature, while AI+AR glasses with displays are still in the development stage. The optical display system is a key link, and it is expected that waveguide technology will be the mainstream direction in the future. When the technology matures, AI glasses have the potential to replace smartphones and become personal comprehensive terminals. Lens manufacturers are currently focusing on sales channels and positioning in the custom lens field to increase customer price and towards the future, they may rely on their own accumulation in resin materials and optical fields to deepen their involvement in more aspects of the industry chain, such as waveguides, electrochromic materials, eye tracking, and other optoelectronic components, to share more value in the industry chain.