I went hands-on with Snap's new smart glasses - they're no Meta Ray-Bans (yet)

ZDNET's key takeaways

• Snap is the latest tech company to reveal its own smart glasses, called "Spectacles.".
• Currently in development, the developer version I tested gives us a few hints at what the consumer product could look like.
• Snap says they will release to the public later this year.

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These days, it seems like every tech company is unveiling its own pair of smart glasses to not be left behind in the edge computing rat race. The latest? Snap, the company behind the Snapchat app, has been hard at work on what it's calling Spectacles, with a rollout slated for this year.

While the details for Snap's consumer Spectacles are sparse, its developer-focused smart glasses can give us a few hints at what we can expect in a mainstream Snap smart glass pair. 

Also: Snap's latest Specs AI updates prove that it's taking smart glasses seriously (but in a different way)

I tried out Snap's developer smart glasses to familiarize myself with the technology and get a glimpse at what's in store. Although they're for developers, the registration model is open to anyone. 

My first impression 

The first thing I thought: "these things are chunky." They reminded me of the 3D glasses I'd wear while watching a movie theater movie a decade ago... if those glasses weren't made of paper and were heavier. 

Whereas other smart glasses could pass for a "regular" pair, the Snap Specs stand out. The heft of these glasses was initially apparent and increasingly overbearing by the end of my demo. My ears tired of holding the glasses up, and there were a few times when the glasses drooped from my ear. 

Also: I wore smart glasses with xMEMS speakers and cooling fans - and wished my Ray-Bans had the same

The wearability issues will (hopefully) be addressed by the time the consumer Specs arrive, as Snap says it's improving the size, weight, fit, feel, and premium finish of the consumer glasses. It also says that the consumer smart glasses will be more inspired by eyewear than the developer ones. 

Snap's Lenses

The glasses have different apps, which it calls "Lenses." I got to try out a few ]during my demo -- some operated smoothly and others ran into a few issues. 

The "Teleport" Lens, for example, takes a photo of your environment and uses generative AI to stylize it. Then it creates a static "portal" that other glasses wearers can look into that remains at that physical location. The idea is to go back to that very spot and look into the portal, like imagining a new world. While cool, I wish it were more immersive.

Also: I tested Meta Ray-Ban Display alternatives, and these are better in several ways for less money

Then I tried Spatial Tips, a feature that provides information about your environment using muliti-modal AI. My experience was mostly helpful, with a few hiccups. While staring at a plate of various fruit, for example, it identified all of them as passionfruit. In other instance, however, it correctly identified an olive tree in the office.

I also tried the Spec's Translation Lens, which translates over 30 languages to English and offers up translations via subtitles in your lenses. I tested it in Spanish and it got the basics, but some words weren't perfectly translated. For example, instead of translating "tengo hambre" to "I'm hungry," the Specs presented the words as "tango ombre". 

What I'd like to see in Snap's next pair of AR glasses 

There's lots of talk of smart glasses replacing our laptops or phones, but we're not quite there yet. If Snap wants these glasses to replace computers, it will need to do something about its keyboard, which was challenging to use and resulted in me repeatedly typing the wrong keys. 

Also: I tried the best XR display glasses right now - the winning pair was not the most expensive

I can imagine that these glasses could be helpful for certain shopping experiences that leverage AR, but I wasn't able to get the demo that feature. Plus, most consumers probably wouldn't buy a pair of smart glasses just to visualize clothes on.

Instead, Snap tells me the glasses are ideal for travel and staying connected when using a computer is too clunky. The current issue, though, is that they're too clunky to wear. After just a 30 minute demo, I was ready to take them off. And at 45 minutes, the battery is all but dead. 

ZDNET's key takeaways 

I'm very curious about Snap's next pair of glasses. There are a some issues it will have to solve before it can launch a usable pair of smart glasses to the public, and it can get there by seriously improving the fit and physical form, fixing the overall hand-to-display connection, and polishing the different Lens experiences.