Snap is laying the groundwork for its long-rumoured smart glasses by spinning the project out into a new, standalone company.
The social media firm has announced Specs Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary. Specs Inc. will house the development and future launch of its next-generation smart eyewear, simply called Specs.
The move gives Snap more flexibility as it prepares to launch the glasses later this year. According to the company, setting up Specs Inc. allows for tighter operational focus and clearer branding. It also provides room for new partnerships — including the possibility of minority investment down the line.
Snap has been working on Specs for more than a decade. It positions them as a different take on wearable computing.
Rather than replacing the real world with a screen, the glasses use see-through lenses to layer digital objects into your surroundings in 3D. Interaction is handled through hand gestures and voice. Snap says developers are already building experiences for learning, gaming and collaboration that stay grounded in the physical world.
The company is clearly pitching Specs as an antidote to smartphones. Snap argues that traditional devices are designed to pull attention away from real life. Meanwhile, Specs aim to keep users present — whether that’s playing games outdoors, visualising chemistry experiments, or collaborating on virtual designs with colleagues.
AI is expected to play a central role. Specs will feature what Snap calls a first-of-its-kind Intelligence System. This system is designed to understand users and their environment well enough to take on tasks automatically, while still respecting privacy. Snap’s ambition is a computer you rely on less, because it does more in the background.
We actually went hands-on with the tech a few months ago, and left very impressed, particularly by its AI capabilities.
There’s also a longer-term sustainability angle. Snap believes smart glasses could eventually replace everyday physical items — from whiteboards to instruction manuals — with shared digital equivalents. This could potentially reduce waste and resource use.
Snap hasn’t shared hardware specs or a firm release date yet, but the creation of Specs Inc. makes one thing clear: the smart glasses launch is no longer theoretical.
With the new subsidiary in place, Snap appears to be getting serious about turning Specs into its next major platform. As a result, we should be seeing more very soon.
