HTC is pitching choice as a differentiator in smartglasses. The company's VIVE Eagle, which launched in Hong Kong this month for HK$3,988 (about $512), lets wearers pick between AI platforms including OpenAI and Google's Gemini rather than locking them into a single system.
"We want to leverage the strengths of different platforms instead of building a closed ecosystem," said Charles Huang, HTC's senior VP of global sales, in an interview with Reuters. That's a swipe at competitors: Meta's glasses run only Meta AI, while Chinese offerings from Xiaomi and Alibaba use proprietary domestic models.
The timing is notable. HTC sold part of its XR headset division to Google for $250 million in January, a deal that closed in Q1 2025. Now it's re-entering consumer hardware with a product that, somewhat cheekily, supports Google's AI alongside OpenAI's. The company says user data isn't used to train its AI models, positioning privacy as a selling point against Meta's data practices.
HTC plans to expand to Japan and Southeast Asia in Q1 2026, then Europe and the US later that year. The Asia-first approach reflects design considerations, per Huang, who noted most smartglasses were built for Western face shapes. China remains off the table for now due to AI service restrictions and data localization requirements.
The market HTC is chasing grew 110% in H1 2025, according to Counterpoint, but Meta controls 73% of it. The VIVE Eagle first launched in Taiwan in August 2025 at about $520, putting it well above Meta's Ray-Ban models at $299.
The Bottom Line: HTC's multi-AI approach is a clear product differentiator, but at $512, it's betting heavily that flexibility beats brand recognition in a market Meta currently owns.
QUICK FACTS
- Price: HK$3,988 (~$512) in Hong Kong
- AI platforms supported: OpenAI, Google Gemini
- Global smartglasses market: 110% growth H1 2025 (Counterpoint)
- Meta market share: 73% in H1 2025
- HTC expansion timeline: Japan/Southeast Asia Q1 2026; Europe/US later 2026
