An interview with Snap CEO Evan Spiegel on Snap's fifth-generation smart glasses, unveiled in September 2024, competing with Apple and Meta, Snap OS, and more
The new Spectacles can project augmented-reality imagery onto the lenses. — Evan Spiegel sees something others don't …
Context & Ripple Effects
Spectacles began as a creator-focused AR experiment: Snap’s first glasses were tested with AR-effects creators, a foundation for the later developer-oriented Spectacles effort. The fifth-generation device advances that line with imagery projected onto the lenses and a named software layer, Snap OS.
This interview matters because it clarifies that Snap is treating glasses as a platform contest, not merely a camera-accessory category. Subsequent coverage of a lighter consumer-oriented Specs model with similar AR and AI capabilities suggests a path from developer hardware toward a broader product offering.
First-order effects
- Snap’s Spectacles 5 is positioned around lens-projected AR and Snap OS, giving Snap a clearer hardware-and-software proposition alongside Apple and Meta.
- The interview puts Evan Spiegel and Snap’s glasses strategy under direct comparison with better-resourced rivals, raising the importance of demonstrating what its platform enables.
Second-order effects
- A distinct OS makes developer tools, AR effects, and platform experience more central to Spectacles’ differentiation; Snap can build on its earlier testing with AR creators rather than compete on hardware alone.
- The competitive benchmark shifts toward whether a glasses platform can move beyond developer use. Snap’s later plan for a lighter consumer Specs model makes product usability and feature carryover consequential to that transition.
Third-order effects
- If glasses makers increasingly pair dedicated operating systems with AR hardware, the market may organize around platform ecosystems and creator software as much as device specifications.
- Snap’s route illustrates a likely staged commercialization model—developer hardware first, consumer hardware later—though its durability will depend on whether the platform can sustain investment against larger competitors.
The trend: AR glasses are evolving from experimental creator devices into software-platform products that must eventually support consumer-grade hardware.