On October 20th, IDC released a report stating that in the first half of 2025, the global smart glasses market shipped 4.065 million units, a year-on-year increase of 64.2%. IDC predicts that by 2029, the global shipment volume of smart glasses market will exceed 40 million units, with China's market share steadily increasing. It is expected that the five-year compound growth rate (2024-2029) will reach 55.6%, ranking first in the world in terms of growth rate.
In the first half of 2025, the shipment volume of Chinese smart glasses manufacturers exceeded 1 million units, a year-on-year increase of 64.2%, accounting for 26.6% of the global market share. The report states that although international brands still occupy an important position in the consumer market, Chinese manufacturers have won an important place in global market competition through active marketing investment and channel expansion.
At the same time, the full chain advantages of China's supply chain in optical modules, sensors, and whole machine assembly provide strong support for brands to go global. At present, Chinese manufacturers are consolidating their domestic market while accelerating the expansion of overseas markets such as North America, Europe, and Southeast Asia through deepening localization cooperation and diversifying channels, and their global influence continues to increase.
The report shows that in the first half of 2025, the global shipment of audio and audio shooting glasses exceeded 2.4 million units, and the global market is still dominated by Meta. With the launch of Xiaomi AI glasses, the market activity in China has significantly increased. In the first half of the year, China surpassed the United States with a market share of 35.5%, ranking first in the world.
In the first half of 2025, the global ER glasses (Extended Reality) market's shipment growth rate rebounded to a high level of 95.2%. Among them, Chinese manufacturers dominate the global market with over 97% of shipments for binocular full-color glasses, while leading companies such as Xreal, Thunderbird, and Viture are accelerating their expansion into the European and American markets, achieving rapid scale expansion; Non binocular full-color glasses, Chinese manufacturers Yiwen Technology, Yingmu Technology, and Meizu jointly occupy over 65% of the market share.
In the first half of 2025, the global AR market shipment volume increased by 1.3% year-on-year, with China accounting for 57.3% of the market share. Domestic enterprises such as Yumu Technology, Thunderbird Xreal、 Lele Vision and others are accumulating their competitive advantages through layout in different segmented fields.
At present, the global MR headset market is in a period of adjustment with a year-on-year decline in shipments, mainly affected by the pace of Meta product updates, while the entire consumer end also lacks sufficiently attractive products to drive market growth.
The development path of the global VR headset market shows regional differences. Affected by Sony's suspension of product shipments in the first half of the year, the overall shipment volume in overseas markets has significantly declined on a month on month basis, which has further expanded the influence and opportunity space of Chinese manufacturers. In the Chinese VR market, the B2B market accounts for over 50% of shipments.
