Snap Set to Release New ‘Specs’ AR Glasses for Consumers Next Year

Alright, folks, gather around. So, Snap, you know, the Snapchat crew? They’re fiddling with their AR glasses—Spectacles, if you will. They’re cooking up a new version, calling it something like ‘Specs,’ and, get this, it’s supposed to hit the public sometime next year. Big whoop, right?

Here’s the backstory: back in the day—okay, late 2024—they tossed the fifth-gen ones (Spectacles ’24) to developers, like a test drive. Then January 2025 rolls around, and suddenly students and teachers (because, you know, learning) get a sweet deal on them. Fast forward to AWE 2025—whatever that is—Snap’s like, “Hey, we’ve got an even tinier, lighter, more powerful version coming.” CEO Evan Spiegel dropped that bomb. Smaller, lighter, more capable. Sounds like my to-do list—minus the actually getting it done part.

And pricing? Availability? Pfft, who knows? It’s all hush-hush until 2026. Oh, and we haven’t even seen these new specs yet. Anyone else picturing giant, chunky glasses? But maybe not, because Spiegel said they’re working on it. Fingers crossed.

Lenses! Yeah, tons of them. I’m talking four million Lenses that’ll jazz up your AR experience with 3D effects, make-believe characters, or whatever else they got up their sleeve. Compatible with the new Specs, of course.

They’re mum on the specifics—ha, specs—right now. The 2024 version? It had a 46-degree view with stereo waveguides, tint-switching, some dual processors, and like a bazillion mics and cameras for spatial stuff. Still, 45 minutes of battery life. Seriously, my attention span feels attacked.

Important side note: Snap’s sprucing up Snap OS with new AI bits from OpenAI and Google Cloud’s Gemini. Lenses will now be this sci-fi blend of translation, currency conversion, and even recipe tips. What a universe: cooking while you Snapchat.

Plus, APIs galore! Spatial-this, audio-that, 3D-object-creation madness cranked up to eleven. Maybe we’ll all be wild developers pretty soon, making location-based whatchamacallits with Snap’s help.

Oh, and Snap’s talking this big game about releasing the first consumer-friendly AR glasses before big dogs like Apple or Meta get their act together. They’re all eyeing AR to possibly dethrone smartphones as the new tech king. Imagine! Everyone wants to own AR like some magical frontier.

So here we are, waiting for this tech ride to speed up. Next year can’t come fast enough, or maybe it’s going too quick. I dunno. Let’s just see where this journey goes.