Rokid's new AI glasses just crushed $1M in pre-orders

While everyone has been waiting to see how Meta plans to follow up its hit smart glasses, a scrappy contender just stole some of the spotlight.

On August 26, Rokid launched a pre-order campaign on Kickstarter for its new AI-powered frames, Rokid Glasses. The company originally set a modest target of $20,000 by October 10. Instead, it blew past $1 million in pre-orders in less than 72 hours.

For a space that Meta has dominated with audio-only frames, the response suggests users are starving for something more visual.

A real HUD crammed into 49 grams

The most impressive part of Rokid Glasses is the engineering constraint. Despite squeezing in a transparent heads-up display (HUD), the whole device weighs just 49 grams. That puts it right on par with the flagship Wayfarer style of Meta Ray-Bans.

Beyond giving users an actual screen to look at, Rokid went straight after Meta's feature gaps. The glasses support real-time translation across 89 languages, compared to just 4 on Ray-Bans. The camera shoots in both horizontal and vertical modes instead of forcing vertical, and the battery jumps to 210 mAh versus Meta's 154 mAh.

On the software side, it taps natively into ChatGPT rather than Meta's proprietary Llama model, and adds an Audio Memo feature for quick reminders. It even sports magnetized snap-in lenses for easy prescription swaps.

Different regions get tailored perks, too: the US and global editions feature turn-by-turn navigation, while the domestic Chinese edition adds wireless payments. Mass production is slated for October, with shipments starting in November 2025.

Beating Big Tech to the punch

Rokid isn't an overnight startup. Founded in 2014, the company has spent years building smart speakers and heavier enterprise AR headsets like the Rokid Max 2.

Liang Guan, Rokid's US General Manager, noted that global pre-orders across enterprise partners and retailers have already cleared 300,000 units. The Kickstarter campaign, sitting at around 2,500 units, is really just a marketing spearhead for western early adopters.

Industry watchers are taking note. CNET reviewer Scott Stein pointed out that the form factor and pricing caught him off guard, putting Rokid noticeably ahead of incoming rivals.

The timing is brutal for Meta. Mark Zuckerberg's team is expected to unveil its next hardware at Meta Connect on September 17. Leaks point to a high-end $800 device codenamed Hypernova with a color display and neural wristband, alongside an audio-only Ray-Ban refresh priced between $300 and $500.

At a retail price of $599 (and an early bird price of $479), Rokid Glasses sit snugly right between the two.

Why it matters

We think Rokid made a brilliant tactical choice here: instead of building another heavy AR face-computer, it took the lightweight Ray-Ban playbook and grafted a subtle screen onto it.

For early adopters and travelers, this hit a sweet spot. You get glanceable prompts, maps, and translation without looking like a sci-fi extra or getting a headache after 15 minutes. Swapping Meta's internal assistant for ChatGPT also gives buyers instant confidence in the AI's actual utility.

It puts immediate pressure on Meta and upcoming entrants like Samsung and Google. It shows that buyers don't just want AI whispered into their ears; they want lightweight visual feedback, provided the hardware doesn't bloat.

That said, Rokid faces an uphill climb. A $599 price tag is steep, and Rokid completely lacks the brand cachet of Ray-Ban or the retail muscle of EssilorLuxottica. Winning over Kickstarter nerds is one thing, but convincing ordinary shoppers to wear a non-designer logo on their faces will be the real test.