Snapchat parent Snap Inc. introduced the fifth generation of its augmented reality glasses as well as a host of other enhancements aimed at making it more competitive with TikTok and Instagram.
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The news came during the sixth edition of the company’s annual Partner Summit, held at its L.A. headquarters and streamed online.
Along with a number of updates to existing product features, Snap said it is finishing tests of a significant redesign of the Snapchat app, reducing its previous five separate sections to three.
While Snap says it attracts 850 million global users, it has seen its stock price drop 40% in 2024 to date amid intense competition from platforms with far larger user bases. Advertisers have also had mixed feedback, and CEO Evan Spiegel has signaled a new push to reverse ad revenue declines by targeting smaller advertisers.
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Creator-driven content has been an increasing focus for Snap, a shift from a pricier effort in previous years to engage with top-tier entertainment outlets. (Spotify and YouTube have evolved in similar fashion.) The number of creators posting publicly has more than tripled over the past year, the company announced at the summit. Creators have racked up trillions of views on the Snaps in their Stories, and with more than 500 million people watching Spotlight videos. Every day, the company says, there are nearly 15 billion interactions between creators and their fans on Snapchat.
After kicking off the event, Spiegel returned to the stage toward the end to make the case for the longstanding investment in Spectacles. He spoke to why his company has continued slogging away on AR glasses since the first version was dispensed from signature yellow vending machines in 2016. His remarks took a thinly veiled shot at bigger rivals Meta and Apple, each of which has made bets on virtual reality headsets.
Unlike Spectacles, Spiegel said, “VR headsets are like sticking a laptop to your face. They’re isolating, make you feel motion sick, they’re really heavy, and they can be uncomfortable.” AR glasses, by contrast, “allow you to see the real world through Lenses,” he said, alluding to Snap’s proprietary tech. “They allow you to share experiences together with your friends and family, and they’re lightweight and wearable. But making augmented reality glasses is really hard. And we know that the industry is littered with companies that have tried and we’ve been working for a really long time on these.”
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