How much future can a piece of glass unlock? LENS, once renowned for its "Apple glass," has once again reached new heights with its Q3 2025 performance: quarterly revenue surged to RMB 20.7 billion, up nearly 20% YoY, while net profit skyrocketed 138% QoQ to RMB 1.7 billion. However, this growth is no longer driven by smartphone glass but by AI-driven hardware like AR glasses and robotics.

**Shifting Battlefields: From Apple to AI** Founded in 1993 by Zhou Qunfei with HKD 20,000 in Shenzhen, LENS started as a small workshop producing watch glass. In 2007, it cracked the technical challenges of the first iPhone’s glass panel, riding Apple’s coattails to success. By 2022, Apple accounted for 70% of LENS’s revenue, with the company supplying glass for nearly every flagship product, from iPhones to the Apple Vision Pro.

Yet, over-reliance on a single client carries risks. In 2016 and 2018, iPhone sales slumps sent LENS’s earnings on a rollercoaster, even resulting in a quarterly loss exceeding RMB 400 million. This painful lesson underscored the dangers of dependency. The company realized: glass must transcend smartphones. The answer? Intelligence is the future.

**Diversification Takes Root** LENS expanded into AR/VR and robotics, reducing its Apple reliance. By H1 2025, non-smartphone/PC revenue reached 20% of total sales. Apple’s revenue share also dropped to 49.45% in 2024, signaling progress in diversification.

**Robotics & AR Glasses: New Growth Engines** In July 2025, LENS raised HKD 4.77 billion in its Hong Kong IPO, allocating 48% to product expansion and 14% to smart manufacturing. Its prospectus highlighted humanoid robots and AR/AI glasses as key focuses.

1. **Robotics**: Leveraging expertise in lightweight, durable materials, LENS now produces high-strength robot shells, frames, and joints. It has entered supply chains for leading North American and domestic robotics firms, with plans to deliver 3,000 humanoid robots and 10,000 quadrupedal robots in 2025. A major order for 10,000 robot dogs from Dobot and a new robotics HQ further bolster capacity.

2. **AR Glasses**: Core to AR is waveguide technology, where LENS excels. Glass waveguides offer superior refractive index, thermal stability, and clarity vs. resin. Using nanoimprinting and etching, LENS creates ultra-precise grating structures for optimal light transmission. Strategic moves include a September 2025 subsidiary, LENS Optoelectronics, dedicated to waveguide R&D, and supplying key components for Meta’s Ray-Ban AI glasses.

**Financial Momentum** LENS posted revenues of RMB 69.9 billion (2024) and RMB 53.7 billion (Jan-Sep 2025), with net profits of RMB 3.6 billion and RMB 2.8 billion, respectively. As AR glasses scale, robotics output rises, and AI hardware adoption grows, LENS’s smart-platform value is poised to expand.

**Conclusion** From a three-room workshop to a RMB 50 billion tech titan, LENS’s transformation continues. With clients like Rokid, Meta, and Dobot, it now offers end-to-end capabilities from materials to assembly—no longer just "an Apple supplier" but a pivotal AI hardware platform. As featherlight AR glasses redefine human-machine interaction, LENS’s three decades of manufacturing prowess are lifting that seemingly weightless future.

*Disclaimer: This analysis does not constitute investment advice. Markets carry risks; invest prudently.*