Huawei to release augmented reality (AR) glasses

David Paul Morris | Bloomberg | Getty Images

Richard Yu, chief executive officer of Huawei Technologies Co., holds the Mate 10 Pro smartphone while speaking during the company’s keynote event at the 2018 Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S., on Tuesday, Jan. 9, 2018. 

Huawei is working on augmented reality (AR) smart glasses which could debut in the next one or two years, potentially pitting it in a race against Apple, which is reportedly working on a similar product of its own.

AR is a technology that sees virtual three-dimensional images overlaid onto the real world. It’s a similar principle as smartphone game apps that let users see digital objects through the screens on their phones that appear to be within the scene captured on their screen.

The Chinese technology giant already has augmented reality apps on its latest Mate 20 Pro smartphone.

But Richard Yu, CEO of Huawei’s consumer business, told CNBC in an exclusive interview that AR glasses are in the works which could take the experience to the next level. These would be wearable spectacles that allow people to experience AR.

“With this AR, you can have AR glasses working with phone, maybe you can watch more of a large area,” Yu said.

“In the beginning you may feel AR … is nothing. But in the future you will see more and more the value of that,” he added.

Yu said the company will bring more augmented reality experiences to the smartphone first, so users become accustomed to it before the company releases the glasses.

“The next one to two years I think the industry will commercialize, even for Huawei. We will bring a better user experience product,” Yu said.