Snap’s fifth-gen Spectacles are getting a serious update
While Meta, Google, and Samsung are dominating the next-gen AR glasses space, Snap is ensuring we remember about it. The company is celebrating six months because the launch of its fifth-generation Snap Spectacles with a set of recent health-related updates and apps.
New location-based tools and higher hand-tracking
The update focuses on app-making tools, allowing developers to construct recent software that comes with GPS, Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS), and compass heading data, or is built for specific locations. This signifies that developers can create more interactive and immersive experiences for users.
New AR dog-walking and basketball-coaching apps
Some examples of those recent tools in motion are NavigatAR from Utopia Lab, which provides AR-enhanced navigation between two places, and Path Pioneer, which allows users to create customized AR walking courses to assist keep people lively. For dog owners, there’s Doggo Quest, which brings your furry friend into AR. SnapML can recognize your dog and create a visible overlay that tracks metrics just like the route you have taken and your pup’s step count, even gamifying the experience with virtual rewards.
For sports enthusiasts, there’s Basketball Trainer, which provides shooting drills and tracks shots using SnapML to offer a live rating update. This tool is right for fledgling sports stars who wish to improve their game between in-person training sessions.
Improved hand-tracking capabilities
The update also includes recent hand-tracking capabilities, comparable to phone detector, which recognizes when you could have a phone out, and an improved AR keyboard for more streamlined typing.
An exciting tease for the long run
While the most recent specs are only available through Snap’s developer program, which costs $99 plus tax per thirty days, it’s exciting to think in regards to the potential uses for these smart glasses. Consumer smart glasses are coming, however it’s not nearly having impressive next-gen XR tech – it’s about what you’ll be able to do with it.
Conclusion
These developer kits and early apps should mean that when the tech is rolled out to the general public, there shall be a number of uses for our smart glasses out of the box on day one. We’ll should wait and see what Snap, Meta, Google, and the remaining have up their sleeves when next-gen AR glasses make their consumer debut, but this update has me excited for an XR future that may’t come soon enough.
