Snap debuts new Specs AR glasses

Snap

Snap takes another stab at augmented reality glasses and pairs them with artificial intelligence this time. Snapchat's owner describes the Specs AR glasses as a wearable computer, with the device running on two Snapdragon processors. One is dedicated to computer vision and another powers the device itself. The glasses do not require an input device as they rely on hand tracking instead.

The Specs come with a liquid crystal on silicon display, with a 51-degree field of view and 16 million colours, translating to a 24-inch desktop monitor when working or a 115-inch home cinema screen placed 10 feet away. This means use cases can range from work to play, with the promise of hands-free app use.

Click to read more ...

Snapchat shuts down standalone Bitmoji app

Source: Snap

The standalone Bitmoji creation app is being shut down by Snap by June 30, 2026. After incorporating Bitmoji characters as a key element on its main Snapchat platform, the social media company is officially integrating the Bitmoji app's features into the Snapchat experience. To access your Bitmoji stickers, fashion items, and keyboard, you'll need to download the Snapchat app.

SOURCE

Snapchat launches a ChatGPT-powered My AI chatbot

Image: Snap

Snapchat gets an in-app chatbot powered by the latest version of OpenAI's ChatGPT. The My AI chatbot will be pinned to the app's chat tab above the conversations with friends. It's coming first to Snapchat Plus subscribers, with the eventual goal of bringing it to all of Snapchat's 750 million monthly users. It isn't designed to be a search engine. Instead, Snap CEO Evan Spiegel envisions it as another service you can chat with daily aside from your friends and family.

As The Verge noted, My AI seems like the fast mobile-friendly version of ChatGPT but inside Snapchat. But it is a more restricted version, with Snap training the chatbot to adhere to its trust and safety guidelines. It will not give responses that include swearing, sexually explicit content, violence, or opinions on hot-button topics like politics. It's also taken out the option to write academic essays. Snap plans to keep tuning My AI as more people use it.

Snapchat tests a paid subscription service

Snapchat wants you to pay for a subscription service, and it's unsurprisingly being called Snapchat Plus. Snap spokesperson Liz Markman said the feature is in its "early internal testing" phase. They envision it as a way "to share exclusive, experimental, and pre-release features with our subscribers, and learn more about how we can best serve our community."

App researcher Alessandro Paluzzi has shared information about this service on Twitter. There are features like pinning a friend as "#1 BFF," access to exclusive Snapchat icons, profile badge, info on how many friends rewatched your story, learn your friend's whereabouts in the last 24 hours (if they share your location with you), and more. Pricing is currently listed as 4.59 Euros, which is approximately CA$6. Of course, that's a placeholder price for now.

Source