Snap Inc., the company behind Snapchat, announced a new pair of AR glasses today, joining Google in aiming to compete with Meta’s Ray-Bans and Apple’s upcoming AI smart glasses. Dubbed SPECS, the glasses will retail for $2,195, and you can pre-order a pair now for a refundable $200 deposit, with delivery expected in the fall to the US, UK, and France.
Snap’s official announcement starts off on an interesting note. The company writes: “For more than a decade, we have been building a future in which computers can understand the world as we do, not only through text and clicks, but also through sight, sound, movement and context. » At first glance, this seems more like a pitch for an AI platform than AR glasses.
The press release continues with more boilerplate language about how AR glasses can help you connect with people while still having access to all the information you normally rely on your phone for, without the “phubbing” (phone snobbing) of looking at your phone screen. It also dives into some of the main features available on SPECS, like seeing directions float in front of you as you walk, or reading a putting green during a round of golf. There’s also a brief nod to privacy concerns, assuring potential consumers that a light will flash to indicate that the glasses are recording video, an important announcement given Meta’s recent controversies in that department.
What SPECS can do for you
Snap emphasizes that the SPECS are designed to be as discreet as possible: they are lightweight, with the smallest 47mm model weighing 132 grams and the largest 52mm model weighing 136 grams. They also don’t require additional hardware not built directly into the glasses, which have a pair of Snapdragon mobile processors to drive what Snap calls Lenses, the software integrations that enable most of the glasses’ functionality.
The press release takes a very opinionated approach in providing a series of real-world examples of what SPECS can do. There’s the expected table stakes functionality you see in other smart glasses or AR glasses like XReal, things like video recording, projecting a massive virtual viewing screen for watching videos or movies, or creating virtual whiteboards for brainstorming or taking notes.
The really interesting apps fall somewhat outside of the typical AR framework. The press release mentions the use of a lens called Vector Fields to make invisible forces visible. For example, it allows users to visualize magnetic fields or see how the wind moves around an airplane wing. There’s also a video of a car with the hood open, with an AR prompt showing a SPECS user where to refill coolant.
How SPECS Compares to the Competition
Apple is currently developing its own lightweight AR glasses. Named N50, they would include many of the features built into Meta’s Ray-Bans, like taking photos or taking calls, but would also rely more on AR and AI. They are intended to pair with new AirPods and an AirTag-sized AI pin with a built-in mic and camera; Together, the trinity of devices will combine to feed Apple’s intelligence platform with information about the user and their environment and produce contextually useful data and feedback.
The SPECS and N50 represent the next generation of technology built on Meta’s successful collaboration with Ray-Ban. While these glasses let you access Meta AI and record video, they weren’t true AR glasses, lacking a heads-up display that projected floating images onto the surroundings.
However, all that changes in the next generation of Meta smart glasses. Dubbed Orion, they are designed from the ground up with AI and AR in mind, and have been in the works for a decade. However, no official release date or launch information is available, although reports indicate that a stripped-down consumer version of the $10,000 prototype shipping to developers could be available in 2027.
