By Kate Yuan

(JW Insights) Oct 27 -- Chinese augmented reality (AR) company Xreal has officially made a foray into the UK market by launching its next-generation glasses in London this week, amid rising interest in the next big consumer product, China Daily reported on October 27.

Different from bulky headsets that rivals unveiled, Xreal showcases lightweight glasses such as its latest Xreal Air 2 and Xreal Air 2 Pro to a wider range of consumers looking for an easy-to-wear product.

Xu Chi, CEO and founder of Xreal, said in an interview in Beijing that AR is a very new track that will replace mobile phones as a new mobile device in the future.

Founded in 2017 in Beijing, Xreal was the first company to pack world-class AR technologies into a consumer-friendly sunglasses-like form factor. It designed and manufactured own optic engine to ensure the best image quality, according to its website.

The company is backed by big-name investors such as Alibaba Group Holding Ltd, Sequoia Capital and Hillhouse Capital.

Data from market research company IDC show that Xreal continues to lead the global AR market in the first half of 2023, with its share hitting 34.49% in the first quarter and rising to 39.03% in the second quarter.

Xu said portable spatial display will be the first AR killer application to have more than one billion shipments, and within 3-5 years, AR will exceed the overall market share of VR, said the China Daily report.