Snap’s latest augmented reality glasses, the fifth-generation Spectacles, boast a new design, a larger field of view, and improved software that supports full hand tracking abilities. However, the company is only making these glasses available to approved developers who are willing to commit to a year-long $99/month subscription. This approach may seem unusual, but Snap’s director of AR platform, Sophia Dominguez, explains that developers are the best positioned to understand the capabilities and limitations of AR hardware.
The new Spectacles have a more powerful hardware and software, with sharper and more immersive AR displays that support over two dozen AR experiences. The glasses have a 46-degree field of view, equivalent to having a 100-inch display in the room with you. The addition of full hand tracking abilities allows users to control the interface with hand gestures and commands.
Developers can create multimodal experiences for Spectacles, and Snap is partnering with OpenAI to enable developers to bring their models into the Spectacles experience. This will allow developers to create more utilitarian, camera-based experiences that provide users with more context about their surroundings.
While the fifth-generation Spectacles show promise, they still have some significant limitations. The glasses are large and somewhat unwieldy, and the battery life is only about 45 minutes. However, Snap is aware of these limitations and is intentionally starting with developers, who are the most ready for a device like the fifth-gen Spectacles. The company is playing the long game and is prepared to be ready whenever the consumer market catches up.
The new Spectacles have a more intuitive interface, with a gesture-based system that allows users to interact with AR content. The glasses also support collaborative experiences, allowing multiple users to view and interact with the same AR content together.
But the company will also likely need to find a way to reduce Spectacles’ price. Each pair reportedly costs thousands of dollars to produce, which helps explain Snap’s current insistence on a subscription model, but it’s hard to imagine even hardcore AR enthusiasts shelling out more than a thousand dollars for glasses that have less than one hour of battery life.
Snap is not alone in the AR hardware space, with Meta poised to show off its own AR glasses, known as Orion, next week at its developer event. However, Snap’s approach to AR is unique, and the company is well aware of the challenges and limitations of AR hardware. Despite these challenges, Snap is committed to making AR a reality, and the fifth-generation Spectacles are a significant step in that direction.
The company’s decision to start with developers and its willingness to play the long game is a testament to its commitment to AR. As the AR space continues to evolve, it will be interesting to see how Snap’s approach compares to that of its competitors.
