Alibaba sells screenless AI glasses that can pay with your eye

Alibaba has begun selling two new AI glasses in China. They are called Qwen Glasses N1 and N1 Pro, and sales began on October 13, 2026, after a launch event in Hangzhou. The glasses are sold on Taobao, Tmall, JD.com and Douyin, among other platforms.

The glasses have no screen. Instead, users control them with their voice, and they run Alibaba's AI assistant Qwen. It can be used for translation, meeting notes, shopping and payments.

Paying with a glance

The glasses were first shown as a prototype at the Bund Summit in Shanghai in September, in the part of the event focused on AI payments. According to TechNode's coverage, N1 uses iris recognition to confirm the user's identity at a payment terminal. The false recognition rate is said to be below one in a million.

According to The Next Web, it is the N1 Pro that has eye tracking and iris scanning to confirm payments. It also measures heart rate, blood oxygen saturation and skin temperature. Digital Today reports that on the N1 Pro, users can pay via Alipay by looking at a QR code and nodding to confirm. Eye tracking can also be used to ask questions hands-free.

Camera and battery

Both models have a 50-megapixel camera and bone conduction microphones, which pick up sound through the bones rather than only through the air. Digital Today says the glasses can record 4K video.

The battery is replaceable. When fully charged, it lasts up to 25 hours on standby or 9 hours of music playback, according to The Next Web.

Price

The N1 costs 2,999 yuan, roughly $450, according to two of the sources. TechNode's headline, however, mentions 2,899 yuan, and the sources do not explain why the figures differ. The N1 Pro costs 3,499 yuan. With government subsidies and launch offers, the price can drop to 2,218 yuan.

The Next Web judges that the price is on par with Meta's Ray-Ban glasses. Alibaba simultaneously launched Qwen Clip earbuds at 1,299 yuan, which according to The Next Web were made together with Bose.

Song Gang, vice president of Alibaba's Qwen, describes the glasses as "an extra pair of eyes and ears" for users. Digital Today sees the launch as a strategy in which Alibaba uses smart glasses to get closer to consumers and tie its AI models together with payments and shopping.