SPS 2024 | Introducing New Spectacles and Snap OS: The Next Frontier of AR Glasses

Today we’re introducing the fifth generation of Spectacles, our new see-through, standalone AR glasses that enable you to use Lenses and experience the world together with friends, in totally new ways. Spectacles are powered by Snap OS, our brand-new and groundbreaking operating system designed to enhance how people naturally interact with the world. Spectacles are available starting today as part of our Spectacles Developer Program.

Spectacles also work seamlessly with your mobile device. Through the new Spectacles app, you can use your phone as a custom game controller with Lenses, launch Spectator Mode so friends without Spectacles can follow along, mirror your phone screen, and more.

Cutting Edge Hardware for Spectacular Software

Spectacles are the result of a decade of research and development to introduce hardware that breaks the bounds of screens and brings people together in the real world. Spectacles pack incredible technology into AR glasses that weigh less than half the weight of a typical VR headset at only 226 grams. They are equipped with four cameras that power the Snap Spatial Engine and enable seamless hand tracking.

The Optical Engine has been designed and built from the ground up here at Snap and leverages our proprietary technology to enable a see-through AR display.

Spectacles’ impressively small, highly capable Liquid Crystal on Silicon (LCoS) micro-projectors create vivid, sharp images.

Our waveguides make it possible to see the images created by the LCoS projector, without the need for lengthy calibrations or custom fittings. Each advanced waveguide has billions of nanostructures that move light into your field of view to combine Snap OS with the real world.

The Optical Engine delivers a 46 degree diagonal field of view with a 37 pixel-per-degree resolution – similar to a 100 inch display just 10 feet away. Spectacles also tint automatically based on your environment’s lighting so visuals are vibrant, indoors or outdoors - even in direct sunlight.

Spectacles are powered by our dual system-on-a-chip architecture. With two Snapdragon processors from Qualcomm, this infrastructure splits the compute workload across the two processors. Our design enables more immersive experiences while reducing power consumption and works alongside titanium vapor chambers to improve heat dissipation. Spectacles deliver up to 45 minutes of continuous standalone runtime.

Snap OS: A Groundbreaking Operating System Built on Natural Interactions

Snap OS brings Spectacles to life through an intuitive interface and capabilities that reflect how people naturally interact with the world. You can easily navigate Snap OS with your hands and voice – and the main menu is always in the palm of your hand.

The Snap Spatial Engine understands the world around you so that Lenses appear realistically in three dimensions. An astounding 13 millisecond motion-to-photon latency renders Lenses with incredible accuracy, integrating them naturally into your environment.

Lenses are built to be shared. Snap OS makes it easy for developers to build shared experiences for friends and family to use together.