Introduction to Snap’s New AR Glasses
The head of Snapchat operator Snap, Evan Spiegel, presents the brand new generation of Spectacles in Los Angeles on Sept. 17, 2024. Snap on Tuesday announced its plans to release a sixth-generation of its augmented reality glasses in 2026, as competition within the smart glasses market continues to heat up.
Features of the New Specs
The maker of Snapchat said that its next-generation glasses shall be called Specs, breaking with the corporate’s Spectacles branding that it used for previous versions of its wearable devices. The Specs will use AR technology to let people see and interact with digital imagery that is overlaid over the physical world. Snap didn’t reveal a price or exact launch date for Specs, but the brand new glasses shall be smaller and lighter than their predecessors, the corporate said.
Technical Specifications and Developer Opportunities
Snap’s most up-to-date Spectacles were released in September 2024 to developers only. That edition of the glasses was available under a leasing model that required users to commit to paying $99 a month for a full yr. The consumer-focused Specs will run on the corporate’s Snap OS operating systems. Snap said that developers will give you the option to include Google’s Gemini AI models into programs they develop for the smart glasses, giving coders more AI options to select from as they write software for the device. Previously, developers could only use OpenAI’s GPT family of AI models to construct AR apps for the smart glasses.
CEO Statement and Market Competition
"We couldn’t be more excited concerning the extraordinary progress in artificial intelligence and augmented reality that’s enabling recent, human-centered computing experiences," Snap CEO Evan Spiegel said in a press release. When Snap launched its first Spectacles glasses in 2016, the $130 wearable was limited to easy features like helping users shoot short videos that they may post to Snapchat. The company updated its glasses with augmented reality displays in 2021 that allowed users to see virtual imagery overlaid by the glasses over what users saw in the true world. Since then, competition on this planet of head-mounted computers has grown.
Market Landscape
Apple began selling its $3,500 Vision Pro goggles in February 2024, while Meta now has a spread of cutting-edge products including Quest VR headsets, Ray-Ban Meta smartglasses and the experimental Project Orion AR glasses, which the social media company showed off last fall. Google, meanwhile, announced its own entry into the space in May when it revealed a $150 million partnership with Warby Parker, which said it’s going to release its own smart glasses sometime after this yr.
Conclusion
In conclusion, Snap’s announcement of its sixth-generation AR glasses, Specs, marks a big step forward in the corporate’s efforts to determine itself within the smart glasses market. With its recent features, technical specifications, and developer opportunities, Specs is poised to compete with other major players within the industry. As the market continues to evolve, it’s going to be interesting to see how Snap’s recent glasses are received by consumers and the way they impact the long run of augmented reality technology.
