The AI terminal industry is expected to usher in a "tsunami" rise, and hardware devices may encounter revolutionary opportunities.

On May 20, the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) held a press conference. Li Chao, deputy director of the Policy Research Office of the NDRC and spokesperson, stated at the meeting that in recent years, the NDRC, in collaboration with relevant departments, has been promoting the "Artificial Intelligence +" initiative, continuously improving the policy system and increasing support efforts, fully advancing the empowerment of artificial intelligence across various industries. A good atmosphere for collectively promoting "Artificial Intelligence +" has initially formed in the whole society.

Prominent performances include: the process of large-scale application in key industries has明显加速; the cost reduction and efficiency improvement effects of "Artificial Intelligence +" are gradually显现; exploring特色示范应用 according to local conditions; new products and new scenarios of artificial intelligence terminals are emerging.

For the artificial intelligence terminal industry, the lightweight deployment of domestic large models on smartphones and the continuous emergence of smart wearable products such as AI glasses are being realized. The National Development and Reform Commission stated that the scale of the artificial intelligence terminal industry is expected to welcome a "surge" in growth.

In recent years, with the progress of AI technology, major manufacturers have actively explored end-side AI application scenarios, and the popularity and popularity of some categories have gradually increased, and smart glasses have become an important form of AI hardware landing.

According to wellsenn XR, global sales of AI smart glasses are expected to reach 1.52 million units in 2024, a year-on-year increase of 533%, with sales likely to reach 10 million units by 2026. Among them, RayBanMeta's sales are 1.42 million units, which is more than a 300% increase compared to the approximately 300,000 units sold since the launch of RayBanStories in September 2021.

According to a research report by China Galaxy Securities, in the first quarter of 2025, AI terminal innovations will exhibit three main characteristics: high-performance computing, lightweight design, and diversified scenarios. CES 2025 will become the core stage for technology implementation, promoting the penetration of AI from the cloud to the edge while accelerating the commercialization process in fields such as embodied intelligence and autonomous driving. The institution stated that in the future, the deep integration of AI and terminal hardware will reshape the consumer electronics ecosystem and further expand the boundaries of human-machine collaboration.

From the perspective of the industrial chain, traditional consumer electronic terminals such as mobile phones and PCs are facing higher performance demands for device hardware under the empowerment of AI, and the midstream and upstream segments are expected to welcome revolutionary opportunities.

For example, the increase in computing power brought by AI will put forward more requirements for hardware such as heat dissipation, storage, and batteries: higher-value solutions such as graphene and VC vapor chambers are expected to accelerate penetration, and terminal storage capacity and rate need to be upgraded, and performance upgrades such as battery life and charging rate need to be upgraded. At the same time, driven by consumer demand, the optical upgrade of smart phones continues, and the follow-up will focus on optical innovations such as periscope lens sinking, glass-plastic hybrid lens innovation, and large image sensor applications. Apple's entry into the folding screen mobile phone market will also accelerate the maturity of the folding screen mobile phone industry chain.

According to a research report released by Founder Securities, AI technology is accelerating the transformation of the consumer electronics and intelligent driving industry chain, and hardware innovation and scenario expansion have become the core driving forces. The AI device-side landing scenarios are gradually enriched, and the industrial chain has a high degree of overlap with the traditional consumer electronics industry chain, which is expected to drive the growth of the industrial chain. It is recommended to focus on three major directions:

1. stable performance leading companies in the consumer electronics industry chain and targets for technological upgrades in the fruit chain;

2. Smart glasses and other AI new hardware chain suggest paying attention to core companies in the AI/AR smart glasses industry chain, involving optics, storage, structural components, and other links.

3. AI-enabled intelligent driving chain recommends focusing on various sub-sector targets, including advanced sensors, chip and connector suppliers, such as in-vehicle cameras and LiDAR industry chain-related enterprises.

Source: Science and Technology Innovation Board Daily

Author: Kexin Board Daily