When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Heres how it works.
Its AR glasses are available to developers today for a $99-a-month subscription.
The idea is that theyll use this time and Snap Studios to build AR experiences on Snap OS.
(Image credit: Future)
And the timeline for their delivery is 2027, if we’re lucky.
So, Snap Spectacles gets a big atta boy for dashing out of the gate.
This is not to say that Spectacles are anything less than exciting and entertaining.
(Image credit: Future)
I wore a pair for roughly 20 minutes and thoroughly enjoyed it.
Before we get into those experiences, lets dig into the gritty Spectacle 5 details.
A pair of Qualcomm Snapdragon chips power them, though Snap wont say which ones.
(Image credit: Future)
Throughout my experience, I noticed that the AR effects stopped well short of my peripheral vision.
Even so, I was impressed with the various experiences.
To wear Snap Spectacles, you run through a brief in-app check of your pupillary distance using an iPhone.
(Image credit: Future)
One of the Snap reps held his phone in front of my face.
Hand tracking is critical because thats how youll control Spectacles' Snap OS interface.
This is easy to do and quite entertaining.
(Image credit: Future)
I intuitively grabbed and squished each one.
Next, a cute jellyfish appeared.
I grabbed it, squished it, and shook it around.
(Image credit: Future)
I then pinched on both sides of the virtual Cnidaria and pulled to make it larger.
When I let go, the jellyfish floated away.
The menu is in the palm of your hand, literally.
If you turn your palm up and look at it, the menu appears.
When I flipped over my hand, a control panel appeared on the back of it.
Larger menu options floated in front of my face.
We used a drawing app to create wild 3D designs all around the room.
I also played a virtual album by selecting a song and dropping a red platter on a turntable.
Perhaps the most impressive demonstration was the piano lesson.
It started slow and then labeled keys floated toward the keyboard and my fingers as I tapped each key.
This may be one of the best AR use cases I have ever seen.
Snap will, of course, leverage core Snapchat features, including in-app video calls.
In our demo, we used Snapchat to call someone wearing Snap Spectacles.
She could also see the virtual arrows we dropped in front of her to guide her journey.
That could come in handy when a friend is lost and needs quick directions to your place.
(Image credit: Future)
I can already see the potential and am certain Snap Studio developers are inspired by the possibilities.
You might also like
(Image credit: Future)
(Image credit: Future)
