Snap to launch AI-powered AR glasses in 2026
Why it matters: Snapchat still makes most of its money from advertising on its mobile app, but CEO Evan Spiegel believes the future of connection, and its business, will live beyond the smartphone and in the real world.
"The tiny smartphone limited our imagination. It forced us to look down at a screen instead of up at the world. It required our fingers to hold, swipe and tap when we really wanted to live hands-free," he said Tuesday at the Augmented World Expo 2025 in Long Beach, California.
"It kept content confined to a small 2D rectangle, when we really wanted to experience life in all of its three-dimensional splendor."
Catch up quick: The new AR glasses are leaps and bounds more sophisticated than Snapchat's first iteration of consumer wearables, called Spectacles.
Spectacles, which were first launched in 2016, allowed users to take pictures and video with their glasses and add AR overlays onto that content. But those features weren't powered by AI tools, which can now deliver more complex and engaging experiences.
Snap released its fifth generation of Spectacles for developers in 2024. It's since leveraged the creativity and brain power of thousands of developers to help create experiences that will eventually power the version of Specs launching next year.
How it works: Specs will leverage AI to help enhance the consumer experience far beyond creating and capturing content.
The new glasses allow users to share games and experiences with friends, stream content and set up virtual work stations.
They will also leverage AI recommendations and tools to help users with tasks such as figuring out how to change a tire or position a pool cue.
Zoom out: Snap has long prioritized its relationship with the developer community as a way of expanding its creative tools, especially around AR.
Using Snap's existing AR tools, over 400,000 developers have built more than 4 million Snapchat Lenses, or AR overlays, that can be positioned on top of photos or videos taken by users.
Snapchat users currently use AR Lenses in the Snapchat camera 8 billion times per day, according to the company.
With the launch of Specs, Snap said it will also roll out new tools specifically for developers building location-based experiences.
The big picture: Snap's smartphone experience has paved the way for its 3D spatial computing efforts.
Its Snap Map, which now has more than 400 million monthly active users, will eventually become a critical part of its wearables strategy.
In its announcement Tuesday, Snap said it's partnering with Niantic Spatial to bring their visual positioning system to its developer Lens Studio and Specs to build a shared, AI-powered map of the world.
The bottom line: Spiegel believes the hardware space has been slow to elevate and enhance the advancements of sophisticated AI software, and he wants Snap to be the company that bridges that gap.
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