Xiaomi Obtains Patent for AR Glasses

According to Chinese enterprise data platform Tianyancha, a patent application for AR glasses submitted by consumer electronics giant Xiaomi was officially approved on Tuesday.

The patent summary suggests the AR glasses include a frame, temple, power supply, motherboard assembly, waveguide assembly and circuit assembly. Specifically, the first power supply is installed on the first temple, and the main board assembly is installed on the second temple.

Xiaomi has not yet released its own AR glasses product. The Beijing-based firm released VR glasses six years ago, but didn’t update this product as the VR boom gradually cooled down.

According to IDC’s latest forecast data, the total investment in AR/VR globally was close to $14.67 billion in 2021, and is expected to increase to $74.73 billion in 2026, representing a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 38.5%. Specifically, the CAGR of the Chinese market is expected to reach 43.8% in the next five years, ranking first in the world.

The VR/AR market is very competitive. Benefiting from continuous growth of equipment shipments, GoerTek, a mainstream Chinese VR/AR manufacturer, achieved an operating income of 78.221 billion yuan ($11.75 billion) last year, a year-on-year increase of 35.47%. It occupied 80% of the global high-end VR shipments. To strengthen its leading position in VR/AR manufacturing, GoerTek is working on AR glasses.

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Besides the OEM makers of whole machines such as GoerTek, supply chain competition has also been set off in the segment of key devices such as display screens and optical solutions in the upstream of VR/AR industry chain. In the display market, BOE, TCL China Star Optoelectronic Technology Co., Ltd., Corning and other display industry chain companies try to stand firm from the upstream supply chain link of VR/AR hardware.