Snap is flogging its first consumer augmented reality glasses this autumn for $2,195.
According to The Verge, the company says punters can preorder Specs at specs.com with a $200 refundable deposit. Shipments are expected this autumn in the US, UK and France.
This is a big swing for Snap, which first barged into smart glasses with Spectacles in 2016. It has spent years mucking about with non-public AR versions while trying to make face computers look less daft.
Snap chief executive Evan Spiegel promised consumer AR glasses in 2026. He spun the smart glasses team into a separate business.
Snap says Specs are “fully standalone, with no puck and no tether.” That seems like a little dig at the Fruity Cargo Cult Apple’s Vision Pro, which still drags around a separate battery pack like a posh ankle tag.
Specs come in two sizes. The 47mm model weighs 132g, while the 52mm version weighs 136g.
The glasses have removable inserts that Snap says support “a wide range of prescriptions.” That at least suggests the company remembered some people need to see the real world before layering cartoons on top of it.
Nobody is likely to confuse Specs with Meta’s smart glasses. Snap has chosen wide, chunky frames that look like snow goggles.
The Verge was not exactly sold on the look. The report said they were not its style, although Jony Ive might approve, which is not always the compliment the design priesthood thinks it is.
Specs feature visible-light and infrared cameras. When they are recording, a small LED bar glows in the middle of the glasses, giving bystanders at least some clue they are part of the content farm.
Both lenses can show content. Snap says the display uses a “proprietary liquid crystal on silicon technology” with a 51-degree field of view and support for 16 million colours.
The lenses can go from clear to tinted in 10 seconds, according to Snap. Specs use two Snapdragon processors, although Snap is not saying exactly which chips are inside. One handles “computer vision”, while the other runs AR Lenses.
“Together, they enable fast hand tracking, low latency, and responsive interactions that help digital content feel anchored in the real world,” Snap says.
Battery life is rated at up to four hours per charge. Snap says that includes “audio and video playback, AI assistance, Bluetooth notifications, and more.” The charging case adds four more charges, giving a claimed total of 20 hours.
