Snap CEO Evan Spiegel avoided answering specific questions about preorder demand for the company’s long-awaited Specs smart glasses during the Q2 earnings call, deflecting investor curiosity just weeks before the device’s September launch event. The wearable, which costs $2,195, is significantly pricier than most Meta Ray-Ban smart glasses but cheaper than Apple’s Vision Pro.
Spiegel told investors they should wait until the launch event to see consumer interest. “What we’re hearing from folks is really that they want to try Specs,” Spiegel said. “It’s obviously a high consideration purchase at $2,195.” He explained that developers understand the technical leaps made with this generation, but the broader public needs to go hands-on to understand the product.
The company unveiled Specs in June after spending more than a decade developing the device. Investors pressed Spiegel on why he believes the strategy is financially viable for a company of Snap’s size, why it chose to go it alone rather than partner with another company, and what gives him confidence that the company can compete with Apple, Meta, and Alphabet.
Spiegel responded that Snap believes the long-term opportunity to develop the next computing platform is “enormous.” He noted that because Specs are new and Snap is the first mover in this category, some investors might not yet understand how difficult the product is to execute from a technical perspective. “When we started innovating in the social space, we were a late entrant,” Spiegel said. “So, most of the apps at the time, whether it was Facebook or Instagram or Twitter, were already in existence, and we had to really innovate to continue to grow.”
Spiegel pointed out that being a first mover plays to Snap’s strengths as an innovator. He also discussed the timeline for mass-market adoption, saying it will likely be closer to the end of the decade before the company sees significant unit volume. “I think things, for example, like weight and cost are going to have to come down to see you know unit volumes really meaningfully pick up,” Spiegel said.
Despite the high price point and technical challenges, Spiegel emphasized that the company has an advantage because developers have been building on the Specs platform for several years. Snapchat relies heavily on this developer ecosystem for its augmented reality features.
The high price tag and heavy weight of the device could limit its appeal to a broader audience. The AI industry faces similar skepticism regarding utility versus cost. Spiegel acknowledged these hurdles but remained focused on the product’s potential to redefine social interaction.
