Snap’s Spectacles get native browser, WebXR support

Two days before Meta is expected to announce its first consumer AR device, Snap is back with an update for its own AR glasses: Spectacles, which were first launched as a dev kit a year ago, are getting an OS upgrade that includes, among other things, a new browser.

I know, sounds mundane, right? But there’s actually something notable: The browser comes with support for WebXR, which opens up Spectacles to web-based AR and VR apps. 

That means two things: First, Spectacles users will soon have access to a lot more immersive apps optimized for headsets and wearables. Secondly, developers will be able to make apps available on Spectacles without having to use Snap’s Lens Studio development kit, and ship them without having to go through the device’s Lens Explorer app store.

Before this, the only way to build and ship apps for Spectacles was using Lens Studio. There’s some logic to that: Lens Studio is already being used by hundreds of thousands of developers to build lenses for Snapchat. When Snap ships a consumer version of Spectacles next year, it already has a large developer community to tap into.

However, having to rely on Lens Studio also comes with downsides for developers, especially when it comes to optimizing apps for power- and processing\-constrained hardware like AR glasses. 

Case in point: Snap built the first version of its web browser as a lens as well. When the company rebuilt the browser for Spectacles OS 2.0, it opted for a native app instead. This promptly made it 10% more efficient, I was told when I recently got a demo of the new Snap OS version 2.0 last week.

I didn’t get a clear answer when I asked whether Snap had plans for other native apps as well, but I wouldn’t be too surprised if the company decided to give select partners the ability to build apps directly for Spectacles without having to go through Lens Kit.

In addition to the native browser, Snap OS 2.0 also comes with a new way to watch Snapchat videos, among other things. Snap is also announcing that Synth Riders, a popular VR rhythm game, is coming to Spectacles.

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Image courtesy of Snap.