Wearable computers — from headsets to glasses — have proliferated in recent years, but they still aren’t mainstream. Millions of people own Meta Quest and PlayStation VR headsets as well as Ray-Ban Meta glasses, but these devices haven’t even begun to compete with smartphones or smartwatches. It’s unclear if they ever will, but with its upcoming Specs, Snap believes that it can convince you to start wearing smart glasses every day.
Snap Specs are coming in 2026
According to Snap, Specs are “an ultra-powerful wearable computer integrated into a lightweight pair of glasses with see-thru lenses.” The computer inside these glasses uses machine learning to understand the world around you, can provide AI assistance in real-time in a 3D space, and enables shared experiences with others wearing Specs.
Snap says that the “small 2D rectangle” in all of our pockets isn’t suitable to take full advantage of the power of artificial intelligence. They even see AI chatbots as a bridge to immersive, three-dimensional experiences powered by AI.
Snap isn’t ready to show us its lightweight AR glasses yet (the ones you see pictures at the top of the page are the bulkier Snapchat Spectacles, which are primarily made for developers), but the company plans to launch the Specs in 2026.
In the meantime, Snap is continuing to roll out updates for Snap OS, the operating system that powers the company’s Spectacles.
Some of the new features arriving on Snap OS include integrations with OpenAI and Gemini to allow developers to build multimodal Lenses for Spectacles, a depth module API to translate 2D information from LLMs and accurately display it in 3D, real-time transcription for over 40 languages, and the ability to develop 3D objects on the fly.
Developers are also getting new tools in Snap OS for building location-based experience, such as a Fleet Management app to monitor multiple Specs at once, Guided Mode to make Specs launch directly into a single-player or multiplayer Lens, and Guided Navigation to help developers build AR-guided tours for users to follow as they walk around.
Finally, Snap announced that it’s partnering with Niantic Spatial to build a shared, AI-powered map of the world and is bringing WebXR support to the browser.
