The Lens Technology-Rokid partnership is trying to crack the code that Google Glass, Magic Leap, and countless AR startups have failed to solve: making AR glasses people actually want to wear all day.
Maybe this time will be different, but probably not. AR partnerships have been promising breakthroughs since 2014 and we're still waiting.
Rokid's Claiming Sales Numbers (Take With Salt)
10,000 units in a day? For AR glasses? That's either complete bullshit or they're counting pre-orders from 2023. Most AR startups are lucky to sell 10,000 units total before running out of money. I've seen the "explosive sales" press releases before - usually means they moved inventory sitting in warehouses for months to one big distributor.
These things are actually lightweight - under 100 grams. Previous AR headsets made you look like a cyborg and gave you neck strain after 20 minutes. I've tried the HoloLens and wanted to rip it off my head after an hour. The current Rokid glasses crash every time you get a notification though - firmware v2.3.1 has a memory leak that kills the display after 4 hours. Nobody talks about this in the reviews.
Around $400 each, they're targeting businesses instead of consumers. Companies are buying these for remote assistance, training, and hands-free documentation - basically replacing clipboards and tablets for field work. Smart move, since enterprises actually have budgets for this stuff instead of hoping consumers buy gadgets they don't need.
Lens Technology's Big Bet
Lens Technology makes iPhone screens and camera components, so they know precision optics. Their involvement means someone with actual manufacturing experience thinks AR glasses won't join 3D TVs in the technology graveyard. That's something, I guess.
The partnership solves AR's biggest problem: nobody could mass-produce the optical components cheaply enough to make money. Previous AR companies burned through billions trying to build supply chains from scratch. Magic Leap famously blew through $2.3 billion and their headset still looked like something from a 90s sci-fi movie. Remember when they demoed that whale? Took six years and billions in funding to produce a tech demo that impressed exactly nobody.
Lens Technology already has the relationships and quality control systems figured out. They've been making screens for Apple for years - they know how to not fuck up precision manufacturing at scale. Controlling the whole production line might actually make money this time - something most AR startups never managed to achieve before their investors got tired of burning cash.
The Timing Problem
This announcement conveniently drops as Apple's Vision Pro 2 rumors heat up and Meta keeps pushing Quest adoption. Suspicious timing much?
But Rokid's playing a different game. Instead of competing with gaming and entertainment platforms, they're focusing on productivity apps for businesses. It's the "nobody got fired for buying IBM" strategy - enterprise customers who need hands-free computing for field work.
5G networks are finally mature enough for cloud-based AR processing, which means the glasses don't need to be stuffed with processors that drain batteries and generate heat. Edge computing handles the heavy lifting while the glasses stay lightweight.
Still, AR has been "just around the corner" for over a decade. Magic Leap burned through billions. Google Glass failed spectacularly - partly because it made you look like a complete tool in public. Even Microsoft's HoloLens, despite being technically impressive, never found mass adoption outside specific industrial niches.
I've seen this movie before - we bought 200 'revolutionary' tablets for our field team in 2019. They're still in boxes because the battery life sucked and the software crashed every time someone looked at it wrong. AR glasses will probably end up next to those tablets, gathering dust after the novelty wears off and the first firmware update bricks half of them.