DreamSmart Group, the consumer electronics arm of Chinese carmaker Zhejiang Geely Holding Group, will soon roll out mobile payment capabilities in its AI-powered smart glasses as it expands into international markets.
The new feature will launch in the third quarter of 2025 on the company’s StarV Air2 glasses, according to Guo Peng, general manager of DreamSmart’s extended reality business unit. The payment function is being developed in partnership with Chinese fintech firm Ant Group, an affiliate of Alibaba Group.
“Payment is closely tied to consumers’ daily behavior and frequently used,” Guo said in an interview on Monday. “I don’t believe a single killer app will make AI glasses mainstream overnight. But our long-term goal is to make them a daily wearable with multiple practical uses.”
The payment system will allow users to tap a button on the arm of the glasses and confirm transactions through a voice command. This builds on DreamSmart’s existing smart glasses features, which include real-time translation, navigation, and a built-in teleprompter. These functions are also found in competing products from Chinese brands like Rokid and Even Realities.
DreamSmart, also known in Chinese as Xingji Meizu, was established in 2022 after Geely's subsidiary Hubei Xingji Shidai Technology acquired a majority stake in smartphone maker Meizu. Once a leading smartphone brand in China, Meizu has seen its market share shrink in the face of intense competition from rivals such as Xiaomi, Oppo, Vivo, Honor and Huawei.
Now repositioning itself through DreamSmart, the company is building a connected product ecosystem that includes smartphones, XR devices, and smart electric vehicles developed in collaboration with Swedish carmaker Polestar.
The StarV Air2, priced at 2,799 yuan (about 384 US dollars), has sold more than 50,000 units so far. A new model set to be released later this year will include a camera for AI object recognition and assistance for visually impaired users.
DreamSmart also plans to launch its AI glasses outside China in 2025, targeting Southeast Asia, Europe, North America, Japan and South Korea.
The company’s international push comes amid growing interest in smart eyewear. According to Counterpoint Research, global shipments of smart glasses surged 210 percent in 2024, driven by products like Meta Platforms’ Ray-Ban AI glasses. The firm expects the market to see heightened competition this year with entries from companies such as Xiaomi and Samsung Electronics.