Myopia Control Devices Priced in the Thousands Unexpectedly Become Bestsellers

“Distance-vision displays and reading desks are essential home infrastructure for combating myopia.”

This is how an ophthalmologist with extensive experience in intraocular lenses and refractive surgery once put it.

VB Insights’ search across major e-commerce platforms like Taobao and JD.com reveals that distance-vision displays and reading desks often cost several thousand yuan.

Premium models featuring additional “defocus” or “fogging” functions can even exceed 10,000 yuan—but sales remain extremely robust.

Data shows that in 2024, the global market for distance-vision displays grew by over 200% year-over-year, with annual production surging from just over 3,000 units in 2023 to more than 10,000 units.

During the 2024 Singles’ Day shopping festival, BOE’s Healthy Distance Learning Display topped the eye-care device category on both Tmall and JD.com.

In a single live-streaming session on Douyin (TikTok China), 5,000 units sold out instantly.
Meanwhile, Shiduoxing’s reading desk—endorsed by a prominent ophthalmologist—has surpassed 50,000 cumulative sales.

By optically projecting images as if they were 8 meters away, these devices transform near-work into distant viewing—a simple and intuitive approach to myopia control.

For many anxious parents, this physical intervention requires minimal technical understanding and faces almost no trust barrier.

But behind these high-priced vision products—has parental anxiety finally found a real outlet?

What Makes These “Distance-Extending” Devices So Expensive?

Online, distance-vision displays and reading desks are jokingly called “distance-extending magic tools.”

At their core, these devices use optical lens or mirror systems to alter light paths,
creating a clear virtual image at an equivalent far distance in front of the user’s eyes—effectively “pulling” near objects farther away.

Research shows that genetic factors and prolonged near-work can cause excessive elongation of the eye’s axial length (the distance from front to back), shifting the retina backward.

In such cases, parallel light rays entering the eye fail to focus precisely on the retina but instead converge in front of it, resulting in a blurred image—this is axial myopia.

This form is the most common type of myopia and is especially prevalent among adolescents.

By artificially extending viewing distance, these devices convert near-work into distant viewing, thereby reducing the risk of excessive axial elongation to some extent.

Although seemingly simple, distance-vision displays and reading desks are actually the result of advanced optical engineering and mature manufacturing processes.

Achieving true optical “distance extension” demands extremely high-performance optical components.

Typically, a distance-vision display consists of optical elements like freeform mirrors, beam-splitter films, and optical correction modules, along with electronic components and basic structural parts.

Reading desks operate on similar principles but usually lack built-in screens and are designed primarily for printed materials.

Currently, the large-aperture freeform mirrors—the core optical component—have not yet achieved mass production, significantly driving up final product costs.

During operation, light from the electronic screen first hits the beam-splitter film, then reflects onto the freeform mirror for “distance extension.”

This process involves the asymmetric surface of the freeform mirror correcting optical distortion and adjusting angles,
converting divergent near-field light into parallel or nearly parallel rays before reflecting them back through the beam-splitter film.

The human eye perceives these corrected rays as a sharp virtual image located several meters away—highlighting the critical role of the freeform mirror.

Industry insiders told VB Insights that the large-aperture freeform mirrors used in these displays belong to the mid-to-high-end segment,
with far stricter requirements for distortion, optical uniformity, and structural mechanics than smaller mirrors used in consumer electronics or automotive head-up displays.

For example, small-aperture freeform mirrors may tolerate distortion around 2%,
but large-aperture versions face greater incident angles at edge fields and more pronounced aberrations, requiring distortion below 1%—often even under 0.5%.

Such mirrors typically require custom manufacturing, suffer from lower yields, and consequently carry higher costs.

According to VB Insights’ research, a 400mm-diameter freeform mirror costs approximately ¥1,000.
Larger diameters can double this cost.

For instance, a high-field-of-view 4K-compatible distance-vision display using a 500mm mirror incurs a mirror cost nearing ¥2,000.

Additionally, polarization and beam-splitter films used in these devices demand high performance in transmittance, extinction ratio, wavelength selectivity, and angular dependence—often necessitating custom production.

A specialized 400mm polarizing beam-splitter film alone can cost hundreds to thousands of yuan.

Of course, beyond the high cost of core components, market premiums driven by myopia-related anxiety also significantly contribute to the elevated pricing of these devices.

Myopia Anxiety Trapped in Tools

In recent years, myopia rates among children and adolescents have continued to rise, yet reliable prevention methods remain scarce.

According to China’s National Health Commission, the overall myopia rate among Chinese children and adolescents reached 52.7% in 2025.

Among middle school students, the rate exceeded 71.1%, and for high schoolers, it soared to 80.5%.

Moreover, the peak onset age for myopia has shifted earlier—from 8–12 years to 6–10 years.
Meanwhile, the nationwide push for digital education has turned myopia prevention into a paradox.

Studies show that daily screen time exceeding one hour significantly increases myopia risk; usage beyond four hours nearly doubles it.

Consequently, many parents have turned to pharmaceuticals and medical devices—such as previously popular defocus spectacle lenses, orthokeratology (Ortho-K) lenses, and low-concentration atropine eye drops.

Yet the efficacy or user experience of these options often falls short of expectations.

Take Ortho-K lenses, for example—one of the most effective optical interventions currently recognized.

However, they are not suitable for everyone.

Candidates must have corneal curvature within specific ranges, no active ocular inflammation, no dry eye syndrome, and must maintain excellent hygiene and compliance.

Moreover, the cost is substantial.

As Class III medical devices, a single Ortho-K fitting can cost several thousand yuan, with annual expenses potentially exceeding ¥10,000.

Similarly, low-concentration atropine eye drops—a widely discussed pharmacological approach—can effectively slow myopia progression to some degree.

But as a medication, it carries potential side effects, including pupil dilation, photophobia, and reduced accommodation ability.

These effects may interfere with daily life and learning.

Furthermore, patients with ocular inflammation, allergy history, or other eye conditions may experience worsened symptoms or complications.

In theory, the newly emerging distance-vision displays bypass the complex fitting process of Ortho-K and offer a more user-friendly experience, while avoiding potential drug side effects.

As growing research supports their myopia-control benefits, these devices appear to offer a new outlet for parental anxiety.

Studies show that after 30 minutes of reading with distance-vision devices, subjects exhibited temporary choroidal thickening and significantly increased blood flow—whereas traditional near reading caused average choroidal thinning.

This occurs because distance-vision devices eliminate the accommodative demand of near work,
preventing choroidal blood supply insufficiency due to ciliary muscle tension.
Choroidal thickening, in turn, mechanically inhibits compensatory axial elongation.

Research from Beijing Tongren Hospital further validates this mechanism:
subjects using distance-vision displays maintained stable choroidal thickness and vascular volume during reading, effectively preserving normal retinal nutrition.

Additionally, a study by Professor Wang Ningli’s team at Beijing Tongren Hospital, published in the prestigious journal *Translational Vision Science & Technology*, found that
after 20 minutes of reading on a conventional screen, 35 healthy subjects showed significant myopic shift in spherical equivalent refraction.

In contrast, those using distance-vision displays showed no abnormal changes in key parameters like spherical equivalent or anterior chamber depth—indicating the eyes viewed normally without ciliary muscle strain.

The Industry Is Still in Its Infancy

Amid massive demand, the market for distance-vision displays and reading desks has entered a phase of frenzied, unregulated growth.

In just a few years, the number of brands in this niche has exploded from fewer than 10 to over 100.

Currently, mainstream brands fall into three categories:
innovative product lines from industry leaders like BOE and NED+; startups focused exclusively on eye health such as RuiShi and Shiduoxing; and numerous undifferentiated, low-tech copycat products.

First, leading companies like BOE and NED+ are actively entering the space.

BOE’s Healthy Distance Learning Display series is currently one of China’s best-selling distance-vision products.

For BOE—the world’s largest display panel manufacturer—this represents an intriguing foray into consumer-facing products.

According to BOE, since its launch in September 2023, the series has been adopted by over 10,000 households.

It remains highly discussed on social platforms like Douyin and Xiaohongshu.

NED+’s reading desks also enjoy strong word-of-mouth traction.

Leveraging proprietary freeform optics, NED+ rapidly iterates its products.

In August 2024, it launched China’s first defocus-integrated reading desk,
quickly deploying it in major ophthalmology hospitals including Aier, Huaxia, Puri, and He’s Eye Hospital.

The following year, it released two premium models—DOT Reading Desk Pro and Max—with enhanced viewing distance, field of view, myopia control performance, and smart interactivity.

Second, vertically focused startups like RuiShi, Shiguangji, and Shiduoxing are scaling rapidly with venture backing.

Notably, BOE has spun off Shiguangji as a dedicated distance-display subsidiary, while NED+ incubated Shiduoxing and Anmujia.

Unlike established players relying on brand recognition, these newcomers emphasize performance breakthroughs and smart features, and invest heavily in social media marketing.

RuiShi Tech, backed by Innovation Works, BlueRun Ventures, and BeTaine, is another standout startup in this space, having closed two funding rounds in 2025 alone.

Among mothers on Xiaohongshu, its RuiShi D1 model even surpasses BOE’s display in popularity.

Priced as the market’s most expensive distance-vision display, it’s positioned as a “third-generation” device.

RuiShi previously collaborated with Beijing Tongren Hospital, West China Hospital, and Wenzhou Medical University Eye Hospital on a real-world study of nearly 200 participants over six months.

Results showed the trial group’s average axial elongation was only 0.038mm—far less than the control group’s 0.125mm—with some cases even showing refractive improvement.

Other notable models like Ninglian AR Light Field Display, Huoli Mage6, and Hegu G3 are also popular in influencer reviews on Douyin, performing well within their respective price segments.

However, a harsher reality looms over the industry: rampant homogenization amid absent regulations and standards.

On one hand, as consumer electronics with implied medical claims, these products create loopholes for exaggerated marketing—and frequent backlash.

Currently, no distance-vision display or reading desk holds official medical device certification.

Yet many brands—while labeling products as “not medical devices”—subtly imply therapeutic benefits,
such as featuring endorsements from ophthalmologists or placing ads near hospitals.

BOE’s display, for instance, nearly sparked controversy for allegedly claiming to “prevent myopia.”

Indeed, overstatement has become standard practice in this homogenized market.

Some brands claim “complete reversal of 100-degree myopia” or “50-degree reduction,” citing unverified “clinical data” to mislead consumers.

In reality, true myopia results from irreversible structural elongation of the eyeball.

No product can reverse refractive error; distance-vision devices merely alleviate ciliary muscle strain by extending viewing distance, thus helping slow progression—not cure.

On the other hand, the lack of unified standards allows severe parameter misrepresentation.

Industry leaders like BOE and NED+ are actively pushing for standardization.

For example, in 2023, NED+ led the Zhongguancun Standardization Association in drafting China’s first technical specification for desktop distance-vision displays.

In 2024, BOE spearheaded the “Technical Specification for Distance-Vision Displays”—the category’s first industry group standard.

However, core performance metrics—
such as surface accuracy, field of view, and distortion of freeform mirrors, or reflectance and extinction ratio of beam-splitter films—still lack standardized disclosure requirements.

Many companies exploit this ambiguity in specifications.

For instance, two products both claiming a “400mm freeform mirror” may differ drastically: one with λ/20 surface accuracy, another only λ/50.

Similarly, “high reflectance” could mean >95% for one brand but only 80% for another.

Undoubtedly, distance-vision displays and reading desks offer a new channel for addressing myopia anxiety.
Yet, bridging the gap between scientifically validated eye-protection benefits and becoming trusted household “eye-care essentials” remains a long journey for this emerging category.