The upcoming AWE 2025 in June promises to be a significant event, especially with Snap Inc, the brains behind Snapchat and the Spectacles AR glasses, making a notable appearance. The CEO of Snap, Evan Spiegel, will step into the spotlight to showcase the company’s latest advancements in augmented reality (AR), marking an important move as Snap looks to establish a stronger presence in the world of extended reality (XR).
Among the handful of companies offering standalone AR glasses, Snap is perhaps the most recognized, yet it remains somewhat on the fringes of the XR community. Why, you might ask? Well, it’s largely because Snap is navigating its AR journey from a unique angle compared to its industry peers.
While standalone headsets like the Quest and platforms like PC VR and PSVR 2 cater predominantly to gamers, and Apple’s Vision Pro serves a mix of entertainment and productivity, Snap’s Spectacles are crafted with a different mission. They originate from Snap’s social-focused approach, honing in on location-based and co-located experiences—basically, interactions linked to real-world locations and shared experiences among users in the same physical space.
Come June, Spiegel is all set to grace the main stage at AWE 2025—an event recognized as one of the oldest and grandest XR-focused conferences globally. It’s taking place in Long Beach, California, from June 10th to 12th, drawing an audience of over 6,000, along with 300 exhibitors and 400 speakers sprawled across a massive 150,000 square foot expo floor. Early-bird tickets are still up for grabs, and avid readers of Road to VR can snag an exclusive 20% discount.
Spiegel’s keynote, however, won’t be a solo act. He’ll share the stage with industry stalwarts like Qualcomm and XREAL, who have cemented their positions within the XR scene and at this conference.
Interestingly enough, Snap’s very dedication to building an AR platform from scratch is part of what’s kept them a bit at arm’s length in the XR sphere. Beyond merely creating their own AR glasses, Snap has developed Snap OS, a custom operating system for the Spectacles, alongside an authoring tool, Lens Studio. This requires developers to engage with these unique tools instead of familiar options like Unity, making it trickier to port existing XR content to their platform.
But Snap’s commitment to forging an original path in the XR space speaks volumes about their genuine belief in the industry’s future. Scott Myers, Snap’s VP of Hardware, recently shared insights with Road to VR. He sees Spectacles as more than just an add-on for Snapchat, envisioning them as future replacements for smartphones. This philosophy underpins the standalone nature of Spectacles, which operate independently, without relying on a phone or tethered device.
“We envision a shift from looking down at smartphones to looking up through glasses,” Myers elaborated. Besides emphasizing social and location-based AR, Myers emphasized Snap’s dedication to creating a top-tier platform for developers, driven by outstanding tools and continuous feedback.
He personally uses Spectacles nearly daily to experiment with new features. “We’re learning alongside developers to make developing as smooth as possible,” he said.
Navigating this competitive landscape will require Snap to play its hand wisely, especially with tech giants like Meta, Apple, and Google all racing to launch mainstream AR glasses.
Road to VR is thrilled to serve as the Premier Media Partner for AWE USA 2025, offering our readers an exclusive 20% discount on tickets to this much-anticipated event.
