According to the latest data from Omdia, global AI eyewear shipments reached 4.2 million units in the first half of 2026, a year-on-year increase of 127%. Omdia analyst Qiran Ju stated, "The growth of the AI eyewear market in the first half of 2026 was driven on one hand by Meta's sustained market momentum, and on the other hand by a wave of new Chinese entrants. Equally crucial is that major manufacturers are adopting everyday eyewear form factors, focusing on hands-free photo and video capture, open-ear audio, and AI assistant features, allowing the product's value to be directly perceived by consumers."

According to the "Global Smart Eyewear Market Tracking Report" released by Counterpoint Research, global AI eyewear shipments (including screenless AI eyewear and AR/AI eyewear) surged 263% year-on-year in the first half of 2026. Screenless AI eyewear, which is more affordable and lighter, continued to dominate, accounting for 96% of total shipments. Looking ahead, the AI eyewear market is expected to maintain robust growth, with the next phase of expansion driven by smart eyewear. Counterpoint Research Vice President Peter Richardson noted that the competitive landscape of the global AI eyewear market has remained largely unchanged, with Meta further consolidating its dominance in the first half of the year, capturing approximately 94% of global shipments. In the screenless AI eyewear segment, Meta and EssilorLuxottica have adopted more aggressive expansion strategies, fueling growth in North America, Western Europe, Latin America, India, and emerging markets in Asia-Pacific.

Founder Securities issued a research report stating that AI eyewear currently favors a bottom-up approach to identifying individual stock opportunities rather than simply betting on overall sector beta. The firm believes the industry is still in the early consumer adoption phase, and there is a timing gap between company performance delivery and market expectations. It recommends screening targets along two logical lines: consumption scenario reconstruction and AI vertical hardware deployment, with a focus on companies that possess supply chain capabilities, channel strengths, cost control, product competitiveness, and execution ability, and are able to translate these into revenue and shipment fulfillment.

Starting points in the AI eyewear supply chain

CONANT OPTICAL (02276): The company stated that, given several domestic key client AR smart eyewear projects have already entered mass production, its technical capabilities in the smart eyewear field, particularly in AR smart eyewear vision solutions, have gained recognition from domestic and international technology and consumer electronics companies. Orient Securities pointed out that CONANT OPTICAL has established business collaborations with approximately 20 leading domestic and international smart eyewear developers, with key projects from some domestic clients already in mass production, expected to generate significant revenue and net profit contributions in 2026. Additionally, the company has established a joint venture with GoerOptics through a subsidiary and plans to participate in financing for Rokid, aiming to deepen its layout in the XR lens supply chain.

LENS (06613): Market sources indicate that Meta is set to release the next-generation Ray-Ban AI eyewear in September, which will feature new AR display capabilities. According to informed insiders, LENS will be the exclusive supplier of the three core components for this AI eyewear, with the relevant components currently in production.

Sunny Optical Technology (02382): Sunny Optical's intelligent optical division holds technical expertise and product solutions for AI eyewear vision systems, particularly in the three key areas of scene interaction, information interaction, and imaging. The company has achieved full-stack XR vision solution coverage based on technologies such as monocular, binocular, and dTOF, while continuously advancing R&D in high resolution, miniaturization, and variable aperture to meet industry demands for AI eyewear features including SLAM, ultra-wide-angle, ultra-telephoto, and eye-tracking.

AAC Technologies (02018): According to the official WeChat account of AAC Technologies, its SRG (surface relief grating) diffractive waveguide lens products have successfully passed performance and reliability testing with multiple leading global head customers, securing mass production designations. Some projects have already entered the ramp-up delivery phase. Based on customer demand forecasts, a window for large-scale mass production and shipment is expected to open starting in the second half of 2026.

QingSong Health (02661): QingSong Health officially launched the world's first evidence-based medical AI eyewear system, named "ZhengJing," at CES Asia. "ZhengJing" uses AI eyewear as the first-person perspective entry point, powered by QingSong Health's self-developed evidence-based medicine agent "ZhengYuanFang," and is a clinical assistance system designed for real medical scenarios such as consultations, ward rounds, outpatient visits, specialist consultations, and follow-ups.