Snap Inc., the parent company of Snapchat, has announced the release of its new augmented reality (AR) glasses, called Specs, a decade after its original Spectacles led to tens of millions of dollars in losses. The glasses, which overlay digital elements onto the real world, will cost £1,995 in the UK and $2,195 in the US when shipping begins this autumn.
This price undercuts Apple's Vision Pro headset, which starts at $3,499, but is far higher than Meta's smart glasses, which start at $224. Evan Spiegel, Snap's co-founder and CEO, called the glasses the "beginning of a new era in computing."
However, analysts are skeptical about mainstream adoption. Ben Hatton, a market analyst at CCS Insight, noted that the price tag makes the technology "unlikely to become a mainstream device any time soon," especially since Snap's core audience of younger consumers "rarely have this sort of money to spend on a single gadget."
The glasses are designed for everyday wear, with a battery life of four hours on average and a charging case that provides up to 20 hours. Unlike Meta's Ray-Ban and Oakley models, Specs do not require a smartphone tether, and unlike Apple's Vision Pro, they don't need a wired battery pack. Hatton pointed out that this improved "wearability and mobility" comes "at the cost of lower battery output."
Features include an AI assistant for tasks like directions and object identification, video playback, web browsing, AR games, and recording through the glasses. A $200 refundable deposit is required for pre-orders in the US, UK, and France.
Privacy concerns have plagued smart glasses, with incidents of unauthorized recording. Spiegel emphasized that "privacy has to be built in from the very beginning," stating that "Specs only work if people trust them." The glasses feature a built-in light that glows when recording, and users have control over data storage, syncing, sharing, and deletion.
Snap's shares fell about 9% after the announcement at the Augmented World Expo in California. This marks Snap's second attempt at smart glasses after the 2016 launch of Spectacles, which resulted in $40 million in losses due to excess inventory.