At the “Wear New Fashion” new product launch event co-hosted with BOLON Eyewear on the 13th of this month, Rokid founder Zhu Mingming announced a series of breakthrough figures: Rokid Glasses sold 40,000 units in just five days after their September launch, far exceeding expectations. Cumulative interactions exceeded 15 million, and the average daily wearing time per user reached as high as 8 hours.
Even more noteworthy is the significant change in user structure: the proportion of tech practitioners dropped sharply from over 50% early on to 16%, indicating that the product has broken through the tech circle and truly achieved “mass-market breakout.”
In terms of ecosystem layout, Rokid is accelerating the construction of an all-scenario service network:
- AI payment landed with Alipay, allowing users to order coffee on-site;
- Launched “Snap to Find Similar” with JD.com;
- Deep cooperation with platforms like Amap and QQ Music, covering multiple scenarios such as life, entertainment, and travel.
On the B-side, its applications have extended to real estate, vehicle control, health care, and other fields.
After the press conference, Zhu Mingming accepted a group interview with the media. Below is the editor’s summary of the media interview, totaling 16 questions, which Rokid CEO Zhu Mingming answered one by one.
Question 1: Rokid simultaneously launched two product lines with and without screens this time. What impact do you think this will have on the market landscape and Rokid’s own development?
Answer: Rokid’s dual-line product strategy precisely covers all groups—the screen version targets tech enthusiasts, while the screenless version directly addresses daily mass needs, accelerating market penetration. It is expected to drive a doubling of annual sales while lowering the user decision threshold.
Question 2: After the new product launch, has the company set sales targets for next year? What is Rokid’s strategic plan for expanding into overseas markets?
Answer: Rokid’s sales target for next year is locked at 1 million units. Overseas, we will rapidly deploy in Europe, America, and Southeast Asia through localized cooperation, focusing on partnering with regional eyewear brands to build supply chains, creating a “global same price, local service” model.
Question 3: You mentioned that the proportion of AI/AR glasses users from the tech internet community has dropped to just over ten percent. What industry signal does this change release? Does it mean that “breaking out of the circle” is accelerating?
Answer: Current sales data shows that the proportion of tech circle users has fallen below 10%, with mass users becoming the main force. The return rate unexpectedly decreased, and the blind order rate (orders placed without asking customers) soared to 43%, proving that AI glasses have transformed from “tech trial” to “daily necessity,” truly breaking into the mass market.
Question 4: From last year to now, why has Rokid continued to increase investment in traditional eyewear channels? What market judgment led to focusing on this layout at this time?
Answer: Actually, cooperation with traditional eyewear manufacturers has been quietly advancing for nearly two years. Early products had limited entertainment value; after technology matured, we accurately seized the window period for traditional eyewear channels, avoiding blind expansion and achieving a “tech + fashion” dual-track win-win.
Question 5: In your opinion, in which application scenario is AI glasses most likely to achieve a breakthrough first? As a shooting tool, life assistant, or social entry point?
Answer: Photography, translation, and search are the three scenarios exploding first. Since Rokid launched integrated photography, screenshot photography, video integration, and screen recording photography, daily sharing volume has surged 3-4 times. AI is comprehensively replacing phone functions; in the future, “no need to hold up the phone” will become a daily habit, with the life assistant attribute becoming the core breakthrough.
Question 6: Product iteration inevitably involves trade-offs in functionality. What principles or standards do you usually base your decisions on? How do you balance user feedback with technical feasibility?
Answer: Currently, the team deeply debates all requirements, ranking them by value, feasibility, and urgency, refusing to “greedily seek completeness,” ensuring resources focus on key experiences, and continuously iterating without dragging down product power.
Question 7: The current product uses single-green display, showing a viewfinder when taking photos. What considerations led to these designs? What optimization plans are there for display effects, wearing comfort, and lightweight design in the future?
Answer: Green display is the healthiest optimal solution for MicroLED technology; the viewfinder is a functional prompt. The future goal is under 45g + full-color display, optimizing issues like nose bridge and ear pressure, focusing on comfortable design.
Question 8: What important breakthroughs has Rokid made in content ecology in recent years? How is the cooperation progressing with partners like Alipay and JD.com? What types of cooperation will be expanded in the future?
Answer: In the future, Rokid will increase the developer competition budget to 10 million yuan. We have deeply integrated with Amap, Alipay, JD.com, Tencent, and ByteDance; future expansion will focus on education and medical scenarios, exploring new applications of AI+glasses in health monitoring and online learning.
Question 9: Can you reveal any key milestones or major moves in ecosystem construction next year?
Answer: Next year, Rokid will launch an “AI Glasses Ecosystem Open Platform,” accessing over 20 life service scenarios, including smart navigation and online consultation, creating a “one-glass-for-all-life” service closed loop.
Question 10: Facing potentially intensified industry competition next year, how will Rokid maintain a steady product rhythm and further expand market share?
Answer: Currently, many large companies are still in the trial stage, while Rokid’s investment density remains the highest in the industry; the core relies on OS openness and ecosystem integration, avoiding blind following, seizing market opportunities with “steady rhythm + high experience.”
Question 11: Recently, several internet companies have also launched new AI glasses products. How will Rokid maintain growth speed and market share? What do you think is the company’s core moat?
Answer: Rokid’s moat lies in the “full-link open ecosystem”—seamlessly accessing multiple large models like Tongyi Qianwen and DeepSeek, while deeply integrating with Alipay and JD.com platforms to achieve free function combination, which is difficult for large companies to replicate.
Question 12: Regarding future sales expectations, can you share the company’s preparations in terms of production capacity and supply chain?
Answer: Earlier misjudgments in production capacity have been resolved through deep supply chain adjustments. Spot supply will be achieved starting from this year’s Double 11, with million-unit delivery capability from December to January next year. Rokid solemnly promises “only selling spot goods, not futures,” eliminating inventory anxiety.
Question 13: Do you think offline channels will exist in the long term? If technologies like optometry can be moved online, will it change the channel landscape of the eyewear industry?
Answer: Offline channels will continue to exist but will upgrade to “AI Optometry Experience Stores”, combining AR technology to simplify the optometry process, achieving “online ordering + offline quick adaptation,” with online-offline integration becoming a new trend.
Question 14: For development over the next three to five years, what market expectations or goals does Rokid have?
Answer: Sales of 1 million units next year, 2-3 million the year after, and breaking ten million the following year; AI glasses will leap from a “phone supplement” to the main interaction subject, with phone functions fully replaced within 5 years.
Question 15: Looking five to ten years ahead, what do you think the ultimate form of AI glasses might be?
Answer: In the next 5-10 years, Rokid will focus on “frame comfort and fashionization,” pursuing extreme lightness (under 45g) and aesthetics, rather than pursuing invisibility, returning to the user’s true wearing experience.
Question 16: In the direction of pursuing device imperceptibility, does Rokid have plans to develop more invisible, daily-wearable glasses forms?
Answer: Invisible contact lens technology is unrealistic in the short term; physical laws limit battery and optical component layout; Rokid will fully optimize the comfort of existing products, making the glasses’ experience “invisible,” rather than the form “invisible.”
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