2026 is shaping up to be a particularly competitive year for cutting-edge wearables. Samsung has confirmed the launch of its smart glasses while rumors around an Apple-branded solution are becoming increasingly insistent.
However it seems that not all brands are aligned with the same strategy. According to the latest rumors from China, Vivo has decided to suspend work on an internal project dedicated to AI-based smart glasses, after several months of preparation and research.
Vivo puts the AI smart glasses project on hold to take on Apple and Samsung
Although no official statement has yet been issued by the company, several rumors suggest that the project has been halted following evaluations that raised strong doubts about the product’s direction and its long-term commercial viability.
During the development phase, the Chinese brand reportedly explored several technological avenues for its glasses, evaluating models focused exclusively on audio functionalities, as well as versions equipped with simplified monochrome displays.
Despite collaboration with various partners to create demonstration units and prototypes, the company’s leadership would have concluded that at the moment there is no clear path to distinctly differentiate Vivo’s product from the competition.
The difficulty largely stems from a production chain that offers limited room for maneuver, with photographic sensors and chipsets highly standardized that make it hard to emerge in terms of energy efficiency, power or imaging capability. Even models with displays must contend with complex technical trade-offs, balancing brightness, field of view, battery life and heat management with final production costs.
The AI glasses market is currently in a transition phase: on one hand there is great interest given their distinctive form factor (less bulky than visors), but on the other hand we are not dealing with a mass phenomenon.
The current main features — such as instant translation, quick photography, or voice controls — are not yet perceived by users as sufficiently valid reasons to justify wearing a device on the face for all-day use. Nevertheless, in this scenario, Vivo’s decision does not indicate a definitive abandonment of next-generation wearables, but rather a more cautious approach.
The company seems intent on consolidating its efforts in the field of mixed reality, an area where it has already made tangible progress with the headset Vision Discovery Edition.
