I’m Kara Swisher, and you’re listening to “Sway.” When Snapchat arrived on the scene about a decade ago, it attracted users with the promise o

Snap Has New Glasses, But You Might Have to Wait a Decade for Them

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2021-05-21 04:30:04

I’m Kara Swisher, and you’re listening to “Sway.” When Snapchat arrived on the scene about a decade ago, it attracted users with the promise of ephemerality. Disappearing photos you could send to your friends. After a spectacular I.P.O., they hit a slump in 2018 as users flocked to Instagram, which had copied key features from Snapchat. But recently, Snap Inc. has bounced back — or perhaps, should I say, snapped back — thanks to a growing user base, an app redesign that finally worked, and increased ad revenue. Snap’s latest play is a push into augmented reality with AR spectacles. They’re also hoping to offer more content and lure creators to them with a promise of monetization. So will this be enough to beat out competition from tech giants? That’s my big question for Evan Spiegel, co-founder and CEO of Snap Inc. Welcome to Sway, Evan.

So let’s start talking about the newest thing you’re doing. And then we’ll get into all kinds of other issues. But augmented reality. I got to try the new augmented reality spectacles the other day. I found them really responsive. I loved the two cameras. I thought it worked beautifully. But they were kind of heavy, still. Explain what they are, because these are not for consumers. You have been in the consumer space with spectacles. So can you just outline what has happened here from the original spectacles which were not the biggest consumer hit, to what you’re trying to do now?

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