LATEST DEVELOPMENT
Evan Spiegel unveils fifth-generation Spectacles with new Snap OS, positioning device between Meta's Ray-Bans and Apple's Vision Pro in growing AR wearables market.
INDUSTRY TALK
"You take computing from something that has been largely single player and make it something that's fundamentally a shared experience. Instead of people being hunched over little screens around the park, they can lift their eyes up, stand up tall and enjoy the world around them."
BY THE NUMBERS
Company metrics include:
850M monthly active Snapchat users
$5B advertising business
$16B current market valuation
$99/month developer program fee (1-year minimum)
45-minute current battery life
PRODUCT FEATURES
New Spectacles capabilities:
Fully self-contained AR projection system
No external computing pack required
Hand gesture recognition via onboard sensors
Custom Snap OS developer platform
Multiplayer AR experiences
COMPETITVE LANDSCAPE
Market positioning against:
Meta's $100B+ metaverse investment
Apple's $3,500 Vision Pro
Ray-Ban Meta sunglasses
Meta's upcoming Project Orion
Chinese AI models from DeepSeek
THE BOTTOM LINE
Despite technical challenges and limited resources compared to rivals, Spiegel bets Snap's integrated hardware-software approach to AR glasses will prove harder to copy than app features, positioning the company for leadership in the next computing platform.