While many of us have been told that our future smartphones will be in our head or in front of our eyes, the technology feels bleak and dystopian. Snapchat and Facebook’s sunglasses suggest the solution may be more high fashion than we think. 

Earlier in May, the CEO of Snap (the company behind Snapchat) Evan Spiegel unveiled the company’s first true augmented reality glasses, Spectacles. The AR glasses feature four built-in microphones, two stereo speakers, and a built-in touchpad. Front-facing cameras also help the glasses detect objects and surfaces you’re looking at. 

While they’re currently not for retail, the announcement proves that the AR glasses race is on, with technology like this available to customers in the near future. In fact, Facebook Inc. had already announced a partnership with Ray-Bans to develop smart glasses that would let wearers use apps to connect to their friends and family, although Google’s “Glass” failed by launching without defining and validating the users and what difficulties it was solving for them.

For Snapchat’s Spectacles, Spiegel told Wired his favorite Lens is a poetry app. “This may sound a little esoteric, but the way the words relate to the physical space that you’re in, and bring a totally different dimension to the poem—I thought that was interesting, when you look at the future of creativity,” he says. Considering the popularity of AR filters, or lenses, on Snapchat, this indicates the potential for both artistic and advertising value. 

Back in 2019, Spiegel predicted it would be a decade before AR glasses are widely adopted. With this year’s reveal, the company is right on track, with Facebook right on their tail. While whoever makes the most user-friendly glasses remains to be seen, one thing seems clear—our smartphones are on their way out and we might soon be wearing them.

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