When Snap unveiled its long-awaited smart glasses, Specs, earlier this year, the revelation It was not only disappointing but also a real disaster. The glasses, which cost a whopping $2,200 and are vaguely reminiscent of scuba gear, inspired boos online and calls for the resignation of the company’s CEO, Evan Spiegel. Subsequently, the company’s shares plummeted.
Since then, Snap has clearly been looking for an opportunity to explain why Specs, a heavy and expensive piece of hardware that most casual consumers probably won’t be able to afford, deserves to exist.
This week, the company had the opportunity to make that argument. At an event in Los Angeles, Spiegel and other Snap executives unveiled a variety of new features and services related to Specs. The new updates seem clearly designed to help integrate the glasses into a broader range of digital activities and, in doing so, give Specs a clearer sense of its purpose.
During Wednesday’s event, Spiegel shared details about several of the new features. After a mind-bending promotional video vaguely reminiscent of an ayahuasca hallucination, the CEO took the stage and began a series of live demonstrations.
The new entertainment options (Specs can now connect to HBO Max and Spotify) provide a foundation of interactive fun that smart glasses have lacked until now.
Perhaps the biggest announcement, however, was the launch of Specs Intelligence, which the company calls a new “anticipatory AI” system designed to pair not only with the company’s glasses but also with users’ devices, including iPhones and Macs. Snap claims that this new system “creates an understanding of your goals, priorities, relationships and routines from the apps and tools you choose to connect, helping you focus on what matters now while moving toward your longer-term goals.”
Spiegel called this system a “native AI operating system with intelligence designed around your projects” that helps users “connect the dots through Lenses,” Snap’s term for its AR camera effects, available on both phones and Specs, “so you can get things done while focusing on what matters to you.” In practice, it seems to work more like an AI productivity app that can be used with Snap’s glasses but doesn’t require them.
Snap has also announced a new program called Specs for Enterprise, which allows the device to be integrated into corporate workflows. On Wednesday, the company announced partnerships with several different technology companies, including Amazon, Salesforce, Nvidia and other companies, in an effort to make the device useful for staff at those companies.
What is the usefulness of this in the real world and who is this service really for? Apparently, the answer is computer technicians. While the actual scenarios in which Specs can be used are a bit vague, a demo video shown at the event appeared to show an IT technician repairing some hardware with the help of Snap’s new glasses.
“We’re developing mobile device management, security controls, and ways to deploy and manage stacks across devices with the world’s most trusted vendors, giving IT departments peace of mind,” Spiegel said.
Other features announced were a bit more surprising. 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 shot through the glasses’ AR capabilities. But realistically, who’s really going to play basketball with heavy goggles on their head?
Also announced Wednesday was a new connectivity package for anyone who wants to use Specs on the go, away from Wi-Fi, such as away from home or the office. Sold separately and the package includes a charging case with built-in cellular connectivity. That connectivity, which is available through a partnership with Verizon, costs $10 a month for Verizon customers and $20 a month for non-Verizon customers.
Spiegel ultimately framed Specs as a new way to interact with computing in a more human-centered format. “I will say it’s an interesting time to release a new computer because things in technology are pretty weird right now,” Spiegel said. “They tell us that AI will take away our jobs, that virtual worlds will replace the real one. Well, no thanks. We don’t accept that future. Making people irrelevant is not progress, and computers should make us more important, not less.”
Snap has repeatedly justified the product’s embarrassing cost by characterizing the device as a computer, albeit one that is worn on your face. It remains to be seen whether consumers will accept this or not. The company has announced that it will host a specs pop-up in Los Angeles in October before the devices finally ship later this fall.
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