I wore Snap’s $2,200 smart glasses

Snap invited reporters to try the Specs, its first consumer AR glasses, which the company intends to sell for $2,195. The frames are large and intentionally conspicuous; Snap says the hardware is integrated so the glasses function as a standalone computer and do not need to be tethered to a phone, puck, or external battery. The company has been developing AR glasses for more than half a decade and previously shipped two generations only to select developers.

In a demo, the Specs showed off experiences that felt notably social: two people wearing the glasses could manipulate the same virtual objects on a shared real-world surface. The device uses waveguide displays that Snap says can show 16 million colors and places visuals in both lenses to create a more convincing AR effect than single-screen designs. Hand tracking enables pinch-and-drag gestures for manipulating items, and a snap gesture can trigger the Snapchat camera.

The hands-on revealed several practical limitations. The central placement of the AR imagery gives the Specs a 51-degree field of view, which caused digital elements to slip out of sight and forced users to move their heads to maintain visuals. Gesture controls were described as finicky, often requiring repeated attempts or precise placement to register. Bright sunlight made the AR graphics harder to see, and a built-in AI assistant sometimes responded slowly in testing — one voice command to open YouTube search results took around 15 seconds to produce results.

Beyond technical performance, the reviewer noted social frictions: the glasses play audio through onboard speakers that people nearby could not hear, allowing a wearer to watch and listen to media while maintaining eye contact, which felt awkward during an in-person demo. Comfort-wise, the Specs were heavier and chunkier than typical prescription frames but lighter than a full VR headset and remained stable during head movement; the reviewer did not assess long-term comfort over a full battery cycle. Overall, the device demonstrated promising shared-AR interactions but left questions about readiness for broad consumer use.