When Snap announced its long-awaited Specs smart glasses earlier this year, the announcement was not only shocking, but also a true disaster. The glasses, which cost a whopping $2,200 and are vaguely reminiscent of scuba gear, have sparked online heckling and calls for CEO Evan Spiegel to resign. After that, the company’s stock price plummeted.
Since then, Snap has clearly been looking for an opportunity to explain why Specs (heavy, expensive hardware that most regular consumers probably can’t afford) are worth existing.
This week, the company had a chance to make that case. At an event in Los Angeles, Spiegel and other Snap executives announced a variety of new features and services related to Specs. The new update appears aimed at helping integrate the glasses into broader digital activities, and in doing so giving the specs a clearer sense of purpose.
During Wednesday’s event, Spiegel shared details about a number of new features. After a trippy promotional video that vaguely reminded me of ayahuasca hallucinations, the CEO took to the stage and began a series of live demos.
New entertainment options — specs now include connectivity to HBO Max and Spotify — provide a baseline of interactive fun that has been largely lacking in smart glasses to date.
But perhaps the biggest announcement is the launch of Specs Intelligence. The company calls it a new “predictive AI” system designed to pair not only with its glasses, but also with user devices such as iPhones and Macs. Snap claims the new system “builds your goals, priorities, relationships, and routines from the apps and tools you choose to connect, helping you focus on what’s important right now while making progress toward your long-term goals.”
Spiegel calls the system “an AI-native operating system with intelligence designed around projects” that helps users “connect the dots between lenses.” Snap’s AR camera effect term is available on both phones and specs and “helps you get things done while focusing on what’s important to you.” You can actually use it with Snap’s glasses, but it seems to work more like an AI productivity app that doesn’t require glasses.
Snap also announced a new program called Specs for Enterprise that will enable devices to be integrated into enterprise workflows. The company announced Wednesday partnerships with various technology companies, including Amazon, Salesforce, Nvidia and others, to make the device useful for corporate staff.
How useful is this in the real world? And who is this service really for? Apparently, the answer is IT engineers. The actual scenarios in which Specs can be used are a bit vague, but a demo video played at the event showed IT technicians using Snap’s new glasses to repair hardware.
“We’re working with the world’s most trusted providers to build a way to deploy and manage mobile device management, security controls, and stacks across teams, giving IT departments peace of mind,” Spiegel said.
Other features announced were a bit more head-scratching. For example, one of the new experiences is an app developed through a partnership with the NBA and WNBA that allows users to practice basketball and improve their shots through the glasses’ AR features. But realistically, would anyone play basketball with heavy goggles on their head?
Also announced Wednesday were new connectivity packages for people who want to use Specs away from Wi-Fi, such as outside their home or office. The package, sold separately, includes a charging case with built-in cellular connectivity. This connectivity is available through a partnership with Verizon and costs $10 per month for Verizon customers and $20 per month for non-Verizon customers.
Spiegel ultimately framed specs as a new way to approach computing in a more human-centered form. “The situation in the technology industry is pretty strange right now, so it’s an interesting time to be launching a new computer,” Spiegel said. “We are told that AI will take our jobs and that virtual worlds will replace the real world. Well, no, thank you very much. We do not accept that future. Making people irrelevant is not progress. Computers should make us more important, not less important.”
Snap has repeatedly justified the cost of the product’s discomfort by characterizing the device as a computer, even if it’s worn on the face. Whether consumers choose it remains to be seen. The company announced it will hold a Specs pop-up in Los Angeles in October before the device finally ships later this fall.
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