Snap Opens SPECS AR Glasses Pre-Orders at $2,195 After Los Angeles Launch

LOS ANGELES - Snap on Wednesday opened consumer pre-orders for Specs, its $2,195 standalone augmented reality glasses, and introduced Specs Intelligence, an anticipatory AI service that runs on the frames, iPhone, and Mac. A $200 refundable deposit holds a pair at specs.com. Snap says shipping starts later this fall in the United States, the United Kingdom, and France.

Unlike Meta’s $799 Ray-Ban Display glasses, Specs do not need a tethered phone to run apps. Snap packs two Snapdragon processors into the frames, puts a waveguide display in each lens with a 51-degree field of view, and lists two sizes: 47 millimeters at 132 grams and 52 millimeters at 136 grams. Electrochromic lenses can tint in about 10 seconds. Prescription inserts are supported. Battery life is rated at about four hours of mixed use, or up to about 20 hours with the charging case.

Photo: Snap

Demos shown at a Los Angeles event included turn-by-turn directions laid over the street, conversation subtitles in 60 languages, a virtual 115-inch screen for HBO Max, YouTube, and Spotify, and wireless desktop workspace pairing. Specs Intelligence is meant to brief a day, prep a meeting, or buy tickets after asking for confirmation. An iOS preview is available now in the U.S. for users 18 and older. A fuller Mac experience is invitation-only. Snap says the system does not use facial recognition, does not record continuously, and is not used to train models or target ads.

Photo: Snap

A U.S. Connected Case bundle is $2,395. The case adds four extra charges and a cellular hotspot through Verizon. Plans start at $10 a month for Verizon customers and $20 a month for everyone else. Verizon will let people try Specs at select stores and offer 36-month financing. Snap named Orange in France and EE in the United Kingdom as later carrier partners. The glasses remain a high-price, first-run product, not a mass Snapchat accessory.

Photo: Snap