Six months after dropping its fifth-gen Spectacles—aka the second version with AR smarts—Snap is rolling out some fresh features that push its futuristic glasses even further.
Lenses (Snap’s fancy name for AR effects) can now tap into GPS data for on-the-go navigation, multiplayer games, and other location-based tricks.
Hand tracking just got better too, and Snap is introducing an AR keyboard, so you can fire off text without pulling out your phone.
Location-based Lenses can now use GPS, GNSS, and even compass headings. One demo, Utopia Labs’ NavigatAR, slaps directional arrows right into your view, leading you exactly where you need to go.
Still, there’s one big thing Snap didn’t announce: a consumer-ready version of its AR Spectacles.
The developer-only model is still locked behind an application process through Snap’s Lens Studio desktop tool.
You’re looking at $99 a month with a required one-year rental commitment—and with a battery life capped at 45 minutes, it’s hardly an all-day wearable.
Another Lens, Path Pioneer, lets devs create AR walking courses with waypoints, which could turn city tours, museum trips, and art gallery visits into guided AR adventures.
The new AR keyboard packs a “full and numeric layout” and benefits from Snap’s upgraded hand tracking, making it easier to hit the right key while cutting down on misfires.
There’s even a new grab gesture in Lens experiences, and hand tracking can now tell when you’re holding your phone.
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