Snap Inc. wants its Specs to be the future of everyday computing, but between the eye-watering price and lackluster demos, we don't see it happening.
On Tuesday, Snapchat unveiled Specs, a $2,195 pair of augmented reality glasses. The glasses, notably, are fully standalone and do not need to be tethered to a computer or smartphone to work.
They come in two sizes, too. A 47mm model that weighs 132 grams, and a 52mm model that weighs 136 grams. The lens inserts are removable and support a wide range of prescriptions.
They're hardly thin, though. The frames are somehow thicker than the Meta glasses, meaning it'll be quite obvious that you're wearing something on your face.
The display system is Snap's own proprietary liquid crystal on silicon technology. It has a 51-degree field of view and can display 16 million colors.
The Apple Vision Pro's field of view is almost twice that at 100 degrees horizontally and can display a billion distinct colors. Of course, Apple Vision Pro isn't a pair of augmented reality glasses, either.
Image credit: Snap
According to Snap, Specs feel like a 24-inch desktop monitor when you're working or a 115-inch home cinema screen placed 10 feet away when you're watching a movie.
Snap's press release says the goal isn't to create augmented content for content's sake, but rather to make computing useful at the moment.
That's a bit of a contrast to the tech demos they displayed during the official unveiling stream. Nearly every single thing showcased was some sort of game or novel toy use.
Of course, those things also have a higher visual impact than, say, using the glasses to measure a wall.
Snap says that developers have already built hundreds of Lenses (their word for apps). It also seems to be adamant that, rather than showing existing software, the benefit of AR comes from unique "experiences," which is one way to say that Snap has no plans on making Specs deeply integrate with your phone or computer.
Specs features four hours of mixed-use battery life, which includes audio and video playback, Lenses, AI assistance, Bluetooth notifications, and more. The included charging case will provide up to four additional charges, extending the life to 20 hours of mixed use.
Whether or not Specs will be a hit remains to be seen. However, at nearly $2,200 for what is, functionally, a toy, it seems highly likely there's no space for it in the current market.