Snap has unveiled its long-awaited consumer AR smart glasses, called SPECS (marketed as “Specs”), following years of development. Multiple outlets report the glasses are priced at about $2,195, with UK coverage citing a roughly £1,995 price point. Snap positions the device as a standalone wearable computer that uses see-through augmented reality rather than requiring a separate compute “puck” or tether. The glasses are offered in two sizes (a 47mm model and a larger 52mm model), with reports that the frames weigh about 132g and 136g respectively. Snap also says the glasses include removable inserts to support prescription lenses. Battery life is described as around four hours in several reports, and Snap says the display system uses its liquid crystal on silicon technology. Snap says the Specs are available for pre-order now with a refundable deposit and are expected to ship in the fall, with availability reported for the US, UK, and France. Financial and market commentary across sources highlights that Wall Street analysts view the high price as limiting near-term mass-market adoption, with some characterizing the launch as closer to a developer-focused product than a mainstream consumer device.
Snap launches SPECS augmented-reality glasses priced at $2,195
Snap has unveiled its long-awaited consumer AR smart glasses, called SPECS (marketed as “Specs”), following years of development. Multiple outlets report the glasses are priced at about $2,195, with U...
- Snap launches its SPECS/“Specs” augmented-reality smart glasses after a long development period.
- The glasses are priced around $2,195 (about £1,995 in UK reporting).
- Specs are standalone (no separate puck or tether) and are offered in two sizes with reported weights of about 132g and 136g.
- Snap says the glasses support prescription lenses via removable inserts and use liquid crystal on silicon display technology.
- Pre-orders are open and Snap expects fall shipping to the US, UK, and France; analysts say the price may limit early consumer adoption.
Apple wants you to step into a virtual world, while Snap wants you to stay in the real one. Here's how their very different approaches to spatial computing compare.Apple Vision Pro [left] vs Snap Specs [right]The launch of Snap Specs at Augmented World Expo on June 16 is a big shift forward for the social company. After the previous effort of Snap Spectacles, Snap Specs are a step closer to the augmented reality future by being smart glasses with a built-in display.This is something that brings Snap's efforts in line with the Ray-Ban eyewear that Meta has produced, including its yet-to-ship Meta Ray-Ban Display. It's also a massively different product from Apple's own head-mounted computing device, the Apple Vision Pro. Continue Reading on AppleInsider | Discuss on our Forums
2 months agoSnap has faced investor backlash after unveiling its long-awaited £1,995 smart glasses, with the bulky design of the device widely mocked online. The Snapchat owner launched its new augmented reality Specs this week, positioning them as the next major shift in personal computing. Snap chief executive Evan Spiegel said he had spent his working life...
2 months agoSnap's new smart glasses are probably the most impressive bit of face-computer technology we've seen. They're not VR-headset huge; they don't have a big charging puck; thanks to Snap's many years of AR lens development, they're likely to have a lot of features right out of the box. (Yes, they're $2,195, but that may just […]
2 months agoCEO Evan Spiegel thinks people are so sick of staring at phones they'll pay $2,195 for AR glasses. Wall Street isn't convinced.
2 months agoJay Peters, The Verge (gift link): Snap is finally launching augmented glasses for the public. Specs, which Snap describes as “a wearable computer built into see-through augmented reality glasses,” will cost $2,195. You can preorder a pair of Specs now at specs.com with a $200 refundable deposit, and Snap says they’re expected to ship “this fall” in the US, UK, and France. [...] The company says that Specs are “fully standalone, with no puck and no tether.” (Which is perhaps a jab at Apple’s Vision Pro, which is tethered to a separate battery pack.) They’ll be offered in two sizes, a 47mm model weighing 132g and a 52mm model weighing 136g, and will have removable inserts that Snap says will support “a wide range of prescriptions.” Unlike Vision Pro, Snap is presenting Specs as eyeglasses that users will wear out and about in their daily lives. Viewed perfectly straight-on and photographed by a professional fashion photographer — as presented on the Specs website — they’re a bold look. Viewed from any other angle and captured normally, they look like goggles, not glasses. The frames look orthopedic and the lenses are not even close to clear. They make you look like you forgot to take off your goggles leaving the theater after a 3D movie — goggles that are big enough to wear over regular glasses. Maybe Specs are useful enough to justify looking so orthopedic, but I doubt it. ★
2 months ago
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