[Digital Today reporter Yoonseo Lee] Alibaba has launched AI smart glasses in China as it moves to target the AI hardware market.

Cryptopolitan, a blockchain media outlet, reported on Oct. 13 local time that Alibaba introduced the Qwen Glasses N1 and took aim at the AI smart glasses market led by Meta.

The product is positioned around functions and quality rather than price competition. The official starting price for the N1 is 2,999 yuan, about 599,000 won, roughly in line with Meta's main Ray-Ban smart glasses model.

It has also quickly expanded sales channels. Alibaba is taking orders on Taobao, Tmall, JD.com and Douyin. The move is seen as linking its e-commerce and payments ecosystem with the hardware launch to speed up early adoption.

The base N1 comes with a 50-megapixel sensor and a 1G5P lens. It supports 4K video recording. Users can call the Qwen AI assistant through voice conversation using a bone-conduction microphone. Alibaba designed the glasses so translation, meeting notes, shopping and payment functions can be used via voice commands. Yahoo Finance said the battery lasts up to 25 hours, or up to 9 hours for music playback.

The higher-end N1 Pro is priced at 3,499 yuan, about 699,000 won. The model applies gaze-tracking technology so users can ask questions about what they are looking at. Its distinguishing feature is that it enables gaze-based queries without having to point at or describe an object separately.

The N1 Pro also supports Alipay-based hands-free payments. After a user initiates a transaction in the app, the user looks at a merchant's QR code, checks payment information and nods to approve the payment. It also includes heart rate, blood oxygen and skin temperature measurement functions, and AI summarises them into health information.

The launch can be seen as a strategy by Alibaba to use smart glasses as a consumer touchpoint that bundles its AI models with payments and shopping functions. In particular, choosing a price range similar to the Ray-Ban lineup rather than sharply cutting prices like Meta indicates a focus on product completeness and user experience over a low-price push. That makes early sales momentum in China, actual frequency of use and how well Alipay-based payments take hold key points to watch going forward.