Snap Specs launch 2026: Live updates from CEO Evan Spiegel's keynote

Now, Spiegel is talking about Snap's enterprise partners because every AR platform has to have an enterprise component. Salesforce and AWS are two early partners who are trying the tech. Snap is also working with Nvidia on bringing AI agents to Specs.

Now Spiegel showed a sauna he was able to put n front of him and see inside of. That demo also (probably unintentionally) gave us an idea of the limits to Specs' field of view since it looked like some of the AR sauna was being cut off.

Another significant aspect of Specs, Spiegel says, is shopping. He says he think there was a "real opportunity" to make it easier for people to visualize products before they buy them. Snap has partnered with Shopify to make their entire catalog available in AR on Specs.

Spiegel is browsing YouTube via his Specs. Something with the demo seems to not be working, some search results appeared but it seemed like he wasn't able to select a video. It worked on the second try, though, and he's not playing a YouTube video and showing how you can move and resize the window.

Now Spiegel is calling Snapchat cofounder Bobby Murphy on his glasses. We can see video of the call, which naturally is filled with Snapchat AR effects. 

Spiegel is walking us through the basics of Specs' interface, including the main menu which you access from your plam. He also showed how you can send a pic on Snapchat by opening the camera and snapping your fingers – an advantage of hand-tracking controls.

Okay, onto the live demo portion (it's good to see an old-fashioned live demo isn't it?). Spiegel notes that there's nothing on his wrist (another subtle dig at Meta which used a wristband controller for its display glasses). 

Spiegel says Specs Intelligence is what helps make Specs powerful.There's a waitlist where people can sign up for early access.

We haven't heard the word "agent" yet, but what's being described certainly sounds like an AI agent.

Specs Intelligence is Snap's AI assistant that can provide reminders, contextual info an other timely info. It's part of Specs but also has its own standalone desktop and mobile apps.

Okay this is interesting, our first new detail about Specs is Specs Intelligence. "Specs aren't just AR glasses... Specs are part of an intelligent system called Specs Intelligence," Spiegel says.

Spiegel is talking about the Specs reveal at AWE and jokes about all the memes it inspired. (There were a lottt of jokes that week.)

Spiegel says that shared experiences are foundational to Specs. So are experiences that help you learn to do things in the real world.

Spiegel says Specs relies on what the company calls "instinctual computing" because it's meant to be intuitive.

He's certainly saying all the right things...

Spiegel says that computers should "make us more important, not less." He also used the same line he's used before about virtual worlds replacing the real one, which I think is a reference to Meta's metaverse (which they haven't talked about much lately).

Okay, that's thankfully over and Snap CEO Evan Spiegel is onstage in his typical "uniform" of jeans and a black tee. He says today will be mostly live demos.

I feel like we accidentally walked into a cult meeting ngl.

And we're starting! Opening with a video in classic tech keynote style. This one is a bit woo, if I can call it that. A disembodied robotic voice talking about "human incarnation" .. "your soul remains perfectly safe." Okay then.

Well this is a weird opening...

I sure hope it's over before 10PM ET! The stream is now saying we've got a minute and a half to go. Strap in, folks!

An hour tops, I'd say. I believe the entire event is due to run until 10PM ET, but there are activations following the formal presentation so I expect most of the time is allotted for that.

Karissa how long are we expecting the keynote to run? Do you think I will have an on-time or late dinner, I guess?

Oddly enough the stream says there's about 8 minutes to go.

Yep, we just got a "the show will begin soon" announcement here in the theatre.

T-minus one minute till the keynote is supposed to start, so grab a drink and a quick toilet break!

I do my best work listening to house music! Definitely so much to look forward to now that we are well into fall event/product launch season again. It's hard to believe we're only halfway through September, I feel like there's already so much happening. 

The EDM/house music playing on this stream is perfect background sound for my fevered writing at the moment. I can't tell you what I'm writing yet, but I can tease and say you should come back to Engadget soon?

People are still filing in, but the seats are filling up and the music has changed. It seems like we're getting close to things getting going here.

That's right. I don't know that we have heard anything yet about prescription lens support, but I know that the previous developer versions of AR glasses supported prescription inserts. I shudder to think how much that might add to the $2,195 price.

I fear we have confused our dear readers, perhaps. Commenter Sabahow asked "I wear Rx glasses. Does Pixy work with Rx lenses"

Pixy is an old, possibly now-defunct drone that Snap was rumored to be acquiring a few years ago! Today we're going to learn more about Specs AR glasses!

That's basically a Dolby theater, not even IMAX. (That's me trying to get some sort of search juice there, really).

Here's a view of the theatre, there's also an upper level. 

The event space itself is a kind of performing arts center with a big theatre. I'm not at my seat yet so it's hard to judge the capacity but it's definitely busy, well over 100 people in the area I'm in.

How big is the space? I guess I mean, how many people is Snap expecting to accommodate, you think?

We're all just milling about just outside the theatre where the keynote will be. Champagne and mocktails are being passed around. (Another sign we're not in Silicon Valley.) 

Can Siri, Gemini or Alexa tell me who that statue is of? Or one of our readers, I guess?

I've made it in and we have our first sighting of Specs! Snap has dressed up some statues on the way into the theatre. 

Karissa sent me this picture of the check-in desk at the Specs event, because I clearly don't go to enough events and am living vicariously through her.

I have just arrived at the check-in area, but they aren't quite ready to let us in yet. Everyone in line is dressed way nicer than a standard tech launch (Snap did suggest an attire of "daytime cocktail"). 

Karissa what's the vibe like at the event? Is it crowded? Are more than five people excited for this?

Wow I completely forgot the name of that thing. Pixy indeed. It's funny how trends come and go. I remember when camera drones were everywhere, kind of like how smart glasses are at the moment. And here we are, six or seven years later, with just a few major players in the space (and the biggest one banned from selling new products in the US).

Yes, Pixy! There was an adorable yellow drone that I believe was eventually recalled due to fire risk. RIP. 

Since we're on the topic, do you all remember every hardware product Snap ever made? I think mainly they have been the Spectacles, but I'm pretty sure there were fervent rumors that Snap was going to acquire a drone maker a few years ago.

Hello, hello! Confirming I'm in Beverly Hills for the Specs event. We still have a little bit to go but I just saw this post on X from AR developer Brielle Garcia and I think it's a good reminder of the evolution of Snap's glasses. These are the second-gen Spectacles (the camera glasses that shot round videos) and the first two AR-enabled glasses that Snap only ever made available to developers.

Congrats Snap on the launch of SPECS today! It's been a fun ride over the years and one that I know is just getting started! Hope to try the new ones sometime. pic.twitter.com/GdIv3rN4OQ

— Brielle Garcia (@tacolamp) September 16, 2026

I'm not really sure what people think of Snap these days. All I know is that younger people seem to care a lot about their Snap streaks, and Reddit frequently has stories about people who, through Snap, discovered their partners were cheating or their best friends were ignoring them. Not sure what this means for the company's hardware ambitions, though. 

I tell you what, Bob in the comments is asking some good questions:

"Wait, Snap is still a thing? Its CEO is still alive? And they're still making pervert glasses nobody asked for? LOL, why?

Wow, Endgaget sent someone to this event? LOLOLOL"

We did, Bob, we did. You'll see!

We're a little over two hours away from the big event. We already know a lot about the new Specs, but we're hoping to hear more from the company about why exactly someone might want to drop $2,195 on a pair.

As a reminder, here's what the fifth (and current) generation of Snap Specs looks like. They were much larger than competing glasses at the time but they were also more capable, and didn't have a separate processing or battery puck. The fifth-gen device was announced almost exactly two years ago, targeted at developers. 

Camera-embedded glasses appeal to me more, and trust me, I know I'm in the minority here. But I like the idea of having a hands-free camera that I can use when out paddle-boarding, biking or in other activity-centric scenarios. Thing is, the public sentiment towards wearables with cameras in them (like the Meta Glasses) or AR glasses like the Snap Specs has changed a lot in the five years since we saw the first iteration of the company's standalone AR glasses.

I don't really get the sense that people care very much for AR glasses, and while I did enjoy my time with a Ray Ban Display and Google Glass in the past, I'm not convinced I would wear spectacles for the privilege of using  a small heads up display.

I'm feeling some deja vu, because I know Spiegel already did one keynote talking up the new Specs. And he's already been the subject of some online teasing over them, right? Spoiler: I'm right and we did liveblog the Snap keynote at AWE earlier this year. 

Hello everyone and welcome to our liveblog of the Snap Specs launch today. The presentation by CEO Evan Spiegel kicks off quite late in the day, at 4PM PT (7PM ET), but that doesn't mean we can't start talking to you all about all things AR glasses. Our senior reporter Karissa is already in LA and is making her way to the event. We'll hear from her very soon, I'm sure.