Snap bets $2,195 on AR glasses to move past the smartphone

Snap CEO Evan Spiegel is betting that $2,195 augmented reality glasses can convince people to stop staring at phone screens. The company unveiled Specs on Tuesday, its first AR device for the general public.

"Almost 20 years since the launch of the iPhone, people are ready to think about computing differently," Spiegel told CNBC.

Meta has found some traction with its Ray-Ban Meta glasses, built with EssilorLuxottica, after years of VR struggles. Google showed off AI-powered glasses in May, developed with Samsung, Warby Parker and Gentle Monster, focused on audio. Spiegel dismissed audio-only glasses as "very lightweight glasses that really don't do much," adding they are "kind of like a phone accessory or an open-ear headphone."

Meta and Google have large digital ad businesses that fund hardware experiments. Snap has posted net losses every year since its 2017 IPO. In January, it created a subsidiary called Specs Inc. to house the AR glasses work.

Spiegel told investors the company is managing for the long term. He called the launch "an important step for investors in the sense that they'll see a lot of progress that they haven't yet seen before." His bet rests on the view that the smartphone era is fading. More people are "actually questioning their relationships with screens," Spiegel said, citing neck pain and the feeling of missing out on everyday moments.

VR remains a niche category. Apple's Vision Pro, starting at $3,500, has not become a hit. Meta scaled back its VR ambitions this year, converting its Horizon Worlds platform into a mobile app similar to Roblox. Spiegel said "there's certainly a lot of developers who are coming from the VR space or looking for more opportunity in augmented reality."

The new Specs are lighter than the developer-only version of Spectacles and have a larger display. Battery life is nearly four hours. The glasses include Bluetooth connectivity. Developers can build AI experiences using Anthropic's Claude Code and OpenAI's Codex.

Spiegel, a father of four boys, said he has been testing the glasses at home. He described playing laser tag and building Legos with his children.

The price is the biggest challenge. "This is like the worst time for any company to be launching any kind of premium product," said Jitesh Ubrani, a research manager for IDC. He added that Snap's core audience skews young, and "typically that audience can't afford to spend a lot."

Spiegel said the company plans to release parenting tools later this year. These tools will let parents share the Specs with teenagers using a limited set of Lenses and restrict certain operating system features.

Specs ship later this year in the U.S. and U.K. A $200 refundable deposit secures a pair. Investors will be watching whether Snap can turn its AR bet into revenue before the hardware investment drains further confidence.