New Snap’s AR Spectacles device for developers costs $1200 a year

Snapchat creator Snap has announced a new version of its Spectacles, which will be available for developers only.

It’s been eight years since Snap announced the first version of Spectacles. Back then, though, they were completely different. They were made for consumers and featured a camera to capture videos without the augmented reality (AR) experience.

In 2021, the company released the fourth version of Spectacles, which, for the first time, featured a display for real-time AR content and was made for developers only.

Snap's new version of spectacles, announced at its annual Partner Summit conference on Tuesday, builds on the previous model and makes some improvements.

Spectacles will run on Snap OS, a new operating system that can be navigated with voice or hand movements. Two Qualcomm Snapdragon processors provide Spectacles with power and speed.

The view is projected on Liquid Crystal on Silicon micro-projectors. According to the company, the Optical Engine delivers a 46-degree diagonal field of view with a 37 pixel-per-degree resolution, which is similar to watching content on a 100-inch display 10 feet away.

Snap underlines that the new version of AR glasses weighs 226g, which is less than half that of a VR headset. However, the glasses can deliver only up to 45 minutes of continuous video standalone runtime, compared to an average of 2-3 hours active use on a VR device.

Developers who want to build apps for the new spectacles must join the Spectacles Developer Program in the US. This program costs $99 per month with a one-year commitment. A subscription provides access to Spectacles and includes Snap support.

Snap’s new Spectacles Interaction Kit allows apps to be built. The company says the latest version of Lens Studio, which allows developers to build augmented reality experiences called “lenses,” now supports lenses with TypeScript and JavaScript.

In addition, Snap is bringing the power of cloud-hosted multimodal AI models to its Spectacles through a new partnership with OpenAI.

Next week, Meta is expected to announce the first version of its AR glasses. Currently, the company is selling its smart glasses for consumers made together with EssilorLuxottica.

Meta-Ray Ban glasses have AI integration, can answer queries, and get recommendations. They currently cost $300.