Alibaba Debuts AI Glasses, Priced at $660, and New ChatGPT Competitor

Alibaba Group Holding announced Thursday the pricing details for its highly anticipated artificial intelligence glasses, alongside the debut of a novel chatbot feature fueled by its advanced AI models.

The Chinese tech behemoth stated that the Quark AI Glasses will be available for pre-order starting October 24th on Tmall, Alibaba’s prominent e-commerce platform. The initial pre-sale price is set at 4,699 Chinese yuan (approximately $659.40), but will be reduced to 3,999 yuan after various discounts are applied. Shipping is scheduled to commence in December.

In addition to the smart glasses, the Hangzhou-based company unveiled “AI Chat Assistant,” a new chatbot mode seamlessly integrated within its existing Quark application. This launch underscores Alibaba’s strategic pivot towards consumer-centric AI applications.

These initiatives reflect Alibaba’s aggressive AI expansion this year, which includes the release of updated AI models and a concerted effort to revitalize sales within its cloud computing division. This division is a key enabler, delivering core AI technologies to businesses.

Industry analysts suggest that Alibaba’s move into consumer-facing AI through products like these glasses and integrated chatbots signals a strategic shift, potentially positioning it to compete more directly with companies like Meta and Xiaomi in the evolving landscape of AI-powered wearables and digital assistants.

Alibaba’s Hong Kong-listed shares experienced a nearly 1.7% increase upon the announcement, and its U.S.-listed stock also saw gains in premarket trading, reflecting investor optimism regarding the company’s AI strategy.

Alibaba provided an initial preview of the Quark AI Glasses in July. This eyewear, powered by the company’s Qwen large language model and Quark AI assistant, represents Alibaba’s first dedicated hardware product in this category. The glasses are designed to support core functionalities such as hands-free calling, music streaming, and real-time language translation.

The launch puts Alibaba squarely in competition with other tech giants exploring the smart glasses space. Many see wearables, especially glasses, as the logical successor, or at least complement, to the smartphone. The Quark AI Glasses represent Alibaba’s direct response to Meta’s offerings, developed in collaboration with Ray-Ban.

Furthermore, Alibaba will now contend with Xiaomi, another significant Chinese consumer electronics manufacturer. Xiaomi has already introduced its own AI glasses, indicating a growing trend in Chinese tech companies developing competitive AI-powered wearable solutions. The competition in this sector suggests a potential price war and a drive to innovate and differentiate on features and functionality.

Quark, Alibaba’s primary consumer-facing AI application, now features a new product named “AI Chat Assistant.” This advanced chatbot is powered by the company’s Qwen3 models, representing a significant upgrade in conversational AI capabilities.

The new mode allows users to seamlessly switch to a chatbot-style interface, enabling both text and voice-based conversations. Alibaba emphasizes that this feature integrates “AI search and conversation” within a single interface, streamlining the user experience and promoting increased engagement within the Quark ecosystem.

According to Alibaba, the AI Chat Assistant offers a range of functions, including photo editing, “photo-based problem solving,” and AI-assisted writing. This broad feature set aims to position the Quark app as a comprehensive solution for various user needs.

This product represents Alibaba’s response to the proliferation of chatbot products from companies like OpenAI with ChatGPT and DeepSeek, demonstrating a competitive urge in the rapidly evolving field of conversational AI. How Alibaba differentiates its offering through unique functionalities, vertical-specific knowledge, or integration with its vast e-commerce ecosystem will be critical to its success in the chatbot market.