The SPECS exhibit is seen at AWE 2026 at the Long Beach Convention & Entertainment Center on June 16 in Long Beach, Calif. Phillip Faraone/Getty Images hide caption

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Phillip Faraone/Getty Images

Snap, the company behind Snapchat, is betting that augmented reality glasses could become the next major computing device.

The company this week officially launched new augmented reality glasses called Specs, which project digital information directly into a user's field of vision. The glasses can display maps, notifications, games and AI-powered assistance. They will cost $2,195.

Joanna Stern, a tech journalist and editor-in-chief of the New Things newsletter, told Morning Edition that computing device concepts, such as augmented reality glasses, have long been a goal for the tech industry. Companies including Meta, Apple and Google are also investing heavily in similar technology as they look beyond smartphones.

"Every tech company right now is trying to work on this future," Stern told NPR's Steve Inskeep . "They all believe there's another type of device, another type of gadget that's going to be the future of computing, and many of them believe glasses is it."

Stern also noted the irony of the companies that helped make smartphones indispensable now promoting devices designed to pull users away from them.

The digital version of this interview was written by Majd Al-Waheidi and edited by Treye Green.