Late in 2024, Snap teased the 5th generation Spectacles, its augmented reality smart glasses. At the time, the glasses were only just becoming available to device developers who could rent a pair for $99 a month.
Today (June 10), during the Augmented World Exhibition (AWE) 2025, the public will get to don the new rebranded Specs in 2026.
Specs are AI-assisted, with Snap claiming that developers already have a number of "new experiences" ready for the new Spectacles.
“We believe the time is right for a revolution in computing that naturally integrates our digital experiences with the physical world, and we can’t wait to publicly launch our new Specs next year,” said Evan Spiegel, co-founder and CEO of Snap Inc., in a press release.
Some of those tools we got to see last year, and again during a demo in April.
These include Pool Assist, which helps you make better plays on the billiards table. There's also Super Travel that is supposed to translate signs, menus and other text while abroad.
As for the form factor, the developer glasses we got to test are fairly bulky. Spiegel announced during AWE 2025 that the new ones would be lighter and a "much smaller form factor."
"No bulky headset, no puck, no tether, no phone required," Spiegal said during his keynote. "They’re fully standalone, lightweight, immersive AR glasses, powered by Snapdragon, with an operating system built from the ground up for augmented reality."
Snap OS updates
Before the new Specs arrive, Snap is also upgrading Snap OS with four "major" updates.
These will mostly affect developers, but for the public, you will see new Lenses that the Specs will be able to access.
- OpenAI and Google Gemini integration: Developers will be able to build "multimodal AI-powered lenses" that can be used in apps for the glasses, like translation in Super Travel or recipe suggestions in Cookmate.
- Depth module API: This translates "2D information" from LLMs to "anchor AR information accurately" in 3D.
- Automated Speech recognition: This enables real-time transcription and supports over 40 languages.
- Snap3D API: Lets developers create 3D objects "on the fly."
Snap did not provide a specific launch month or date, so we don't know when exactly in 2026 the updated Spectacles will actually arrive.
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