Track Hyper | Rokid AR Spatial: Re-entering the Consumer AR Market

Author: Zhou Yuan / Wall Street News

On June 5th, Hangzhou-based artificial intelligence company Rokid announced that its AR Spatial glasses will have a global exclusive launch on "AliExpress" and will join the "100 Billion Subsidy" brand overseas expansion plan. "AliExpress" is Alibaba's cross-border e-commerce platform. The AR Spatial glasses will be listed overseas on June 15th through the "AliExpress" platform.

According to Rokid, these glasses are the world's first AR glasses equipped with an intelligent refractive power and interpupillary distance adjustment system, entering the high-end consumer market with a price of $648; through the AliExpress "100 Billion Subsidy BigSave" program, the user's final price is reduced to $518.

In terms of functionality, the AR Spatial glasses will directly compete with Apple's Vision Pro ($3,499), priced at only about 15% of Apple's similar products.

This development not only represents domestic brands going overseas but also adds another layer of value: Rokid has further expanded its strategic transformation space from B-end industrial AR equipment providers to C-end consumer markets.

Rokid was founded in 2014. In November 2020, Rokid launched the world's first industrial 5G integrated dual-lens AR glasses X-Craft (5G explosion-proof AR helmet), showcasing its technological strength and market layout in the field of industrial AR equipment.

In September 2021, Rokid released its first consumer-grade AR smart glasses, Rokid Air, marking its entry into the consumer market. In March 2023, it launched Rokid Max, and in April 2024, it will release Rokid AR Lite, continuously expanding its presence in the consumer-grade AR field.

According to a report by Yiou Think Tank titled "2024 Insights into the Development of China's AR Industry," Rokid held the top position in the domestic consumer-grade AR glasses market in 2023, with a market shipment share of 27.9%.

However, from the revenue structure perspective, about 80% of Rokid's revenue still comes from industrial-grade AR glasses, indicating its strong foundation and important market position in the industrial AR equipment sector.

Rokid's choice of AliExpress may not only be due to its cross-border e-commerce network covering 220 countries and regions but also hopes to quickly establish brand recognition with the support of platform traffic.

So, what kind of product is the AR Spatial glasses?

According to official information from Rokid, Rokid AR Spatial is the world's first truly consumer-grade spatial computing product, featuring the world's first intelligent refractive power and interpupillary distance adjustment system, lightweight and comfortable, suitable for long-term wear; this product supports multi-window operation, 3D content viewing, multi-device connectivity, and integrated entertainment and office use, making it an ideal tool for daily work, gaming, and watching movies This intelligent refractive power and interpupillary distance adjustment system mainly uses high-precision MEMS sensors to monitor users' eye parameters in real-time. Combined with deep learning algorithms, it achieves dynamic adjustments of ±600 degrees of refractive power and an interpupillary distance of 55-75mm, with an adjustment accuracy of 0.125D (international standard optometry unit) and a response time of less than 0.5 seconds.

This technology addresses the pain points of traditional AR glasses that require custom lenses or manual adjustments, allowing myopic users to obtain a clear view without the need for additional corrective lenses.

According to Rokid, at the Spatial Joy Developer Conference in January this year, some technical information about this system was disclosed: a deep learning model trained on over 100,000 sets of eye parameter samples has submitted 43 patent applications.

The benefits of this system are clearly perceptible; for example, compared to Apple's Vision Pro, which requires the additional purchase of custom Zeiss lenses (priced at about $300), Rokid's solution has significant advantages in cost and convenience.

Additionally, Rokid AR Spatial also employs a 1.2mm ultra-thin optical module co-developed with Lens Technology, with a light transmittance of 85%, supporting dual 1920×1080 resolution and a 120Hz refresh rate, with an eye brightness of 600 nits and a contrast ratio of 100000:1.

The optical design of these glasses is based on the principle of holographic diffraction, achieving image projection through a nanoscale grating structure. Compared to the traditional BirdBath solution, the volume is reduced by 40%, and light efficiency is improved by 30%.

This technological approach allows Rokid AR Spatial to achieve display effects comparable to Apple's Vision Pro while maintaining a lightweight design: both can present an equivalent virtual screen of 100 inches in front of the eyes.

In terms of multimodal interaction and AI capabilities, Rokid AR Spatial integrates a microphone array and beamforming algorithms, supporting wake word-free voice interaction, with a response speed of 0.2 seconds and an accuracy rate of 98.7%.

Through deep integration with Alibaba's Tongyi Qianwen large model, it can achieve real-time translation in 83 languages, object recognition, and mathematical problem-solving functions.

For example, in medical scenarios, AR Spatial can project surgical plans in 3D form into the field of view, with an error precision of 0.01mm (referencing Rokid's industrial-grade product measured data).

Although functionally comparable to Apple's Vision Pro, Rokid AR Spatial still has some differences.

First, there is a difference in display technology routes: Vision Pro uses Sony's silicon-based OLED screen and a three-piece Pancake lens, with a single-eye resolution of up to 4K, and light efficiency superior to Rokid's diffractive waveguide solution; however, Rokid's optical module thickness is only 1/3 of that of Vision Pro, with a weight controlled at about 72 grams, while Vision Pro weighs 656 grams The interaction methods are also different. Vision Pro relies on eye tracking, gesture recognition, and voice for multimodal interaction, while Rokid AR Spatial focuses more on voice and touch (lens sliding to adjust brightness/volume), with interaction logic closer to traditional smart glasses user habits.

The biggest difference lies in the ecosystem. Vision Pro deeply integrates iOS/macOS applications and supports 3D content developed with the Unity engine; Rokid, on the other hand, relies on the Alibaba ecosystem, integrating applications like DingTalk, Taobao, and iQIYI, and has opened an SDK on its developer platform (ar.rokid.com) to attract over 6,200 developers (data source: Rokid 2025 Q1 Partner Conference).

The differences in ecosystems have led to differences in market positioning. Vision Pro targets high-end productivity tools aimed at enterprise customers and tech enthusiasts; Rokid AR Spatial targets the mass consumer market, attempting to become the "iPhone of the AR era" through fashionable design and affordable pricing (only 15% of Vision Pro's price).

The release of Rokid AR Spatial marks the entry of consumer-grade AR glasses into the "true wireless + intelligent adjustment" phase.

According to the "Global Smart Glasses Market Report" released by IDC on March 24, it is predicted that global smart glasses shipments will reach 12.05 million units by 2025, a year-on-year increase of 18.3%, with AR glasses accounting for over 30%.

With technological differentiation and price advantages, Rokid is expected to secure a place in overseas markets: the company's consumer product Rokid Air is projected to exceed 500,000 units in sales in 2024 (data source: Rokid 2024 Financial Report).

The strategic cooperation with Lens Technology has enabled Rokid to achieve full-chain integration from lens modules to complete machine manufacturing, reducing mass production costs by 40%. This advantage makes it more flexible and competitive in price wars.

Despite Rokid's many advantages, its shortcomings are also evident.

For example, in terms of ecosystem scale, the number of applications for Rokid AR Spatial (200+ vertical applications) and the developer scale (6,200+) are far lower than Apple's Vision Pro (which is expected to have over 5,000 apps in the App Store this year); the adaptability of the YodaOS system to mainstream applications is also lacking.

Although Rokid still needs to catch up with Apple in terms of ecosystem and performance, it is also impacting the competitive landscape of the global AR market through a "hardware + subsidies + ecosystem" combination.

If it can improve the developer ecosystem and reduce hardware costs during the 2025-2027 window period, Rokid is expected to become the first Chinese AR brand to achieve annual sales exceeding one million units.

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