Snap Specs Makes Its Case for the Workplace
2026 has been a busy year for smart glasses launches and announcements. At Snap’s latest Specs event in Los Angeles, we got to see what the company has been building and try the glasses ourselves.
The presentation covered a wide range of demos and apps, along with Snap’s new Specs Intelligence AI service. The standout moment was Imogen Heap performing with a virtual instrument she'd helped create, building up a song live on stage. It was a memorable glimpse of what people can make when they get creative with AR.
Alongside the entertainment, Snap made a compelling case for using Specs at work. When we got to try them ourselves, the hardware impressed us and the demos gave us plenty to think about as more and more organizations begin to evaluate using smart glasses.
Standalone AR that felt good to use
Specs are completely standalone, the computing is built directly into the glasses. That’s a big part of the appeal for a device you're meant to wear while moving through the world.
During our hands-on time, the glasses were responsive and with a good field of view and resolution for the experiences we had. The interface was really snappy and had a variety of unique interactions you could use, like one that lets you use your palm to navigate a menu.
Our experience with the glasses lived up to what Spiegel demoed onstage. We definitely wanted more time with them.
A short demo can't tell us how they'd feel after several hours on a job, but it gave us enough confidence in the hardware to start thinking seriously about the applications.
Snap is giving businesses more to work with
Snap also announced enterprise partnerships with Salesforce, Nvidia, and AWS. The planned capabilities include access to company information and AI assistance through the glasses, with applications in settings such as retail and field service.
Snap’s investment into the enterprise ecosystem is a great signal. Great hardware is the first step, but adoption also requires the right tools to integrate and manage these devices internally.
Tandem by Trifork is a good example of what that ecosystem can deliver. It connects onsite technicians with remote experts and AI agents, giving them help while they work. An expert can see what the technician sees, identify components, and add visual annotations directly in their view.
Remote assistance comes up often in conversations about smart glasses, and Snap’s partnership with Trifork adds credibility to it as a practical workplace use case. Bringing these applications to more platforms and devices also gives enterprises more flexibility to choose hardware that fits their teams, workflows, and budgets.
That's what makes Snap's enterprise push interesting to us. Businesses and developers have specific workflows to build around, and the announced partnerships could help connect those applications to the systems employees already use.
A premium device needs a job worth doing
Specs carry an announced price of $2,195. Businesses will need to identify a task valuable enough to justify that investment.
For a team dealing with expensive downtime or limited access to specialists, there may be a strong case. Other tasks may be well served by simpler glasses that provide a camera, microphone, and audio. Choosing the right hardware starts with understanding what the person wearing it needs to do.
With Meta Connect happening next week, we'll soon have more to consider. Rumors include camera-free glasses focused on voice-based AI, but we're most interested in the applications and developer tools Meta brings forward, and how they compare with Snap's enterprise push.
We’re excited to see the ecosystem unfold. More capable hardware gives businesses more to work with, while our experience with VR keeps us focused on what makes a deployment successful: useful applications, reliable device management, and support for the people using them.
