At Augmented World Expo 2025, Snapchat revealed a next-generation version of Snap Spectacles. These new spectacles should have a more lightweight and immersive design, and will be launching to the public next year.
I had the opportunity to go hands on with the fifth generation Snap Spectacles towards the end of last year, and they were quite impressive. That generation of Spectacles was only available for developers, and werenât planned to release to the public. They were also fair bit bulky, but they served as a means for developers to get working on their lenses for an eventual public release.
Now, Snap is announcing that a version of Snapchat Spectacles, their immersive AR glasses â will be launching to the public in 2026. Theyâll be called âSpecsâ, and Snap describes them as âan ultra-powerful wearable computer integrated into a lightweight pair of glasses, featuring see-through Lenses that enhance the physical world with digital experiences.â
Compared to the previous version of Snap Spectacles for developers â these should look much nicer. Plus, theyâre all-in-one, no compute puck or external battery required.
Evan Spiegel, CEO of Snap, shared the following about Snap Specs:
âWe believe the time is right for a revolution in computing that naturally integrates our digital experiences with the physical world, and we canât wait to publicly release our new Specs next year,â said Evan Spiegel, co-founder and CEO of Snap Inc. âWe couldnât be more excited about the extraordinary progress in artificial intelligence and augmented reality that is enabling new, human-centered computing experiences. We believe Specs are the most advanced personal computer in the world, and we canât wait for you to see for yourself.â
Snap also revealed a couple of noteworthy changes for Snap OS, the operating system that runs on Snap Specs:
Thereâll also be fleet management, allowing developers to manage multiple pairs of Specs, a new Guided mode that makes it easier to demo to guests, and Guided Navigation â whichâll allow developers to make AR guided tours in real world places.
All in all, this new version of Specs sounds quite impressive â and Iâm looking forward to their release next year! You can learn more about the release from Snapchatâs newsroom post.
My favorite Apple accessory recommendations:
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Augmented Reality (AR) is mixing real-world imagâŚ
Michael is 9to5Macâs Weekend Editor, keeping up with all of the latest Apple news on Saturday and Sunday. He got started in the world of Apple news during the pandemic, and it became a growing hobby. Heâs also an indie iOS developer in his free time, and has published numerous apps over the years.
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