Xreal, Google’s smartglasses partner, thinks it has finally mastered this notoriously tricky industry

谷歌智能眼镜合作伙伴 Xreal：我们终于攻克了这个出了名的难题

The smart glasses industry has long been a tortured dream of Silicon Valley. The premise is appealing enough: What if, to enjoy the benefits of mobile computing, people didn’t have to stare at their phones all day long and could, instead, simply wear a lightweight computing device on their face? Science fiction fans (a demographic that is strong in the tech industry) can see this vision perfectly. 智能眼镜行业长期以来一直是硅谷的一个“痛苦的梦想”。其前提非常诱人：如果人们不必整天盯着手机，而是只需在脸上佩戴轻便的计算设备就能享受移动计算带来的便利，那会怎样？科幻小说迷（科技行业中一个庞大的群体）对这一愿景有着完美的想象。

However, the industry has — for much of the last decade — resembled a financial black hole into which gargantuan investments have been sunk and from which little to no profit has ever emerged. “Everybody’s losing money,” said Chi Xu, the founder and CEO of the smart glasses company Xreal, which is a longtime partner of Google. 然而，在过去十年里，这个行业就像一个财务黑洞，巨大的投资被投入其中，却几乎没有产生任何利润。“每个人都在亏钱，”智能眼镜公司 Xreal 的创始人兼首席执行官徐驰（Chi Xu）说道，该公司是谷歌的长期合作伙伴。

I met Xu at Google’s I/O conference in Mountain View last week, where he was promoting Xreal’s Project Aura. That’s its latest effort to create a set of functional XR glasses that people actually want to use. “That’s because it’s very hard, what we’re doing,” he said. 上周，我在山景城举行的谷歌 I/O 大会上见到了徐驰，他当时正在推广 Xreal 的“Project Aura”项目。这是该公司为打造一套人们真正愿意使用的功能性 XR 眼镜所做的最新尝试。“这是因为我们所做的事情非常困难，”他说。

For much of the industry’s existence, the problems of smart glasses have seemed somewhat obvious: bulky, uncomfortable, and socially awkward form factor, paired with negligibly beneficial software. Now, however, industry insiders — including Xu — feel like their business has turned a corner and may be reaching an inflection point. 在行业发展的很长一段时间里，智能眼镜的问题似乎显而易见：外形笨重、佩戴不适、社交尴尬，再加上软件功能微乎其微。然而现在，包括徐驰在内的业内人士认为，他们的业务已经转危为安，可能正处于一个转折点。

That supposed inflection point has something to do with Meta, whose 2023 partnership with Ray-Ban launched one of the first lines of models that has actually managed to sell a lot of units. (It’s worth noting, however, that the division responsible for the glasses, Reality Labs, still operates at a massive loss.) 这个所谓的转折点与 Meta 有关，该公司 2023 年与雷朋（Ray-Ban）的合作推出了一系列产品，这是首批真正实现大量销售的型号之一。（不过值得注意的是，负责这些眼镜的部门 Reality Labs 仍在巨额亏损中运营。）

Now, as form factors shrink and software improves, Xu feels that Xreal can finally become a leader in the space. “You need all the key pieces ready — you need the hardware ready, the operating system needs to be ready, and then you need a great user interface,” Xu said. 现在，随着外形尺寸的缩小和软件的改进，徐驰认为 Xreal 终于可以成为该领域的领导者。“你需要准备好所有关键部分——硬件要就绪，操作系统要就绪，然后还需要一个出色的用户界面，”徐驰说。

Xreal’s newest model Aura is wired smart glasses that have OLED displays embedded within them, meaning that you can watch high-resolution videos within the frames themselves. Somewhat awkwardly, Aura comes tethered to a “puck” — essentially a phone-shaped mini-computer that powers the experience behind the glasses. When using it, you can ostensibly just slip it into your pocket. Xreal 的最新型号 Aura 是一款有线智能眼镜，内置 OLED 显示屏，这意味着你可以在镜框内观看高分辨率视频。略显尴尬的是，Aura 需要连接一个“冰球”（puck）——本质上是一个手机形状的微型计算机，为眼镜背后的体验提供动力。使用时，你可以把它放进兜里。

But in exchange for the awkwardness of the puck, the user gets a wider variety of fun experiences with the glasses, including an immersive Google Maps app, VR YouTube videos, and a “painting app” that lets you — via the powers of hand tracking — create holographic imagery that only you can see. There are also reportedly games, playable (again) via hand tracking, and basic web surfing functionality. 但作为对“冰球”不便的补偿，用户可以通过眼镜获得更多有趣的体验，包括沉浸式谷歌地图应用、VR YouTube 视频，以及一个“绘画应用”，让你通过手势追踪功能，创作出只有你自己能看到的全息图像。据报道，还有可以通过手势追踪进行游玩的游戏，以及基本的网页浏览功能。

“Whether you are following a floating recipe while cooking, setting up a private workspace at a coffee shop or on a flight, or watching a movie on a virtual big screen at home, the experience is seamless,” the company promises. “无论你是边做饭边看着悬浮的食谱，还是在咖啡店或飞机上建立私人工作空间，亦或是在家里的虚拟大屏幕上看电影，体验都是无缝衔接的，”该公司承诺道。

Xu also says that he imagines the device being used not just by the casual consumer but by professionals as well. “It’s not just about watching the NBA game in a hologram type of format, you could also go to a coffee shop and do some work,” he said. 徐驰还表示，他设想这款设备不仅能被普通消费者使用，也能被专业人士使用。“这不仅仅是为了以全息格式观看 NBA 比赛，你也可以去咖啡店处理工作，”他说。

Currently, the glasses are only available for developers, but the plan is for them to launch commercially later this year. Xreal is also working on an IPO that is expected to take place before 2026 is over, although Xu declined to say much about it. In the meantime, the company is working on that whole turning-a-profit thing. Xu notes that his company has been raising its gross margin while lowering its costs for marketing and sales. “Next year is the year when we could actually break even,” he says. 目前，这款眼镜仅面向开发者提供，但计划在今年晚些时候进行商业发布。Xreal 也在筹备 IPO，预计将在 2026 年底前完成，尽管徐驰拒绝透露更多细节。与此同时，公司正在努力实现盈利。徐驰指出，公司一直在提高毛利率，同时降低营销和销售成本。“明年我们就有可能实现盈亏平衡，”他说。