DreamSmart Group, a consumer electronics firm owned by China’s Zhejiang Geely Holding Group, plans to add mobile payment functionality to its AI-powered smart glasses.

The feature will be available on the StarV Air2 eyewear starting in the third quarter of 2025, according to Guo Peng, general manager of the company’s extended reality (XR) business unit.

The payment function, developed with Ant International, lets users tap a button on the glasses and confirm payments through voice commands, as shown during a recent product event.

StarV Air2 currently offers real-time translation, navigation, and teleprompter tools.

DreamSmart has sold over 50,000 units of StarV Air2, priced at about US$384, and plans to expand to Southeast Asia, Europe, North America, Japan, and South Korea.

🔗 Source: South China Morning Post

🧠 Food for thought

1️⃣ Wearable payments represent a breakthrough use case for smart glasses

DreamSmart’s move into payments addresses a crucial challenge facing smart glasses, finding practical daily applications that drive consumer adoption beyond novelty.

While enterprise applications currently dominate the smart glasses market with 97% market share, consumer adoption needs compelling everyday use cases 1.

The wearable payments market is projected to grow dramatically from $13.4 billion in 2024 to $65.87 billion by 2030 (30.2% CAGR), demonstrating significant commercial potential 2.

Consumer comfort with contactless payments has increased substantially, with 54% of global consumers now comfortable using such technology according to market research 3.

By integrating with Ant International’s established payment infrastructure, DreamSmart is leveraging existing consumer behavior rather than trying to create entirely new habits.

2️⃣ Chinese companies are leading practical AR innovation while global competitors focus on premium experiences

While Apple and Meta have focused on premium mixed reality experiences with Vision Pro ($3,499) and Quest, Chinese manufacturers like DreamSmart are prioritizing practical, affordable smart glasses.

DreamSmart’s StarV Air2 glasses are priced at 2,799 yuan ($384), significantly more accessible than Western competitors while offering practical features like translation, navigation, and now payments.