Snap Inc. on Tuesday unveiled an upgraded version of its Spectacles augmented-reality glasses, strengthening its bet that wearable devices that extend your view of the real world will be one of the next frontiers in technology.
The company, known for its popular messaging app Snapchat and animated filters, has partnered with chipmaker Qualcomm and OpenAI's ChatGPT to develop glasses that will allow users to place digital images and filters into the real world through the lenses.
The smart glasses can connect directly to the Snapchat app, which has 432 million daily active users as of the second quarter of 2024. According to Statista.
Snap shares fell 2% on Tuesday after rising about 10.8% over the past five days before the announcement.
The stock has fallen 41.8% so far this year.
The glasses will be available for purchase online exclusively to developers working on new features for the product, who will have to pay $99 per month for a minimum of one year and return the glasses when their subscription expires.
This is an important step to drive adoption among everyday users, Snap CEO Evan Spiegel told Bloomberg ahead of the company's annual Partner Summit in Santa Monica, California.
“It has to be a really compelling experience,” he says. “By working closely with developers and continually improving the platform, we think Spectacles will offer a wide range of compelling lenses to try.”
The first edition of Spectacles was launched in 2016, but it hasn't boosted revenue for Snap, which relies on selling digital ads.
Bigger rivals are also vying for AR's share of the action, with Meta set to unveil its first AR glasses at its Connect developer conference next week.
The fifth-generation Spectacles will feature a new operating system called Snap OS, which will allow the user interface to respond to the wearer's hands and voice, and the operating system will better understand the user's surroundings to render AR effects, Spiegel said.
“Hundreds of millions of people are using AR on the Snapchat app,” Spiegel said, “and unlocking its full potential in glasses is really exciting for us.”
While developers create new apps for the glasses, Snap will work on miniaturizing the product, Spiegel said.
The Spectacles has a black finish and a rectangular frame, but is larger than usual and has a very thick band and lens to accommodate two Qualcomm chips and a miniature projector that throws images in front of the user's eyes, Bloomberg reports. review.
The glasses have a button for taking videos and a power button for turning the device on and off.
When you're recording video, a flashing LED light on the side of the glasses will light up.
Besides the two buttons, the glasses are operated by hand: you select and navigate digital items by moving your hand in front of the frame.
a Bloomberg Review He said the glasses are “extremely easy to use” and feature transition lenses that darken in sunlight, making them easy to wear both indoors and outdoors.
Bloomberg and The Verge review He said the glasses don't offer enough use to users.
