A new generation of AR glasses is coming. Snap has announced its Specs device, aiming for a late 2026 launch. The high price and developer focus signal a major shift for the company.
Snap’s latest move could reshape how publishers, creators, and media businesses think about wearable tech and audience engagement. The company has introduced its new Specs, a pair of augmented reality glasses designed to compete directly with Meta and Apple’s upcoming wearables. The device, revealed by CEO Evan Spiegel at Augmented World Expo 2026, is set to launch later this year in the U.S., U.K., and France.
Specs will retail for $2,195, requiring a $200 refundable deposit. This marks a dramatic increase from Snap’s original 2016 Spectacles, which were camera-only and resulted in $40 million in unsold inventory. The new Specs are wireless, lightweight, and support removable inserts for different eye prescriptions. Two sizes are available: a 47-mm model at 132 grams and a 52-mm model at 136 grams.
The AR display uses proprietary “liquid crystal on silicon” technology, offering a 51-degree field of view and 16 million colors. Snap claims users will experience visuals comparable to a 24-inch desktop monitor for work or a 115-inch cinema screen from 10 feet away for movies. The company has also overhauled its waveguide system since its fifth-generation Specs in 2024, now using nanostructures similar to those in Boeing 787 Dreamliner windows. The electrochromic lenses can shift from clear to tinted in 10 seconds.
Snap is targeting developers to build Lenses specifically for Specs, rolling out agentic development tools in Lens Studio with a preview available in AI code editors like Claude Code, Codex, and Cursor. According to Snap, hundreds of Specs Lenses have already been published. Privacy remains a concern, as Meta previously faced legal scrutiny over its AI Smart Glasses. Snap says users can control what data is stored, synced, shared, or deleted, and Specs include an LED indicator to alert bystanders when recording is active.
In a 2025 open letter, Spiegel described Specs as Snap’s strategy to move beyond smartphones and traditional competition. Without a successful launch, the company’s options for boosting Snapchat revenue could narrow. Meta’s “Orion” AR glasses, introduced in 2024, remain in development with no set release date.
