Snap’s extremely large Spectacles bring impressive AR to developers at $99 a month
Snap’s new Spectacles are the next big thing — in the most literal way possible. The augmented reality glasses are extremely physically large. The social media firm sees the footprint as a kind of middle ground between a full extended reality headset and far more portable smart glasses.
It warrants mentioning right out of the gate that, like their predecessor, the Spectacles 5 are designed specifically for developers. Snap could open them up more widely for consumers, but if I had to venture a guess, I would say that’s probably going to be more of a Spectacles 6 thing.
I had an opportunity to check out the new Spectacles, and I can immediately tell you two things:
The AR is impressive, despite a very limited field of view.
They’re as big as they look in the photos.
Due to the target audience being developers, Snap is taking a hardware-as-a-service approach to product sales, charging devs $99 a month. Before you get too excited, however, keep in mind that there’s a one-year commitment period, so you’d be getting out a little under $1,200, pre-tax.
Interested parties will have to apply for the hardware through a developer program in Lens Studio. Once approved, they’ll also gain access to support resources from the Snap Lab team.
In spite of their large size, the new Spectacles weigh half a pound, which is significantly less than, say, the Visio Pro’s 1.4 pounds. During my demo, I found the AR technology to be impressive for a full untethered headset, though the visuals and interactive quality are hampered by a small field of view. At 46 degrees, however, Snap says it’s nearly 3x the size of the Spectacles 4, which is absolutely a step in the right direction.
The glasses are powered by a pair of Qualcomm Snapdragon processors, with one in each temple. Snap’s Spatial Engine, meanwhile, does a good job of understanding where you are in space.
The social media firm is also launching a new operating system alongside the new hardware. Built atop the Android kernel, SnapOS is designed to streamline developing for the platform.
The Spectacles launch with some key content partners, including Lego, Niantic, and ILM Immersive. The latter will launch a "Star Wars" title for the wearable platform, and Pokémon GO-maker Niantic will be bringing its titles, Peridot and Scaniverse. The company is also releasing new AI video generation tools for creators, as well as new Google Lens-type features for its My AI chatbot, and it's rolling out a "simple" version of the app as part of a test to make it easier to use.
