Snap set up a public demo of its Specs AR glasses at the Westfield Century City mall in Los Angeles, letting visitors test a dozen or so interactive 'Lenses' including midair finger painting, AR navigation overlays, book text analysis, and sports features built with the NBA. The $2,195 glasses, announced in June, are expected to begin shipping within weeks, and a WIRED writer found them surprisingly lightweight and stable even during physical activity like push-ups.
wired.com
· 2026-10-29
Snap has signed Iron Man actor Robert Downey Jr. as a brand ambassador for its Specs augmented reality glasses, giving him the title 'Chief Customer Experience Officer.' The company released several promotional videos showing Downey using the device for tasks like improving a golf putt and practicing art.
theverge.com
· 2026-10-20
Xreal released the One Pro+, an updated version of its One Pro AR glasses, featuring peak brightness of 1,200 nits versus 700 nits on the original, plus AI HDR upscaling and a 2D-to-3D conversion algorithm now running at 60Hz instead of 30Hz. The glasses also get a redesigned nose pad for comfort, but retain the same X1 spatial computing chip, 57-degree field of view, and $600 price as the original One Pro, and still lack a camera.
engadget.com
· 2026-10-15
Xreal has released its One Pro Plus display glasses for $599, upgrading brightness to 1,200 nits from 700 nits on the earlier One Pro model. The new version adds extra visual settings, including a 'Reading' mode, and a smoother AI-driven 3D conversion feature for 2D content, but otherwise keeps the same design, USB-C tethering and onboard chip as its predecessor.
cnet.com
· 2026-10-15
Amazon has reduced the XREAL xbx a01 Plus AR glasses to $254, marking the first price cut since their launch and saving buyers $45. The lightweight glasses, weighing about 62 grams, feature a bright display of approximately 1,600 nits and are designed for portable gaming, travel, and media consumption. The deal is exclusive to Amazon Prime members during Prime Day.
androidauthority.com
· 2026-10-06
Meta has released VR Glasses priced at $1,299, weighing around 100 grams, roughly five times lighter than a typical headset. Unlike fully enclosed headsets, the device shows a live video feed of the room centrally with actual unobstructed peripheral vision around the edges, even during use. The Verge's senior editor compared it directly against Valve's Steam Frame, Apple's Vision Pro, and Google/Xreal's Aura.
theverge.com
· 2026-10-01
Snap's Specs and Xreal's Aura are new augmented-reality glasses designed to deliver similar overlay experiences to wearers. Both devices remain conspicuously bulky in design, making them impractical to wear inconspicuously in public settings.
gizmodo.com
· 2026-09-24
Counterpoint Research reports that global AI glasses shipments grew 263% year over year in the first half of 2026, driven largely by cheaper display-less models like Ray-Ban Meta AI Glasses, which made up 96% of all shipments. Meta captured 94% of that display-less segment, while AR-enabled glasses, though still a small niche, saw shipments jump 449% year over year, led by Rokid ahead of Meta.
androidauthority.com
· 2026-09-21
Snap has given hands-on access to its latest Specs augmented reality glasses, showcasing new AR features built into a wearable form factor. Early testers describe the device as fun and functional but note the design looks unpolished and some capabilities feel unfinished for a consumer-ready product.
gizmodo.com
· 2026-09-16
Snap has unveiled Specs Intelligence, a new AI assistant built into its redesigned AR Specs and available as separate desktop and mobile apps. The tool connects to outside accounts like Google to learn a user's goals, routines and relationships, then surfaces reminders, meeting prep and travel details, sorting them into context-based 'corners' for work, family and other areas of life.
engadget.com
· 2026-09-16
Snap has released a new generation of its standalone AR Specs, featuring dual cameras for hand-tracking controls similar to prior models but with added polish. The glasses now let AR content anchor in place and follow the wearer around a room, addressing a key complaint from earlier versions, and offer a slightly wider 51-degree field of view along with adjustable display dimming for different lighting conditions.
engadget.com
· 2026-09-16
Snap CEO Evan Spiegel took the stage in Los Angeles to formally launch Specs, standalone AR glasses priced at $2,195, following a preview earlier this year at Augmented World Expo. Spiegel positioned Specs not as AI glasses like rivals' offerings but as a 'wearable computer' meant to reduce reliance on smartphones.
engadget.com
· 2026-09-16
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