Snap's Next Smart Glasses Get A Major Os Overhaul To Rival Meta Ray-bans

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ZDNET's cardinal takeaways

• Snap has made AR smartglasses pinch in-lens displays for years.
• Next year, nan institution will merchandise a lightweight version.
• Snap has launched Snap OS 2.0, which brings new, adjuvant features.

Do you retrieve when, not excessively agelong ago, everyone was convinced nan metaverse was nan adjacent large thing? We are astatine a akin inflection constituent pinch smartglasses, pinch each institution gearing up to merchandise its ain AI-smart wearable. Snap is successful a unsocial position, arsenic it has been releasing wearables for years, and it is now gearing up to compete pinch nan Metas of nan world.

Also: Meta wears Prada? Why its next-gen AR glasses mightiness out-style nan Ray-Bans

On Wednesday, Snap unveiled Snap OS 2.0, nan operating strategy underlying its Spectacles, its AR glasses only disposable to developers. The caller operating strategy unlocks adjuvant experiences that make activities for illustration browsing nan internet, consuming, and sharing contented easier. The champion part? The nationalist will beryllium capable to acquisition Snap OS 2.0, its caller lightweight smartglasses, soon.

Snap OS 2.0

The operating strategy underlying smartglasses is astir arsenic important arsenic nan hardware, arsenic it ensures users tin get nan astir retired of their smartglasses experience. With Snap OS 2.0, nan institution is improving really users acquisition nan AR layer, starting pinch a revamped browsing experience.

The Spectacles Browser was overhauled pinch a caller minimalist design, faster loading speed, and optimized powerfulness usage for a much intuitive and elemental browsing experience. It besides features a caller location surface pinch widgets and bookmarks, an updated toolbar that lets users type aliases speak a website URL, and a caller action that lets users resize their model to a preferred facet ratio, for illustration connected a laptop. It besides includes WebXR support truthful users tin entree AR experiences from immoderate WebXR-enabled website.

Also: 5 Meta Ray-Ban upgrades that person maine genuinely hyped for September 17

The caller Spotlight Lens allows users to overlay each of their favourite contented onto their glasses, including vertical video and comments. Users tin anchor nan contented via Spotlight successful 1 spot aliases person it travel them around, depending connected what is much convenient for nan activity they are partaking in.

Lastly, if you are willing successful sharing content, Snap unveiled a caller Gallery Lens that makes it easier to replay your Spectacles' contented captures. Users tin play them successful a caller interactive layout successful which they tin scroll done a curving carousel, zoom successful for much detail, and upload them consecutive to their Snapchat Story. A caller Travel Mode allows users to return nan experiences everyplace they are, moreover connected nan move.

Also: I tried smart glasses pinch a built-in display, and they hit my Meta Ray-Bans successful cardinal ways

Of course, nan caller Lenses supra are only immoderate of nan ones offered connected nan Spectacles, arsenic hundreds of developers person been creating their ain Lenses for Spectacles. Snap besides has different nosy ones to try, specified arsenic Finger Paint, Chess, and Imagine Together.

Why should you care?

While nan 5th procreation of Spectacles, released successful 2024, was only disposable to developers, Snap will publically motorboat Specs successful 2026. Specs are meant to beryllium a lighter return connected their Spectacles, powered by Snapdragon.

I had nan opportunity to effort nan fifth-generation type myself, and I was very impressed pinch nan realistic AR experience, vivid colors successful nan displays, and really good they were anchored successful nan three-dimensional world astir me. My biggest rumor was how dense nan glasses were. The caller shape facet will let them to amended compete pinch nan increasing number of AI-smartglasses connected nan market, including nan Meta Ray-Bans, which person seen tons of liking from consumers. To champion compete, nan glasses will besides person to connection competitory experiences, which is why nan Snap OS 2.0 upgrades matter.

Also: These ultra-thin AI glasses make nan Meta Ray-Bans look outdated (with 3X nan battery)

Meta is slated to merchandise caller glasses itself astatine Meta Connect adjacent week. The rumors see a caller collaboration pinch Prada, and moreover smartglasses pinch in-lens displays -- a return connected AI smartglasses nan institution has yet to explore.