Earlier today at AWE 2026, Snap's CEO Evan Spiegel introduced the new Specs augmented reality smart glasses. Unlike most AR smart glasses, the Specs aren't tethered to a compute puck, like Xreal Auras, or have a limited feature set like the Ray-Ban Meta AI glasses. These glasses are meant to have it all.
In the last couple of years, Tom's Guide writers have had a chance to actually wear and test out developer versions of the Snap Specs. The result in the run-up to the official launch was a chunky, clunky, and at times very hot device that sat on your face like a pair of poorly designed goggles.
How do the Specs look?
Part of Snap's Specs announcement included a new global campaign the company calls Specs Visionary. It involves celebrities like Jack Harlow, Imogen Heap, Kaia Gerber, Hoyeon and Jimmy Butler "exploring how Specs can unlcok new forms of creativity, expression, learning, and play." What that entails was left vague and Snap promised more information later this year.
However, it also gives us a small look at how these AR glasses look on person. Notably, compared to the developer glasses we tried, the Specs do look much slimmer, especially around the lenses.
However, I recall the arms of the glasses as thick and in some cases very squishy on the ears like this:
Notably, the arms are hidden underneath hair or by front-facing shots of the glasses. Some standalone press images reveal arms that are still quite large.
One of the sticking points with smart glasses as a whole is their lack of fashionable looks. It's quite obvious when you're wearing display glasses or AR glasses. They're not really something you want to wear day to day, though that's improving with things like Meta's Ray-Bans or the recently announced Samsung "Intelligent Eyewear" lenses that actually look like something you could snag at LensCrafters.
A "Developer reaction" video gives us a better look at how these things look on normal person, and honestly, still pretty thick.
My worry is that comfort and heat will be a problem. As mentioned, those chunky arms can squish your ears and they're definitely not as svelte as other glasses.
I found in my testing sessions that the developer specs got pretty hot especially near the temple. We won't know if that's alleviated until we get more hands-on time with the public version of Specs, but it's something I'll be keeping an eye on.
That said, we've been impressed by the Snap OS in our previews and that could be the true selling factor that makes these glasses worth a look. But eating is presentation, as they say.
Oh, there's also the astronomical $2,195 Apple Vision Pro-esque asking price.
How to snag a pair
If you're interested in Snap's Specs you can pre-order a pair now at specs.com. Be warned that they don't come for cheap. For the pre-order you need to put down a $200 refundable deposit — followed by that astronomical cost at launch.
Snap says that the Specs should start shipping "this fall" in the US, UK and France.
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