These Smart Glasses Can Translate Any Language Before Your Eyes
It’s one thing to be able to order standing up from a menu at a restaurant in another language, but quite another to be able to engage in a fluent conversation with a native speaker. Dedicated learning is often required to get to this point, but as is often the case today, AI technology seems to have arrived at the perfect shortcut: smart glasses that translate language.
Alibaba has grown from humble beginnings in 1999 to the powerhouse behind Alipay, Alibaba.com, and others. Now it has expanded into a new area of technology, with Quark AI Glasses. Two models, the G1 and S1 models, were shown at the Mobile World Congress 2026 in Barcelona, and their ability to translate the languages spoken by those nearby is interesting. The glasses have a display called a Waveguide, a hidden type of overlay inside the lenses that the user can control by tapping, double-tapping, and swiping on the arm of the glasses. A dedicated translation app will detect when someone nearby speaks a different language and automatically display the translated text.
The green Waveguide font, which is intended to be clearly visible but not invisible, seems to be suitable for this writing task, powered by Qwen AI models. The usual privacy concerns arise, and there are also concerns about the accuracy and speed of AI translation in its various forms, but there’s a lot going on here. And, of course, there’s a lot more that Quark AI Glass can do. It’s hard to say that smart glasses are a viable alternative to computer monitors, but they do have a bag of tricks.
Other features and functions of Alibaba’s Quark AI Glasses
The translation feature, as advanced as its real-time capabilities may be, would be great for many potential buyers. The goal of AI assistants is to support and adapt to the daily activities of the user, first and foremost, so it is important that the Quark AI Glasses have many useful features when it comes to that. Alibaba Group boasts that, “since it is deeply integrated with the Alibaba ecosystem,” the new models offer complementary features such as Taobao price comparison, Fliggy notifications and updates on the go, and Amap help to find your way, and use voice and touch controls, as well as bone conduction audio features.
The good thing about smart glasses is that they achieve a lightweight feel, which almost makes you forget that you’re not wearing regular glasses, although there are some places where you never wear them. These models, it seems, have been created in such a subtle and simple way, right down to the batteries in the arm that can be changed quickly as needed. Lasting for about 24 hours at a time, this innovative new system is unique to smart glasses and, combined with a reasonable price structure, is another feature that could see Quark glasses really take off in the Chinese market.
Released in December 2025, Alibaba has created three separate plans for the G1 and S1. The latter is a dual-display option, and as such, a premium version: Available from ¥3,799 (about $552), more expensive than the G1 model, which will be purchased from ¥1,899 (about $276). However, there is no release date for the US market yet.
