Snap chief executive Evan Spiegel did not disclose preorder demand for the company’s $2,195 Specs augmented reality glasses when investors questioned him during its second-quarter earnings call. Instead, he said potential customers want to test the device in person before making what he described as a high-consideration purchase.
Snap began accepting preorders in June with a refundable $200 deposit. The company plans to provide a closer look at Specs during a consumer-focused event in Los Angeles on September 16, before shipments begin this fall in the United States, United Kingdom and France.
Customers May Need Hands-On Demonstrations
Spiegel said developers and people familiar with the platform understand the technical improvements in the latest generation. However, he expects hands-on demonstrations to play an important role in introducing Specs to a wider consumer audience.
The chief executive did not say how many preorders Snap had received or whether demand had met its expectations. His comments were made during Snap’s second-quarter results conference call.
Snap will begin its broader consumer campaign at the September 16 Specs event. The company is expected to demonstrate the glasses’ AI assistance, work tools, entertainment features and shared augmented reality experiences.
Specs Cost More Than Most Smart Glasses
Specs are priced significantly above most Meta and Ray-Ban smart glasses, which start at about $350. However, they cost less than Apple’s Vision Pro headset, which starts at $3,499.
Snap describes Specs as standalone augmented reality glasses that do not require a phone, external computer or separate processing device. They include see-through displays, cameras, hand tracking, spatial awareness and two Snapdragon processors.
The glasses offer a 51-degree field of view and up to four hours of battery life. A charging case can extend total usage to about 20 hours, according to Snap’s official product announcement.
Snap Defends Its Independent Hardware Strategy
Investors also questioned why a company of Snap’s size was developing the product independently instead of working with a larger hardware company. They asked how Snap expected to compete with Apple, Meta and Alphabet, which have greater financial and manufacturing resources.
Spiegel said Snap considers augmented reality a potential future computing platform and believes its position as an early developer gives it an advantage. The company has worked on glasses and related software for more than a decade, while developers have spent several years building applications for earlier versions of its hardware.
Spiegel acknowledged that Specs are not yet designed for broad consumer adoption. He said lower prices and lighter hardware would probably be necessary before sales volumes increased substantially, which he expects to happen closer to the end of the decade.
The company has not disclosed a sales target for the current generation. Spiegel said its existing developer community would help Snap build applications and test uses for the platform as the product reaches consumers.
Featured image credits: Steve Jennings via Wikimedia Commons
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