Snap’s vision for the future rests on Spectacles

At the sixth annual Snap Partner Summit, held on 17 September 2024, Snap Inc. unveiled a series of developments poised to reshape its engagement with creators and users alike. The event, which brought together Snapchatters, developers, partners, and advertisers, was headlined by an array of technological advancements and strategic partnerships aimed at enhancing the platform's creative ecosystem.

Evan Spiegel, Snap’s CEO, opened the summit by reflecting on Snapchat’s substantial growth. "We feel incredibly fortunate to serve over 850 million Snapchatters around the world, including the 100 million who have joined us since our last Partner Summit," he said.

Spiegel highlighted Snapchat's role in improving user wellbeing and reinforcing relationships, underscoring the platform's unique position in fostering personal connections through its features. His comments set the tone for a day of announcements that underscore Snapchat's commitment to creativity and innovation.

Spectacles 5.0: A leap in AR technology

The summit’s most anticipated announcement was the introduction of Spectacles 5.0, Snap’s latest generation of augmented reality (AR) glasses. These see-through, standalone devices are designed to enhance users’ interactive experiences by enabling them to use Lenses and share moments with friends in novel ways.

Powered by Snap OS, the new Spectacles offer advanced functionalities through hands and voice navigation. The Spectacles feature cutting-edge Liquid Crystal on Silicon (LCoS) micro-projectors and waveguides, delivering vibrant, sharp images regardless of lighting conditions.

The dual Snapdragon processors embedded within the Spectacles ensure efficient performance by distributing computational tasks and reducing power consumption, thus improving heat dissipation. This architectural innovation allows for up to 45 minutes of continuous standalone operation.

According to Ceci Mourkogiannis, Snap’s vice president of product, the development of these glasses reflects the company’s understanding of users’ core needs—communication, photography, and entertainment. "That’s why we recently began testing Simple Snapchat, focusing on these primary functions," Mourkogiannis explained. "We’re not just bringing AI to the camera—we are bringing it to memories too."

Expanding creativity with AI and developer tools

In a move to bolster its support for developers, Snap has partnered with OpenAI to provide access to sophisticated multimodal large language models. This collaboration aims to enable developers to create Lenses that recognise objects and provide contextual information, broadening the scope of interactive experiences available on the platform.

The newly enhanced Lens Studio 5.0, coupled with the Spectacles Interaction Kit, simplifies the development process by allowing creators to deploy their projects to Spectacles with ease. This updated toolset is designed to reduce the complexities associated with creating interactive Lenses, thus encouraging more innovative contributions from the AR community.

Brooke Berry, Snap’s head of creator development, highlighted the rapid growth in content creation on Snapchat. "The number of creators posting publicly has more than tripled over the past year," Berry noted.

This surge in activity is supported by the introduction of new features within the GenAI Suite in Lens Studio, including Animation Blending, Body Morph, and Icon Generation. These tools are set to facilitate faster and more creative content production, with future support for text-based animation generation and Video to 3D Gaussian Splats.

Strengthening the creator economy

Snapchat’s commitment to its creator community was further underscored by the expansion of its Spectacles Developer Program, which is now available to developers in the U.S. for $99 per month with a one-year commitment. Notable AR developers and teams, such as the LEGO Group, ILM Immersive, Niantic, and Wabisabi Games, are already utilising the new tools to innovate with Spectacles.

The summit also addressed the growing need for authentic brand partnerships. "Our Snap Star Collab Studio helps accelerate partnerships between creators and brands," Berry stated. "We’re continuing to make it easier for professional creators to get discovered." New self-serve tools will allow creators to present their engagement and demographic data directly to advertisers, facilitating more meaningful collaborations.

With over 850 million users worldwide and a significant presence among 13-34-year-olds, Snapchat remains a powerful platform for both content creators and brands. As Spiegel and Berry’s comments indicate, Snap is positioning itself as a leader in integrating advanced technology with creative expression. The introduction of Spectacles 5.0 and enhancements in AR development tools reflect Snap’s strategic focus on fostering an ecosystem where creativity thrives and user experiences are continually enriched.

As Snapchat continues to evolve, the latest advancements unveiled at the Snap Partner Summit were meant to underscore the company's commitment to pushing the boundaries of digital interaction. For content creators, these developments offer opportunities to innovate and connect with audiences, marking newer ways to boost their engagement on the platform.