The news: Snap introduced Snap OS 2.0, the software powering its AR Spectacles on Monday. The update brings a native browser with WebXR support with a customizable home screen and widgets, bookmarks, and multitasking features like window resizing.
Key features:
- Spotlight anchors videos in a user’s view.
- Gallery organizes captured content for sharing.
- Travel Mode stabilizes augmented reality (AR) experiences on the go.
A consumer launch of Spectacles is planned for 2026; the developer edition was released last year.
Why it matters: Snap is doubling down on AR as Meta, Amazon, and TikTok ramp up their own wearable ambitions. The launch came just days before today’s Meta Connect conference as Snap works to stay visible in a crowded space.
Spectacles represent both risk and opportunity for the company. Snap has invested more than $3 billion in AR over 11 years and is reportedly considering outside funding to scale its hardware efforts.
There’s a lot riding on Snap’s AR glasses in light of a lukewarm Q2 that suffered from ad glitches and slow Gen Alpha adoption.
Market outlook: Smart glasses are a small but growing slice of the wearables market. Shipments are projected to rise from 2.6 million units in 2024 to 6.4 million by 2028, per IDC.
That 146% growth outpaces other categories like smartwatches (up just 4%) and earwear (up 16%). This acceleration suggests that consumer appetite for immersive, hands-free experiences is real, even if adoption is starting from a low base.
The challenge: Incremental software development may not be enough to attract users to Snap’s AR business, especially if competition is innovating more aggressively.
Snap is racing to prove AR glasses can be more than niche gadgets. OS 2.0 upgrades make Spectacles more versatile, but hardware success will hinge on building daily-use behaviors—watching video hands-free, multitasking, and capturing content frictionlessly.
Our take: For marketers, the release signals that vertical, immersive formats will move off the phone and into ambient spaces. Brands should test AR-ready creative now, as early adopters of wearable platforms will shape consumer expectations when Snap, Meta, and Amazon push glasses into the mainstream.