During the recent earnings call, Snap CEO Evan Spiegel evaded inquiries from investors about the pre-order interest for the highly anticipated Specs smart glasses, which are set to launch in September.
Spiegel stated, “What we’re hearing is that people are eager to try Specs. At a price point of $2,195, it’s clearly a significant investment. Developers and individuals familiar with the platform appreciate the substantial technical advancements made this generation. For the general public, hands-on experience will be crucial, and our upcoming launch event will mark the beginning of their consumer journey.”
Specs were revealed in June after over ten years of development. Priced at $2,195, they are much more expensive than Meta’s Ray-Ban smart glasses, which start around $350, yet less costly than Apple’s Vision Pro, which is priced at $3,500.
Investors also challenged Spiegel on Snap’s financial strategy, questioning its independence in the market and its competitive stance against giants like Apple, Meta, and Alphabet.
Spiegel affirmed that Snap sees a significant long-term opportunity in creating the next computing platform.
“Many might not yet realize how challenging it is to technically execute this product, especially since Specs are relatively new and we are the first mover in this segment,” Spiegel explained. “In contrast, when we entered the social media market, we were late to the game, facing established platforms like Facebook and Instagram, which necessitated innovation for growth. Our unique position now is that we hold the advantage of being a first mover, aligning with our innovative strengths.”
Regarding product-market fit, Spiegel suggested that widespread consumer acceptance might not occur until the end of the decade.
“Factors like weight and cost need to decrease for significant unit sales to materialize. Still, we possess a strong advantage as developers have been actively creating on the Specs platform for several years now.”
