Late last night, we published my video about trying Snap’s Specs AR glasses at the company’s headquarters. The hardware, which costs $2,195, is interesting, but the experience of actually using them was rather finicky. Despite yesterday’s splashy launch event, the Specs also don’t yet have a firm release date beyond sometime this fall.
Check out my full article for more.
Spiegel just wrapped us up. I got to try the Specs, check out my story!
Heap is a Specs “visionary” (a celebrity partner), and she’s interacting with digital elements she can see in the Specs to make a song in real-time. It’s all very sci-fi.
Spiegel is trying it out now. He’s been flipping through a virtual book to try out different experiences, and got a letter from a virtual owl that was “sitting” on his arm. He’s also doing a Wingardium Leviosa spell.
Snap has spent half a decade working toward its first consumer pair of AR glasses. They’re finally here — and they’re bold as can be.
The case, available as part of a bundle for $2,395 (a $200 increase over the Specs on their own), gives you an option to more easily get internet while wearing the Specs. In the US, Snap is working with Verizon to offer data plans and financing options.
After a brief interlude about how Specs can work in enterprise environments, Spiegel is pitching how Specs can help you learn things. Spiegel is down a live demo showing himself practicing drawing. He’s using a real pen to trace a digital alien mascot that’s layered over a real piece of paper.
I usually can’t see his eyes — they’re hidden behind the digital content he’s looking at.
Right now, doing a live demo where he’s trying to watch a YouTube video in a browser on the Specs, and it’s not working. He’s starting all the way over. (It eventually worked.)
We’ll see how this goes! Right now, he’s showing some menus, including quick access items that he pulled up by looking at his palm.
He’s giving an overview of the Specs AR glasses, which were initially announced in June. He says we’ll get live demos.
Made a friend walking in the door. I should have asked what he’s looking at.
The show starts at 7PM ET, and I’m planning to post anything interesting out of it. You can catch a livestream on Snap’s website.
It would have been the next bellwether in the group of cases tried in a Los Angeles state court. In the first, Meta and YouTube were ordered to pay $6 million total. After settling with TikTok, the teen’s lawyer told The New York Times, she wanted to “resume her life.”
[The New York Times]
That’s up from 932 million a year ago, according to Snap’s latest earnings report. The company also says its revenue is up 19 percent year-over-year, as it prepares to launch its $2,195 augmented-reality glasses next month.
“As low-quality, repetitive, AI-generated content becomes increasingly common across the internet, we want Spotlight to remain a place where people can discover authentic creativity from real people,” Snap says.
Content that’s been “enhanced or edited using Snapchat’s AI creative tools” may still be recommended, and they include “transparency indicators.”
”Stop the Slop!” says CEO Evan Spiegel. “We’re keeping it real on Spotlight.”
Update: Added Spiegel’s post.
[Snap Inc.]
The event, taking place on September 16th at 7PM ET, will be livestreamed.
Snap announced the design for the augmented reality glasses — and their eye-watering $2,195 price — in June, but it’s unclear if anyone can look cool wearing them. (They seem especially heavy on the ears.)
Kids aged 13 to 15 will only be able to create, save, and post Spotlight videos and Stories “on a dedicated profile that is visible only to their mutually accepted friends,” Snap announced on Wednesday. These more private profiles also won’t show metrics like favorite counts.
Internal documents, which were disclosed as part of a wave of child safety lawsuits filed by school districts across the US, showed:
Snapchat sent phone alerts to adolescents during school hours, urging them to share what was going on in their classrooms.
Meta paid “teen ambassadors” to promote Instagram and hand out swag to their friends at school.
TikTok gave the National PTA millions of dollars, in part to throw school events about online safety and provide favorable comments to journalists.
In its Q1 2026 investor letter, it advised analysts not to expect any contribution from Perplexity in its revenue guidance. The latter was supposed to have powered Snap’s AI search, but alas. The letter also hinted at more Specs news in June, because “intelligent eyewear” is still very much on the company’s agenda.
[s25.q4cdn.com]
The formal investigation opened by the European Commission will focus on five areas: age assurance, default account settings, reporting of illegal content, dissemination of prohibited products, and the grooming and recruitment of children for criminal activities. These DSA probes can take a while, and no timeline has been provided.
[European Commission - European Commission]
Snap announced today that its subscriber count grew 71 percent year-over-year in Q4 2025. Its subscription offerings, including Snapchat Plus, Lens Plus, Snapchat Premium, and Memories storage plans, are projected to earn $1 billion in annual revenue. Snapchat creators will also soon be able to offer creator subscriptions to other users.
Starting on February 23rd, Snapchat’s 946 million daily active users will be able to subscribe to specific creators in exchange for ad-free viewing of that creator’s stories, priority replies, and access to exclusive content, similar to subscriptions on TikTok, Instagram, YouTube, and Facebook. It’s launching first with a limited group of creators, including Skai Jackson and Jeremiah Brown, as reported by TechCrunch.
Instead of just notifying your friends or family members when you safely return home, Snapchat now allows you to send recurring alerts when you reach other locations you frequent, like a class or workplace.
The app began restricting access to users under 16 in compliance with Australia’s Social Media Minimum Age law. Though Snapchat says it will continue complying with the regulation, it argues that app store-level age verification is a better solution, helping to “ensure that young people encounter appropriate protections no matter where they go online.”
It follows Snap in reaching an agreement to resolve the first of several cases slated to go to trial this year about social media’s alleged harm to users, an attorney for the 19-year-old plaintiff confirmed. That leaves Meta and YouTube as defendants in the case going to jury selection today.
Just days after settling a social media addiction lawsuit, Snap is giving parents tools to see how much time their kids are spending in Snapchat, including how that time breaks down between different parts of the app. They’ll also get new insights into how kids know any new friends they add.
