A display representing the screen projected by smart glasses is seen at the 2026 World Artificial Intelligence Conference (WAIC) in Shanghai, China, on Saturday (local time). [Yonhap]
A display representing the screen projected by smart glasses is seen at the 2026 World Artificial Intelligence Conference (WAIC) in Shanghai, China, on Saturday (local time). [Yonhap]

An AI agent smartphone unveiled at the 2026 World Artificial Intelligence Conference, currently underway in Shanghai, has drawn wide attention from the tech industry.

StepX — the device brand of Zhiyue Xingchen — unveiled its in-house developed AI agent smartphone, the StepX Neo. The company said the product integrates an AI model, operating system and hardware into a single platform.

When a user asks the phone to plan a business trip, the AI agent connects to travel websites and books flights and hotels on the user's behalf.

Chinese outlet Hongxing News said the AI agent smartphone "holds greater potential than simply adding another camera or installing a faster processor," because "it changes the most fundamental way people interact with their phones."

Smart glasses also drew heavy foot traffic. Crowds gathered at the booth of Qwen, an Alibaba affiliate, to try on a pair of smart glasses. At another exhibitor's booth, when a visitor wearing smart glasses asked about the weather, an AI agent looked up the answer through the Doubao large language model and responded.

Meanwhile, the Chinese government has been pushing to expand the adoption of next-generation smart devices, including smart glasses.

Premier Li Qiang, in his government work report to the National People's Congress in March, called for building "new forms of a smart economy" and cited the promotion of next-generation smart devices. The goal was also incorporated into the 15th Five-Year Plan (2026–2030).

Sales of AI glasses surged earlier this year at Huaqiangbei in Shenzhen, Guangdong Province — China's largest electronics market — partly driven by government subsidies. Last month, the Chinese government included AI glasses in its national subsidy program for the first time, offering up to 500 yuan ($74) per product.

Market research firm IDC has projected that Chinese manufacturers will account for 45 percent of global AI glasses shipments this year.

IDC forecast that Chinese AI glasses shipments worldwide would reach approximately 22.67 million units this year, up 56.3 percent from the previous year, while shipments within China are expected to climb 77.7 percent year-on-year to around 4.51 million units.


chami@heraldcorp.com