Snap, the company behind the Snapchat social network, has been quietly working on AR glasses for the last several months, and this week, the developer-only AR Spectacles were updated with some new features.
Developers can now build GPS-based experiences for things like creating interactive walking paths, getting directions, tracking fitness metrics, and playing games.
Snap also added updated hand tracking capabilities for grabbing items and improving typing with the AR keyboard, plus new features like leaderboard support and opening links to Lenses from message threads.
Snap's fifth-generation Spectacles came out last September, and like the prior-generation version, the Spectacles are more of a test product for developers than a consumer-focused device. Developers have to pay $99 per month to use the Spectacles, with a 12 month commitment, so it's about $1,200 to test them.
The Spectacles are heavy and bulky right now, and clearly too expensive for Snap to bring them to consumers. They are standalone AR glasses, though, similar to what Meta is working on. The Spectacles use Snap OS and the Snap Spatial Engine, allowing for augmented reality experiences or Lenses that overlay the real world.
When the Spectacles were announced, Snap said they were the result of a decade of research and development. The glasses have four cameras, two Qualcomm Snapdragon processors, and tiny micro-projectors, with a 45 minute runtime before charging is needed.
Apple was working on augmented reality smart glasses too, but canceled a version that was in development in January. Apple is presumably still working on an AR glasses project of some kind, but companies like Meta and Snap that already have hardware available in some capacity will likely beat Apple to a consumer product.
