For more than a decade, some of the world\u2019s biggest technology companies have spent billions trying to put computers on people\u2019s faces\u2014to minimal success.<\/p>\n
But Snap<\/a> CEO Evan Spiegel revealed another bet on glasses in June, this time with a $2,195 pair of augmented-reality (AR) specs that he says could usher in a post-smartphone era.<\/p>\n After nearly 20 years, the iPhone has made consumers ready to think differently about computing, he told CNBC<\/a> at the time, arguing information can be displayed in a person\u2019s vision without them needing to pull out a phone to look down at a screen.<\/p>\n During Snap\u2019s Q2 2026 earnings call last month, Spiegel claimed<\/a> there has been a \u201chuge amount of interest\u201d in preorders for the new AR glasses, but gave no exact numbers.<\/p>\n It\u2019s not Snap\u2019s first effort at glasses, which haven\u2019t paid off. The company recorded<\/a> $39.9 million in Spectacles inventory-related charges in Q3 2017 as it wrote down unsold inventory from its first-gen camera glasses.\u00a0<\/p>\n But Spiegel said Snap\u2019s new Specs have features that make it desirable for businesses\u2014with the glasses operating like \u201ca computer, not a pair of smart glasses for taking photos.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cA large, private display makes it possible to stream content, cast a screen, open a whiteboard, or turn almost any place into a workspace,\u201d a press release<\/a> read, announcing the debut of the Snap Specs.<\/p>\n On Wednesday, Snap announced<\/a> partnerships with Nvidia<\/a>, Amazon<\/a> Web Services and Salesforce<\/a> to bring Specs into workplaces. According to Snap, Salesforce\u2019s Agentforce platform will be integrated into the glasses software, while Nvidia will provide AI capabilities to interpret visual environments. Amazon will provide an AI assistant that can respond to voice commands.<\/p>\n \u201cThey\u2019ve got an open-source XR AI platform that a number of businesses are already building on top of,\u201d Spiegel told CNBC on Wednesday. \u201cThe goal with both Salesforce and Nvidia is to make it really easy for businesses to get the benefits of those agentic platforms.\u201d<\/p>\n Snap\u2019s current Specs program has reportedly<\/a> consumed more than $3.5 billion so far. The spending has drawn pushback from activist investor Irenic Capital Management, which has said Specs should be funded on its own.<\/p>\n Such skepticism comes as similar efforts elsewhere haven\u2019t panned out yet.<\/p>\n For example, Meta\u2019s Reality Labs division, which develops virtual, augmented and mixed-reality products, lost about $88.1 billion from<\/a> 2019 through 2025, according<\/a> to SEC filings.\u00a0<\/p>\n Over those same years, the division generated<\/a> only about $12.3 billion in revenue\u2014working out to roughly $7.15 of operating loss for every $1 of revenue generated.\u00a0<\/p>\n Google also attempted AR glasses with Google Glass. The company released<\/a> the products in 2014 at a price of $1,500, but then pulled the glasses from shelves in the following year. <\/p>\n