Glimmer blooms, AR/VR near-eye display market outlook

On April 22nd and 23rd, TrendForce’s LEDinside and TrendForce Display held the two-day 2026 TrendForce New Display Industry Seminar (DTS 2026) at the JW Marriott Hotel Shenzhen.

The theme of the afternoon session of the seminar the next day was "Special Session on AR/VR Near-Eye Display". At the conference, experts from a number of near-eye display fields including Micro LED, Micro OLED, optical waveguides, glass materials, smart glasses OEM, as well as senior analysts from TrendForce gave wonderful speeches, analyzing the future of the AR/VR near-eye display field from all aspects, and providing the audience with rich and in-depth content on display technology and industry trends. The following is the main content shared by the speakers:

Glimmer blooms: Technology integration and market prospects of LEDoS and optical waveguides

Qiu Yubin, Senior Vice General Manager of Research, TrendForce Technology

In the context of the development of VR and the metaverse being hindered, and AI leaping to the core of the technology stage, AR glasses have become a battleground for resource allocation by major manufacturers due to their close symbiotic relationship with large language models. As an emerging product, AR glasses have taken the principle of subtraction as the main theme of innovation in the past year, focusing on AI prompt applications, and are committed to weight reduction, cost reduction and simplified operation.

In terms of display light engines, compared to LCoS supported by Meta and OLEDoS, which dominates movie viewing, LEDoS is regarded as the most suitable technology for prompt products. Its full-color path includes X-cube, vertical stack or quantum dot color conversion. The multiple solutions are complementary and synergistic, and are applied to products with different positionings based on volume and brightness characteristics.

In order to cope with the future tens of millions of markets, LEDoS bonding technology is accelerating upgrading. The D2W2W solution can simultaneously solve wafer size mismatch, heterogeneous material combination and prior screening, and is superior to the traditional D2D solution in terms of production efficiency.

Optical waveguides also show diversified development. SRG technology in diffraction optical waveguides has become the focus of investment due to its lightweight advantage. Together with the geometric optical waveguide used by Meta and PVG with high light efficiency potential, it will build the current and future technology landscape. In terms of processing processes, nanoimprinting and photolithography processes each have advantages in image quality, FoV and cost, giving the industry greater development flexibility.

TrendForce estimates that with mature products from major manufacturers in place, global AR glasses shipments will reach 32.1 million units in 2030. The production challenges of LEDoS will be gradually overcome with supply chain investment, and it is expected to capture 67% of the light engine market share by then, becoming the core technology that promotes the prosperity of the AR industry.

Discussion on MicroLED full-color solutions

Liu Yi Hongshi Intelligent Deputy General Manager of New Market Development

Full-color display has always been the ultimate goal pursued by Micro LED micro-display technology. Hongshi Intelligent is the only company in the world to achieve mass production and shipment of Micro LED micro-display products. In 2026, the company officially launched a new generation of color Micro LED optical machine platform - "Yunjin", aiming to solve the industry's pain points between volume, brightness and power consumption.

First of all, in terms of the underlying technology logic, the "Yunjin" platform deeply integrates two core self-developed technologies: HB2 (Hongshi Base×Hybrid Bonding, Hongshi base hybrid bonding technology) and HS Metasurface (Hongshi metasurface digitally controlled light field technology). HB2 technology completely eliminates the volume occupied by traditional micro-contacts through atomic-level Cu-Cu direct bonding. It provides extremely low resistance and excellent heat dissipation efficiency while supporting ultra-high signal bandwidth.

HS Metasurface technology achieves precise control of the phase, amplitude and propagation direction of light waves, reconstructs the optical path through "digital programming", greatly improves the external quantum efficiency and light extraction efficiency, and further compresses the optical machine volume to the world's smallest 0.16cc.

Combining the above two technologies and Hongshi's self-developed image quality engine algorithm, the "Yunjin" platform achieves a PPI of up to 10583 and a PPD of 32 (@FOV 25°), a resolution of 640*480, and a weight of only 0.5g.

Looking to the future, while Hongshi Intelligent is promoting the advancement of Micro LED micro-display technology, it will also open up new applications for optical communications. Based on the high spatial multiplexing, high concurrent transmission and nanosecond-level response characteristics of Micro LED, Hongshi Intelligent has expanded its application areas to non-display services such as short-distance interconnection of AI computing centers, and is committed to creating high-energy-efficiency, low-latency integration and optical interconnection solutions.

AI glasses evolution trends and Luxshare solutions

Xu Guojun, R&D Director of Luxshare Precision ABG New Product R&D Division

In an era of rapid development of large AI models, AR glasses are the best hardware carrier for end-side AI. However, AR glasses facing the mass market face fundamental contradictions between lightweight, long battery life and high performance, and the level of end-side AI intelligence is still between L2 and L3, and the killer application experience needs to be broken through.

There are also obvious challenges in the dimensions of AR glasses such as wearing comfort, display effect, thermal management and privacy security. In the short term, products are mainly based on scene-based choices. In the medium term, the triangle of lightweight, high performance and long battery life will gradually loosen. In the long term, it will evolve into a new level of performance, cost and experience.

Therefore, in order to accelerate the application of AI glasses, the future market may form a long-term coexistence situation of audio-only AI glasses, Al+Camera glasses, and Al+AR glasses.

Faced with the development characteristics of the AI glasses industry, at the solution level, Luxshare Precision relies on its end-to-end one-stop ODM R&D capabilities to provide a complete product family covering pure audio AI glasses, Al+Camera glasses, single green AR glasses, full-color AR glasses and related accessories.

As a leading company in the optoelectronics industry, Luxshare Precision has always been committed to technological innovation and product research and development, and continues to increase investment in R&D to maintain its leading position in global technology competition.

Construction and iteration of SEEFab, an intelligent mass production line for optical waveguides based on nanoimprinting

Shi Rui, Co-founder & CTO of Guangna Siwei

As AI large models evolve to deeply collaborative agents, smart glasses are expected to become the AI terminal with the largest shipment volume, and high-quality, mass-produced optical waveguides are the key to the success of smart glasses.

As a domestic enterprise that has long focused on optical waveguide technology, Guangna Siwei has built a full-link technology system from optical design, mold manufacturing, nanoimprinting, back-end packaging to complete machine testing through the IDM (vertically integrated manufacturing) model.

The core production line SEEFab™ has experienced several years of rapid iteration and is demonstrating strong production potential and excellent product performance. Under the latest process node, Guangna 4D's optical waveguide products have achieved ultra-high light efficiency and extremely high transmittance of 99%, with the contrast ratio increased to 60:1 and the uniformity reaching 45%.

The automation evolution path of the SEEFab™ production line can be summarized as follows: from the early 4-inch manual experimental line, to the gradual iteration to the 8-inch partial automation, to the currently realized 8-inch fully automated factory and the 12-inch fully automated factory under construction.

Guangna Siwei not only invested in fully automated uniform printing, vacuum coating and UV lithography equipment in terms of hardware, but also developed its own SEEVerse™ design software and intelligent manufacturing software system, optimizing the design through software and hardware collaboration, shortening the product development cycle.

In summary, Guangna Siwei is committed to building a fully automated "unmanned factory" with an annual output of tens of millions of chips, solving the explosive market demand for single green and full-color optical waveguides through continuous technological iteration, and working with industry partners to build a visual entrance to the AI era.

Optical entrance in the AI era: challenges and answers to the scale of PVG optical waveguides

Cao Bingchen Gudong Intelligent COO

AI is moving from the "computation world" to the "perception world", and visual data has become the first entry point for machines to understand physical reality. Smart glasses, as visual perception terminals that can operate continuously, have low power consumption and can be worn around the clock, naturally possess the attributes of the best carrier of end-side AI, and are also expected to be the first to detonate a huge market worth tens of trillions.

However, the current smart glasses industry is still generally subject to core pain points such as insufficient display brightness, poor center of gravity distribution, and high mass production costs. In response to these challenges, Gudong Intelligent has given a clear technical response from the optical bottom layer - volume holographic optical waveguide (PVG).

As the next generation of mainstream near-eye display solutions, PVG has demonstrated systematic advantages across generations of technology. Compared with traditional surface relief grating (SRG), PVG can cover a wider color gamut and more uniform color consistency, fundamentally eliminate the "rainbow effect", and has better light leakage control. In terms of key performance indicators, PVG light efficiency can be as high as 5000 nits/lm, far exceeding similar technologies, with a comprehensive capability score of 92%.

What Gudong Intelligent has done is not only to make breakthroughs in design algorithms, but also to promote PVG from laboratory principles to engineering mass production. In 2025, the company successfully built the world's first 200,000-piece PVG holographic optical waveguide 12-inch wafer automated production line, pioneered the inkjet printing local photo-alignment surface control process, and took the lead in realizing large-scale manufacturing of single-layer full-color PVG waveguides.

Facing the future, Gudong Intelligent plans to complete the technological leap from 25° to 50° large field of view full-color waveguides between 2026 and 2028, and gradually increase production capacity to the level of tens of millions of pieces. Relying on an independent and controllable full-stack R&D and manufacturing system, Gudong Intelligent will continue to define new standards for optical displays.

The latest technological trends and progress in high-fold materials for AR glasses

Han Dengquan, SCHOTT Glass AR wafer business manager

If consumer-grade AR glasses are to become popular, they must achieve a balance in multiple dimensions such as immersive experience, battery life, wearing comfort, image quality and durability.

The foundation of all these properties lies in the underlying wafer substrate. To this end, SCHOTT Glass has built a full-process business system covering raw material smelting, precision processing to optical coating.

Since the launch of high-refractive index glass research and development in 2015, SCHOTT RealView® series wafers have continued to break through technological boundaries: from early 1.8 refractive index products to mass production-grade 1.9 and 2.0 high-refractive wafers, and in 2024, a new generation of optical materials with a refractive index as high as 2.14 will be successfully smelted, laying the material foundation for improving the field of view (FOV) of AR displays.

In terms of technical details, SCHOTT glass demonstrates its leading processing technology and optical performance. Its RealView® 1.9 lightweight product reduces the wafer thickness to 250μm through material optimization, which greatly reduces the weight of the entire machine while still maintaining extremely high internal transmittance (up to more than 99% at 10mm@460nm).

In addition, SCHOTT has the world's leading ultraflat processing technology, which optimizes the total thickness deviation (TTV) from 1μm to 0.4μm, significantly reducing the propagation loss and aberration of light in the waveguide. For etching solutions, SCHOTT has also developed ultra-precise TiO2 coating capabilities, providing high-performance coatings with refractive indexes as high as 2.3 to 2.5 and absorption rates below 0.3%.

In order to solve the problem of brittleness of high refractive index glass, Schott Glass has developed systematic hardening development capabilities. By optimizing the material composition and chemical strengthening (Chemical Strengthening) process, SCHOTT successfully increased the crushing strength of the wafer by as much as five times.

At present, SCHOTT Glass has completed five years of technology investment and mass production preparation (Manufacturing Readiness) relying on its global production and R&D network in Germany, Switzerland, China and Malaysia, aiming to provide global customers with full-chain support from prototype design to large-scale stable supply.

The development of silicon-based microdisplays promotes XR glasses closer to life

Yao Yuan, Assistant General Manager, Nanjing Xinshiyuan

If XR glasses want to truly enter the daily lives of ordinary consumers, one of the core bottlenecks lies in the miniaturization and high performance of display devices.

Silicon-based microdisplay chips use monocrystalline silicon as the substrate and use mature CMOS technology to produce a driving backplane. The single pixel spacing can be controlled below 10μm, and the pixel density can be increased to more than 5000 PPI. In addition, it has significant advantages in terms of microstructure size, circuit controllability and integration. This technology can not only produce extremely compact display devices, but also achieve high brightness output. It is a key infrastructure supporting the optical system of XR glasses.

Nanjing Xinshiyuan focuses on the R&D and manufacturing of silicon-based microdisplay chips. Its main products include LCoS microdisplay chips (sizes ranging from 0.13 inches to 0.70 inches) and silicon-based Micro LED/Micro OLED microdisplay drive backplanes. In the field of LCoS micro-display, the company has built its own LCoS back-end production line to achieve full-chain quality control from design to production. In the field of optical communications, Xinshiyuan's self-developed LCoS chips have been successfully used in wavelength selective switches, providing strong support for national-level projects such as "Eastern Numbers and Western Numbers".

AI+AR smart glasses From breaking the circle to predicting development trends

Yinchuanxue Yingmu Technology Co-founder and Operation SVP

Yinchuanxue believes that the intervention of AI large models has become the key to accelerating the "breaking of the circle" of smart glasses. It not only solves the problem of lack of application ecology, but also provides opportunities for lightweight hardware.

However, the current development of AR glasses still faces the "impossible triangle" challenge of computing power, battery life and weight, as well as the market penetration bottleneck caused by high costs.

Therefore, Yingmu Technology proposes that the development strategy of smart glasses is to "subtract" in terms of hardware and "addition" in terms of AI capabilities. Through the end-cloud collaboration model, the computing power requirements of end-side devices are reduced, the weight of the glasses is reduced to less than 50 grams, and the cost of traditional optical machines and waveguides is reduced by more than 50%, thereby meeting the core demands of mass consumers of "affordability, lightness to wear, and useful functions."

In response to diversified consumption scenarios, Yingmu Technology has built a "3+X" smart glasses product matrix, driven by AI+AR technology to drive the next generation of mobile smart terminals. Among them, the INMO AIR series is positioned as mobile phone/tablet glasses, using array optical waveguides and 1080P high-definition large screens, and is compatible with 99% of Android applications; the INMO X series is deeply involved in niche scenarios such as sports and education;

The INMO GO series has more practical applications and is positioned for political and commercial applications. It also strives to set an aesthetic benchmark for AI glasses. It focuses on thin and light design and the ultimate cost-effectiveness. It integrates practical functions such as translation, speech prompting, AI meeting recording, and AI face recognition. In particular, the newly released INMO GO3 covers 261 languages in real-time translation and is equipped with AI onomatopoeia and other technologies. It is expected to become a benchmark product in the consumer market.

Facing the future, Yinchuanxue believes that AI smart glasses will undergo leapfrog development from no display to full-color display, from device-edge-cloud collaboration to device-cloud collaboration, and from a single function point to an AI super-intelligent ecosystem. Yingmu Technology will continue to reshape the human-computer interaction experience through the deep integration of its self-developed AI operating system and AI Agent, and work with partners to create a new era of smart glasses.

With the support of speakers, attendees, and the German Schott Glass Company, Guangdong Gudong Intelligent Technology Co., Ltd., Guangna Siwei (Guangdong) Optoelectronics Technology Co., Ltd., Luxshare Precision Industry Co., Ltd., Nanjing Xinshiyuan Electronics Co., Ltd., Sichuan Yingmu Technology Co., Ltd., and Yancheng Hongshi Intelligent Technology Co., Ltd., the 2026 New Display Industry Seminar (DTS) - AR/VR near-eye display special session was successfully held. It is expected that the near-eye display industry will maintain its rapid development and push smart glasses products into a new stage of large-scale development.

At this point, TrendForce’s 2026 New Display Industry Seminar has come to a successful conclusion. I wish the new display industry prosperity and development, brave the wind and waves, and create a new era of display.