Huawei CEO Yu tells U.S. cable viewers that it will launch AR glasses in one to two years

Huawei is more well known to members of Congress as a threat to national security than as a smartphone brand to U.S. consumers. But even without U.S. participation, the company (whose name is pronounced Wah-way) is trying its hardest to surpass more well known (in America) smartphone brands like Apple and Samsung. Part of the problem is that Congress just doesn't trust some Chinese tech firms like Huawei and ZTE, seeing them as conduits for the Chinese government, using their devices to spy on U.S. citizens and corporations.

All of this didn't stop Huawei's consumer products chief Richard Yu from telling CNBC tonight that it is working on a pair of Augmented Reality glasses. During an exclusive interview with the U.S. based business cable channel, the executive said that Huawei's AR glasses would take the experience of wearing such a device to the next level. AR uses digital technology to combine real-life images on a screen, with digitally created images. The glasses would launch in a year or two, according to Yu.

Huawei will be competing with other companies including Apple, which has hinted at the release of its own AR glasses as soon as next year. Companies like Apple and Huawei will have their work cut for them after Google's infamous Google Glass failed as a consumer device, ending up as a tool for manufacturers and other businesses. With AR glasses, wearers see information and data, similar to what you might see on a smartphone, floating in front of their eyes. Because Google Glass allowed users to take pictures and videos on the sly, the device was banned by several bars and movie theaters. Still, some analysts see AR glasses as being the next big tech thing after the smartphone.

Analytics firm IDC expects 200,000 AR headsets to be shipped this year, with that number jumping to 21.59 million by 2022.