Snap's New Specs AR Glasses Bend Your Ears. That's a Problem
When Snap announced the new Specs at Augmented World Expo (AWE) in Long Beach, California, I was excited about the prospect of getting some hands on time with the new AR glasses . However, instead of giving the press the opportunity to wear them, Snap locked the $2,195 Specs in a box as if they were an art exhibition.
You could argue that the Specs' design is , in many ways, a masterpiece. After all, Snap says it solved one of AR's toughest challenges: fitting powerful spatial computing hardware into a compact, wearable chassis. As someone who has tested a fair share of head-mounted displays, from the Apple Vision Pro to the Viture Beast AR glasses , hardware engineers have often reminded me that achieving that Ready Player One form factor is nearly impossible.
When I finally got a look at Specs on display at AWE, it almost seemed to have reached that Ready Player One ideal. However, when I saw them resting uncomfortably on CEO Evan Spiegel's ears, the reason for Snap's strict no-touch policy for the press became glaringly obvious.
Perhaps Snap Specs 2 Will Be Easier on the Ears
Snap Specs feature two Qualcomm Snapdragon processors—one dedicated to computer vision and the other to AR experiences. Add in waveguide technology, a four-hour battery, spatial-tracking sensors, and a 51-degree field of view, and it's easy to see why the glasses ended up with some extra bulk in the stems.
The Specs can deliver a wide variety of virtual experiences, from Google Maps-like directional guidance and real-time translation with captions to desktop mirroring for spatial computing and interactive gaming. With this in mind, I can forgive the Specs' chunky arms. Batteries are space-hungry. Processors generate heat. And spatial computing is demanding, requiring heavy-duty sensors.
However, what I have a harder time overlooking is comfort. When I saw Spiegel wearing Specs in person, the glasses appeared to push down on the tops of his ears, causing them to bend under the frame's weight and pressure.
Snap may have come incredibly close to mastering AR glasses from a feature perspective, but if the CEO can't wear them comfortably, I doubt Specs will resonate with everyday consumers at this point. We'll likely have to wait for the second generation before we see an increase in comfort. (Of course, I didn't wear them myself. Nor did anyone else.)
Snap Specs Are Smaller Than the Apple Vision Pro...
Before Apple unveiled the Vision Pro, Bloomberg reported that there was some internal headbutting over what the smart glasses should look like.
Former Apple design chief Jony Ive reportedly favored a standalone device with no battery pack or external hardware, similar to the Meta Quest . Mike Rockwell, the executive who led Vision Pro development, had a different vision (pun intended). He pushed for maximum performance, even if it meant relying on a separate Mac-like hub because the required processing would generate too much heat for the glasses-only form factor.
As we now know, Apple opted to offload the battery by tethering it to the Vision Pro. Even so, many complain that the headset is too heavy. Plus, it's far too conspicuous to wear daily.
If you place Snap Specs next to the Apple Vision Pro, it's immediately clear which device more closely resembles the future people actually want: one that's lighter, smaller, and less demanding of space on your face. Specs appear to have the smart capabilities well in hand. According to Snap, the Specs match the Vision Pro's core spatial-computing powers, including mirroring and pinning one's desktop to a virtual space.
Although Snap Specs' narrow field of view doesn't quite match the Vision Pro's more immersive 100-degree FOV, perhaps Jony Ive was right all along: Consumers are more likely to accept a less powerful headset if it prioritizes comfort.
...But the Specs Aren't Quite There Yet
Given how awkwardly the Specs fit on Spiegel, I'm not convinced Snap has wholly cracked the AR glasses code yet. In other words, I don't believe the average consumer is ready to wear something that bends your ears so much they look smushed.
Though there's always room for improvement, the arrival of Specs strongly suggests that the Ready Player One ideal isn't that far off. Snap will force the rest of the industry to accelerate its downsizing efforts (I'm looking at you, Apple, Google, Meta, and Samsung).
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