Snap Bets Big on AR Future With 2026 Smart Glasses Launch—Will Users Actually Pay This Time?
Snapchat''s parent company doubles down on hardware—because what''s riskier than betting on consumers embracing awkward face computers?
The specs? Still under wraps. The price? Probably ''aspirational.'' The timing? Just late enough to miss the current AR hype cycle.
Wall Street analysts nod approvingly while quietly moving SNAP from ''growth'' to ''moonshot'' in their portfolios.
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The company behind the Snapchat social media platform is calling its next-generation smart glasses “Specs,” which is different from the company’s previous “Spectacles” branding that was used its wearable devices. The new smart glasses will employ augmented reality technology that lets people see and interact with digital imagery overlaid on the real world.
Snap has not provided a price or launch date for its new smart glasses, but did say that they will be smaller and lighter than their predecessors. Snap’s most recent smart glasses were released in September 2024 to developers only. The new glasses will run on the company’s Snap OS operating system.
AI Options
Snap added that it is incorporating Google’s (GOOGL) Gemini AI models into programs they develop for the smart glasses, giving coders more AI options to choose from as they write software for the device. Previously, developers could only use privately held OpenAI’s AI models to build augmented reality apps for the smart glasses.
Snap launched its first smart glasses in 2016 at a cost of $130. Those glasses were limited to simple features like helping users shoot short videos that they could post to Snapchat. The company updated its glasses with augmented reality displays in 2021 that allow users to see VIRTUAL imagery overlaid on the real world.
Competition in the smart glasses and augmented reality space is heating up, with Apple (AAPL) and Meta Platforms (META) offering competing devices. Google recently announced its own entry into the space through a new $150 million partnership with eye glass maker Warby Parker (WRBY).
