The global AR and VR (virtual reality) smart glasses market was valued at $16.6 billion in 2023. It is projected to grow at a compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) of 12.44% from 2024 to 2032, by which time, according to Spiegel, we should be a couple of years into mass adoption of the technology.
“I think by 2030 we’ll see widespread consumer adoption of AR glasses, and I think they’re closer than folks think,” Spiegel said.
Reflecting on Snap’s journey over the last 13 years, he highlighted the company’s commitment to enhancing relationships through technology. “At our core, ever since we founded the business, we’ve been focused on enhancing people’s relationships with one another, with their friends and family and also with the world.”
And AR, Spiegel feels, is the natural next step in how we interact with technology or even with each other—Spiegel draws parallels with SMS and other pure messaging services and said the visual nature of social media was always going to appeal to youngsters.
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“Computing plays such an important role in people’s lives. It’s such a great tool for creativity and for connection. But I think today, people often feel that screens are getting in the way,” he explained, adding that he believes AR glasses will enable users to engage with the world around them, allowing for shared experiences outside rather than being confined to screens indoors.
Reflecting on the technical challenges Snap has faced in developing AR glasses, Spiegel said, “We’ve been working on glasses for about 10 years now… there were a lot of fundamental technical hurdles that we had to overcome.” He mentioned issues related to the display system and the design of the Snap operating system, indicating that while the current form factor is a bit bulky, future iterations will address these concerns.
Spiegel’s strategy focuses on getting the glasses into the hands of developers to encourage the creation of innovative applications. “Our strategy has been to just get the glasses in the hands of developers today so that they can start building for spectacles,” he said, highlighting the importance of a robust ecosystem for consumer adoption.
As Spiegel looks ahead, he remains optimistic about the potential of AR technology to transform how people interact with the world. “Change happens more slowly in the short term, but then quite quickly over the long term,” he concluded, suggesting that the next decade could usher in a new era for computing and social interaction through augmented reality.
