Snap and Specs Inc.: Evan Spiegel Bets Everything on Augmented Reality

Snap no longer wants to be just an app on your smartphone that lives by Apple's or Google's rules. The company has made a decisive move and created Specs Inc. — a separate division that will be completely focused on releasing the first full-fledged consumer AR glasses. If Spectacles were previously more of a fun accessory for recording short videos, then the upcoming novelty claims to be a full-fledged computer on your face. Evan Spiegel has long hinted that Snap's future is inextricably linked to augmented reality, and the creation of a subsidiary confirms the seriousness of these intentions.

Let's recall the context. Snap began experimenting with wearable devices back in 2016. Those first glasses with yellow circles around the cameras looked like a toy, but they were an important test. Since then, we've seen several iterations, including a developer version with real AR displays that were given only to select content creators. The problem was that the hardware always lagged behind ambitions: the glasses either overheated quickly, or worked for only thirty minutes, or looked too bulky for everyday wear. Now, apparently, the technological stack has finally caught up with Spiegel's vision.

Separating Specs Inc. into a separate structure is also a shrewd business move. It allows attracting targeted investments specifically for the augmented reality direction, without mixing them with the advertising revenue of the main messenger. Moreover, it minimizes risks for the main company if the hardware launch turns out to be financially painful. We've already seen how Meta spent tens of billions on its Reality Labs division, causing investor discontent. Snap clearly wants to play more subtly, maintaining the agility of a small and bold team within a corporate giant.

The augmented reality market right now looks like a powder keg. Apple has already released Vision Pro, showing what a "spatial computer" looks like, but it's still a heavy headset for the home. Meta is preparing its Orion glasses, which promise to be a breakthrough in the form factor of ordinary frames. Snap in this race occupies a unique position: they have a huge loyal youth base that is already used to interacting with the world through AR filters. For them, the transition from a phone screen to eyeglass lenses could be a natural step, not a leap into the unknown.

The main intrigue lies in what exactly Snap will show by the end of this year. Will they be able to solve the problem of battery life and weight while maintaining a stylish appearance? The glasses need to be light enough that you want to wear them all day, and smart enough to justify their existence. If Specs Inc. succeeds with this task, we will witness the birth of a new platform that could displace smartphones in their current form. Otherwise, Snap risks remaining a one-trick pony, squeezed by foreign operating systems.

Main point: Snap is going all-in, separating its hardware division from software. Will little Specs Inc. be able to outpace Apple on its own field?