As the competition in the smart glasses market intensifies, Snap, the manufacturer of Snapchat, announced on Tuesday its plan to release the sixth-generation augmented reality glasses in 2026. The new product will officially bid farewell to the long-used Spectacles brand and be renamed "Specs," marking a significant turning point in the company's wearable device strategy.
Technical Upgrades and Product Positioning
The next-generation Specs glasses will adopt augmented reality technology, allowing users to see digital images overlaid on the physical world and interact with them. Although Snap did not disclose the specific price or exact release date, the company promised that the new glasses will be smaller and lighter than previous generations. By contrast, Snap's latest Spectacles, released in September 2024 for developers, adopted a rental model where users had to commit to paying $99 per month for an entire year.
This consumer-facing pair of glasses will run on the company’s self-developed Snap OS operating system. In terms of AI integration, Snap announced that developers would be able to integrate Google's Gemini AI model into their applications developed for smart glasses. Previously, developers could only use OpenAI's GPT series AI models to build AR applications, providing programmers with more options through this new collaboration.
Product Development History
Snap began its exploration in the field of smart glasses in 2016. Its first pair of Spectacles was priced at $130 and featured relatively simple functions, mainly helping users shoot short videos and post them to the Snapchat platform. In 2021, the company significantly upgraded the glasses, equipping them with augmented reality displays, enabling users to see virtual content overlaid on real-world images.
Evan Spiegel, CEO of Snap, stated in a statement: "We are incredibly excited about the extraordinary progress in artificial intelligence and augmented reality technologies, which are realizing new forms of human-centered computing experiences."
Intensified Market Competition
The competitive landscape in the head-mounted computing devices sector is rapidly evolving. Apple entered the high-end market in February 2024 by selling Vision Pro goggles priced at $3,500. As a strong competitor, Meta has a complete product line including Quest VR headsets, Ray-Ban Meta smart glasses, and the experimental Orion AR glasses showcased last fall.
Google also announced its re-entry into the smart glasses market in May this year, reaching a $150 million partnership agreement with eyewear brand Warby Parker. Warby Parker said it would launch its own smart glasses later this year.
With major tech giants entering the smart glasses market, ranging from entry-level products priced at $130 to high-end devices costing $3,500, the entire industry is experiencing unprecedented competition. Snap's 2026 product release plan will add new variables to this smart glasses war.