Snap Renews Its Bet on Its $2,200 Smart Glasses

When Snap unveiled its "Specs" smart glasses earlier this year, the launch wasn't just disappointing—it turned into something resembling an outright disaster. The $2,200 glasses, whose design resembled diving gear, sparked a wave of online mockery, and calls mounted for CEO Evan Spiegel to resign, while the company's stock plunged sharply in the wake of the announcement.

Since then, Snap has been on a relentless search for an opportunity to justify the existence of this heavy, expensive device that most ordinary consumers would find difficult to purchase. That opportunity came this week during an event held in Los Angeles, where Spiegel and other executives unveiled a range of new features and services tied to the glasses, in a clear attempt to integrate them into a broader scope of digital activities and give them a more defined purpose.

New Entertainment Features

Among the most notable announcements was the ability to connect the glasses to both "HBO Max" and "Spotify," providing a minimum level of interactive enjoyment that smart glasses have so far lacked. Although these additions seem limited, they represent an attempt to make the device more appealing to the everyday user.

"Proactive" Artificial Intelligence

Perhaps the most important announcement came with the launch of the "Specs Intelligence" system, which the company describes as a "proactive" AI designed to work not only with the glasses but also with users' other devices, including iPhones and Macs. Snap claims that this system builds an understanding of the user's goals, priorities, relationships, and daily routine through the apps they choose to link to it.

Spiegel described the system as "an AI-based operating system designed around the user's projects," helping them to "connect the dots" between the augmented reality effects the company calls "Lenses." In practice, however, it appears closer to an AI-powered productivity app that can be used with the glasses without necessarily requiring you to own them.

Solutions for Businesses and the IT Sector

Snap also launched a program titled "Specs for Enterprise" that allows the device to be integrated into workflows within organizations, and announced partnerships with several major tech companies, including:

• Amazon
• Salesforce
• Nvidia

The primary target audience appears to be IT technicians, as a demo clip showed a technician repairing some devices with the help of the glasses. Spiegel noted that the company is working on building tools for device management, security controls, and methods for deploying solutions across teams in collaboration with trusted providers.

Questionable Features

The announcements were not without puzzling features, such as an app developed in collaboration with the American men's and women's basketball leagues, allowing users to practice shooting through the glasses' augmented reality capabilities. But the question remains: who is actually going to play basketball while wearing heavy glasses on their head?

The company also revealed a new connectivity package for those who want to use the glasses outside the range of Wi-Fi networks, sold separately and including a charging case equipped with cellular connectivity through a partnership with "Verizon." This service costs $10 per month for Verizon customers and $20 for others.

Spiegel's Vision for the Future

Spiegel presented the glasses as a new way to interact with computing in a more human form, saying it was "an exciting time to launch a new computer because things in the tech world are kind of strange these days." He added that the prevailing narrative suggests AI will take jobs and that virtual worlds will replace the real one, declaring his rejection of this future and affirming that "making people worthless is not progress, and computers should make us more important, not less."

Snap repeatedly justifies its high price by describing the device as a computer worn on the face. However, the extent to which consumers will accept this proposition remains to be tested. The company announced a temporary promotional pop-up for the glasses in Los Angeles during October, with the devices set to officially ship later this fall.

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