The AI Smart Glasses Battle: Ditching Cameras, Earning One Dollar at a Time | A Conversation with Yongfeng Xia of Superhexa

What makes a good pair of AI glasses? How should you balance and trade off functionality, aesthetics, and comfort? In the Chinese market, is it a good business to benchmark against Ray-Ban Meta, which has already achieved strong sales and word-of-mouth? The "hundred glasses war" is underway — who will emerge as the final winner?

This week, we welcome Yongfeng Xia, founder and CEO of Superhexa. Amid the fierce "hundred glasses war," Xia's team is far ahead — a pioneer and a leader.

In August 2024, Superhexa launched the "Jiehuan AI Audio Glasses," a smart glasses product integrating eyewear and headphones, weighing just 30.7g (without prescription lenses). Unlike many competitors benchmarking against Ray-Ban Meta, the Jiehuan AI Audio Glasses have no camera. In this episode, Xia explains in detail why they built a camera-free AI smart glasses product as their first self-branded offering, the origins and stories connecting the Jiehuan AI Audio Glasses to his previous products — the "MIJIA Glasses Camera" and "MIJIA Smart Audio Glasses" — and his real feelings about the "hundred glasses war" and his predictions for where the intense competition is headed.

We also discuss his career journey — from lead writer at Business Value and co-founder of GeekPark, to joining Xiaomi and founding Superhexa — and how he now views success and failure. We hope you find it inspiring.

🚥 01:47 Personal introduction: From lead writer at Business Value and co-founder of GeekPark to a principal architect of the Xiaomi ecosystem, to founding Superhexa

04:09 From Xiaomi ecosystem and smartphones to "focusing on head-worn smart hardware": How to view technology spillover opportunities from smartphones

06:24 "We never considered making headphones — the product positioning was glasses from day one"

07:35 In August 2024, Superhexa released the Jiehuan AI Audio Glasses. What's happened in the months since?

09:09 Partnering with traditional optical retail chains — and not being treated as "barbarians at the gate"

10:54 Store expansion has exceeded expectations; the AI glasses concept helped

13:05 Not worried about being the industry's guinea pig — encouraging everyone to join and let the products speak for themselves

14:35 Jiehuan AI Audio Glasses feature overview: Integrating eyewear and headphones

17:29 Battery life discussion: What if someone puts on their glasses at 7 a.m. and they're dead by 7 p.m.?

19:13 Why doesn't this pair of AI glasses have a camera?

21:05 Product evolution thinking: MIJIA Glasses Camera → MIJIA Smart Audio Glasses → Jiehuan AI Audio Glasses

23:40 Ray-Ban Meta's popularity doesn't change the no-camera decision — China isn't a sunglasses market

25:15 From audio glasses to AI glasses: This isn't subtraction, but two different products

28:48 Over 10 million RMB invested in batteries alone

30:31 Moat: Getting far enough ahead to lead, while maintaining deep respect for the eyewear industry

33:14 Emphasizing that smart glasses must first "look good" and "feel comfortable" — how to achieve this

39:39 Why no celebrity partnerships: Public perception associates optical glasses with retail stores, not eyewear brands

41:19 The biggest realization since making AI glasses: Too many people have piled into the industry

42:57 AI glasses: The eyewear industry sees them as glasses, consumer electronics sees them as smart hardware, the internet industry sees them as AI

43:22 A winner won't be decided easily — perhaps in 50 years, the very beginning will trace back to glasses

44:21 A veteran of the traditional eyewear industry saw the Jiehuan AI Audio Glasses and said: "Of all the smart glasses I've seen, this is the first one that actually scares me a little"

46:31 Surprised and somewhat pleased by others' praise, but not especially so

47:51 "It's hard for me to be truly happy"

50:08 "All in for the rest of my life" — this will take considerable time; without going all in, it won't get done

53:20 "If I can actually finish this AI glasses thing, I might go back to being a journalist"

55:48 Choosing at life's "crossroads": Deciding to join Xiaomi after an 8-hour conversation with Lei Jun

59:52 Experiences at Xiaomi

01:01:15 Facing a shift in work style: When a company is growing fast, many opportunities exist

01:03:28 Entrepreneurial mindset: There's a stop-loss point for investment; failure is acceptable and normal

01:05:02 A model for making choices at life's "crossroads": Don't make your next step face an even harder choice

01:07:21 Industry feel: The hundred glasses war is happening, but most players are copying Ray-Ban Meta

01:10:36 Industry outlook: The second half of the year will be quite lively — at peak, perhaps three product launches in a single week

01:11:45 On fundraising: VCs haven't been as generous as expected

01:13:45 Five years into entrepreneurship — what level of achievement would satisfy you?

01:14:56 Smart glasses: The world's most talented people have built an industry that's 100% unprofitable; earning one yuan makes you global number one

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👦🏻 Host Koji: Co-founder of The Fair and Tangdao. I believe technology, especially AI, will fundamentally transform society and empower humanity. Feel free to reach out to chat, exchange ideas, and connect on what's next. Koji's Jike, Koji's website

👧🏻 Host Ronghui: Works at a tech VC, former Silicon Valley correspondent for Yicai. Ronghui's Jike

🎄 This podcast is supported by The Fair's Sound Forest Podcast Project.