Follow ZDNET: Add us as a favorite source On Google.
These days, it seems like every tech company is unveiling its own smart glasses to not be left behind in the edge computing rat race. latest? Snap, the company behind snapchat The app is working hard on its name GlassesWith rollout planned for this year.
While details on Snap’s consumer spectrum are sparse, its developer-focused smart glasses may give us some hints as to what we can expect in a mainstream Snap smart glasses pair.
Plus: Snap’s latest specs AI updates prove it’s taking smart glasses seriously (but in a different way)
I tried out Snap’s developer smart glasses to get acquainted with the technology and get a glimpse of what’s in store. Although they are for developers, the registration model is open to anyone.
my first impression
First thing I thought: “These things are thick.” They reminded me of the 3D glasses I used to wear while watching movies in a movie theater a decade ago… if those glasses weren’t made of paper and were heavy.
While other smart glasses could pass for a “regular” pair, the Snap specs stand out. The weight of these glasses was apparent early on and grew even more so by the end of my demo. My ears got tired while keeping the glasses on and there were many times when the glasses hung from my ears.
Also: I wore smart glasses with xMEMS speakers and a cooling fan — and wished my Ray-Bans did too
The wear issues will (hopefully) be resolved by the time consumer glasses arrive, as Snap says it’s improving the size, weight, fit, feel, and premium finish of consumer glasses. It also said that consumer smart glasses will be more motivated than developer glasses.
snap lens
The glasses have different apps, which they call “lenses.” I got a chance to try out a few during my demo – some operated smoothly and others had some issues.
For example, the “Teleport” lens takes a photo of your environment and uses generative AI to stylize it. This then creates a stable “portal” through which other glasses wearers can view the remains in that physical location. The idea is to go back to the same location and look at the portal, as if imagining a new world. While great, I wish it was more in-depth.
Also: I tested Meta Ray-Ban display alternatives, and these are better in many ways for less money
Then I tried Spatial Tips, a feature that provides information about your environment using multi-modal AI. My experience was mostly helpful, with a few hiccups. For example, when staring at a plate of different fruits, it identified them all as passionfruit. However, in another example, it correctly identified an olive tree in the office.
I also tried Speck Translation Lens, which translates over 30 languages into English and provides translation via subtitles in your Lens. I tested it in Spanish and it got the basics, but some words didn’t translate perfectly. For example, instead of “Tango hambre” being translated as “I’m hungry”, Specs rendered the words as “Tango ombre”.
What I’d like to see in Snap’s next AR glasses
There’s a lot of talk about smart glasses replacing our laptops or phones, but we’re not quite there yet. If Snap wants these glasses to replace computers, it’s going to have to do something about its keyboard, which was challenging to use and resulted in me repeatedly typing the wrong keys.
Also: The best XR display glasses I just tried — the winning pair wasn’t the most expensive
I can imagine that these glasses could be helpful for some shopping experiences that take advantage of AR, but I wasn’t able to get a demo of that feature. Plus, most consumers probably won’t buy a pair of smart glasses just to visualize clothes.
Instead, Snap tells me the glasses are ideal for travel and staying connected when using a computer is too difficult. However, the current issue is that they are very ugly to wear. After only a 30-minute demo, I was ready to take them off. And within 45 minutes, the battery was almost drained.
ZDNET Highlights
I am very curious about it snap’s next glasses. It needs to resolve a few issues before it can launch a pair of useful smart glasses to the masses, and it can get there by seriously improving the fit and physical form, fine-tuning the overall hand-display connection, and polishing different lens experiences.
