2026 Eyewear Industry Undergoes Transformation: AI Glasses See Explosive Growth, Traditional Stores Accelerate Shuffling
[April 10, 2026 News] With the in-depth integration of artificial intelligence, materials science and consumer demand, the global eyewear industry is experiencing an unprecedented wave of transformation. As the first year of AI glasses popularization, 2026 has witnessed distinct characteristics of "intelligent explosion, polarization and professional upgrading" in the industry. The single correction function of traditional glasses has been broken, gradually forming a diversified ecosystem of "visual health + intelligent terminals + fashion accessories". At the same time, the shuffling of offline stores has intensified, and the industry is transforming from extensive development to high-quality development.
Data shows that the global sales of AI glasses and audio glasses soared by 238% year-on-year in 2025. Although the Chinese market started late, it leads the world in growth rate. The market scale has exceeded 2.1 billion yuan in 2026, and it is estimated that the global shipment of AI glasses will reach 112 million units by 2030, with the Chinese market scale exceeding 45 billion yuan. Technological iteration has become the core driving force. At present, the weight of mainstream AI glasses has been controlled within 35 grams, the waveguide field of view has exceeded 70 degrees, on-device AI and independent eSIM technology have been fully popularized, the battery life has been increased to more than 8 hours, and the appearance is increasingly integrated with ordinary glasses, completely getting rid of the previous label of "bulky and niche".
The functional boundaries of AI glasses continue to expand, covering all scenarios such as office, travel, health and elderly care. Professionals can use them to realize meeting recording and transcription as well as document sharing; teenagers can obtain personalized eye protection suggestions through AI vision monitoring; and the elderly can enjoy elderly-friendly services such as fall monitoring and voice assistance. In addition, the National Development and Reform Commission and the Ministry of Finance have included AI glasses in the subsidy scope for trade-in of digital products, with a maximum subsidy of 500 yuan per unit, further promoting their transformation from high-end novelty products to mass market products.
In contrast to the explosion of smart glasses, traditional eyewear stores are experiencing a drastic reshuffle. The latest data from Tianyancha shows that between 2023 and 2026, a total of more than 18,000 traditional eyewear stores across the country have closed down, accounting for about 19% of the total number of stores. The main reasons for the closure are the impact of online channels, the lack of core competitiveness in professional services, and the failure to keep up with the trend of intelligent transformation. In response, many traditional eyewear brands have begun to accelerate their transformation: some have launched smart experience zones in stores, introducing AI optometry equipment to improve service efficiency; others have focused on professional vision health services, providing personalized solutions such as myopia prevention and control for teenagers and presbyopia correction for the elderly.
Industry insiders pointed out that the 2026 eyewear industry is entering a new period of competition dominated by technology and services. For enterprises, only by grasping the trend of intelligent transformation, improving professional service capabilities and meeting the diversified needs of consumers can they gain a foothold in the fierce market competition. In the future, with the continuous maturity of technologies such as AI and AR, glasses will no longer be a simple visual correction tool, but will become an important intelligent terminal integrating perception, interaction and health management, bringing more changes to people's life and work.