Snap is investing $3.5 billion in AR glasses called Specs priced at $2,195, positioning them as business tools for a post-smartphone era. CEO Evan Spiegel claims strong preorder interest and has announced partnerships with Nvidia, Amazon Web Services, and Salesforce to integrate workplace capabilities. The bet faces skepticism given previous failures by Meta and Google in AR hardware.
Snap co-founder Evan Spiegel discusses his company's $2,195 smart glasses that blend digital and physical worlds, arguing they should have a distinct appearance rather than mimicking regular glasses. The innovation aims to transform how people interact with computing and their environment.
Snap has launched Specs, $2,200 AR glasses that represent a decade-long effort by CEO Evan Spiegel to build a standalone augmented reality computer in glasses form. Unlike previous Spectacles or competitors' smart glasses, Specs function as a dedicated AR headset with onboard computing and no reliance on smartphones or external devices. The company spun out Specs as a separate business to raise capital, signaling ambitious but costly AR ambitions as it competes against Meta's Project Orion.
Snap unveiled new features for its $2,200 Specs smart glasses at a Los Angeles event, including HBO Max and Spotify integration, an AI productivity system called Specs Intelligence, and enterprise partnerships with Amazon, Salesforce, and Nvidia. The company aims to justify the expensive hardware by positioning it as an AI-native computing device for both consumers and IT professionals, though practical use cases remain limited.
Snap is partnering with Nvidia, AWS, and Salesforce to bring its $2,000 Specs AR glasses to the enterprise market, positioning the device as a general-purpose computer for business applications like field technician support. The company is also launching Specs Intelligence, a consumer-focused AI assistant for its AR glasses and Apple devices, while CEO Evan Spiegel called for coordinated international regulation of AI development.