video glasses add augmented reality

June 13, 2021

Snapchat Spectacles 4 AR, Snap offers a new developer version for sunglasses with augmented reality integration.

Snapchat Spectacles 4: video glasses add augmented reality

Price: 230 $ (Show 2) or $ 370 (shows 3) | Snapchat Inc. (USA -2011) | AR glasses comparison

Snap, the company behind Snapchat, has just announced the launch of the fourth generation of its Spectacles glasses.

Novelty

While previous generations only included cameras for capturing images, the 4th Generation Spectacles are the company’s first to include a display for real-time augmented reality (AR).

Version 4 for developers offers a much more angular style than the previous models:

Sunglasses design

Unlike Microsoft’s or Magic Leap’s approach, Snap takes a form versus function approach by starting with a design very close to classic sunglasses. This choice therefore requires an extreme miniaturization of the smart health connected elements and also to limit the functionalities.

So, as you will see in the specifications, the trade-offs to achieve this lightweight format are not without consequences. Note in particular the tiny diagonal field of vision of 26.3 °. To put that in perspective, a small field of view is one of the main complaints against the HoloLens 2, which has a 52 ° diagonal field of view.

To be completely transparent to its limits, Snap has made several presentation demos showing six individual shots showing both a limited field of view and an approximation of the transparency you would see through the glasses.

Snapchat Spectcles 4 augmented reality

Features Snapchat Shows 4

  • Field of view 26.3 ° diagonal

  • Snapdragon XR1 processor

  • USB-C connectors

  • Battery life 30 minutes (the case can hold up to four charges)

  • Inside-out tracking (no external beacons)

  • 2x RGB on-board cameras

  • Input Touchpad, voice, hand tracking

  • Audio Internal speakers

  • Microphone Yes (4x)

  • Weight 134g

Information not known

  • Lentils

  • Resolution

  • Refresh rate

  • Optical adjustments

  • IPD setting range

  • RAM and ROM

Technology that needs applications

It will be a real challenge for developers to fit useful apps into this restricted field of view without giving the user the impression that they have to walk around the stage to spot the content through the tiny window.

The other important point of the specs is the 30-minute battery life, which will make these glasses feel like a special-purpose device rather than a device you use because you wear it by chance. The battery case, which can hold up to four charges, makes up for this a bit (you don’t wear sunglasses all day anyway). Even if the battery life improves in the future, the battery case is a smart idea that I wouldn’t be surprised to see in the cases of other AR glasses in the future.

Clearly, these are two major reasons why Snap is not ready to sell these AR glasses to the general public, as it has done with its previous Shows. Over time we will see these capabilities develop and ultimately make future Shows convenient for end users. When it comes to content creation for fourth generation Shows, Snap of course relies on its Lens Studio software which enables It’s been a long time for developers to create augmented reality experiences for use with phones on Snapchat.

The Current Generation Mainstream: Snapshat Shows 3

Snap Spectacles 3 3D AR Glasses

The Snap Spectacles 3 are smart health connected glasses to share your photos and videos taken with on social networks. They are equipped with two HD cameras that capture 3D photos and videos at 60 frames per second. In addition, they record immersive, high-fidelity sound with the four integrated microphones.

  • Photos: 1728 x 1728 pixels

  • Videos: 1216 x 1216 pixels at 60 frames per second

  • 2D field of view: 105 °

  • 3D field of view: 86 °

  • Aperture: f 2.2

Connectivity

  • Bluetooth 5.

  • Wi-Fi, 2.4 / 5 GHz

Snapchat Shows 4 price and release date

Unlike previous versions of Spectacles, the 4th generation is not yet available for sale. Snap positions this version of the AR Glasses as a development kit allowing creators to start experimenting with creating AR experiences for the device.

Currently there are different models in France

According to a Wired article, Snap plans to ship around 1,000 of its AR glasses to developers. If you are interested, you can apply to get yours at the bottom of the official 4th Generation Shows website.