Forbes: After Snap Created a More Casual and Private Social Format, the Best Parts Were Quickly Copied by Meta
Forbes reports that after Snap created a more casual and private social format, the best parts were quickly copied by Meta. Founder Evan Spiegel now wants to create something harder to steal: augmented reality glasses that can dominate the market. The competitors remain Meta and Mark Zuckerberg.
The consumer product is called Specs, priced at $2,195. Spiegel referred to it as his life's work in June. The company has invested over $3.5 billion in augmented reality glasses, integrating AI image recognition and high-resolution 3D overlays into real-world visuals. This is the first mass sale following a developer pilot. The previous generation of Spectacles was abandoned due to lackluster sales.
In 2013, Zuckerberg proposed to buy Snap for $3 billion in cash. The then 23-year-old Spiegel declined. Subsequently, Stories, vertical video, and camera filters were developed into Meta's own features. Meta's smart glasses, in collaboration with Ray-Ban, have also been criticized for resembling Snap's original Spectacles, only later adding AI.
Specs are not designed for all-day wear like Ray-Ban. The company positions it for short immersive experiences: navigation, real-time translation, without the need to look down at a phone. Weighing 132 grams, a demonstration in June experienced a one-minute freeze, after which Spiegel read a headline announcing the farewell to Meta Ray-Ban. Some internal members suggested he not wear them throughout the interview, but he did.
Meta remains the sales leader. Industry estimates suggest its smart glasses hold about 70% market share, with Ray-Ban shipping around 3.5 million units. Predictions for 2026 indicate an 85% year-on-year growth in shipments of AI glasses, exceeding 15 million units globally. Snap's first-quarter revenue was $1.529 billion, a 12% year-on-year increase. Other revenues, including subscriptions, grew by 87%, reaching $285 million. Hardware is still viewed by investors as a money-burning venture.
This is a hardware bet, not an update to social features. The buyers are early adopters willing to pay $2,195 for a portable screen, while the seller is Snap, which has already supported its main business through advertising and subscriptions. The event is driven by a history of copying that has blurred software differences. Over $3.5 billion has been invested in the glasses, with revenue still primarily coming from advertising. The beneficiary is whoever can define the next screen with Specs, while the pressure is on Meta's Ray-Ban, which holds about 70% market share but resembles the previous generation of Spectacles.
ABAB AI Insight
Evan Spiegel created Snapchat in 2011 and rejected Facebook's $3 billion cash offer in 2013. Stories, vertical videos, and filters subsequently appeared on Instagram. The first generation of Spectacles was discontinued due to poor sales, while developer headsets continued to burn cash. By June 2026, Specs returns to consumers at $2,195, with over $3.5 billion invested. The path is to shift differences to hardware and optics after software was copied.
Capital subsidizes glasses from the advertising core business. First-quarter revenue was $1.529 billion, with other revenues of $285 million; hardware remains a project investors want to abandon. Meta takes a lightweight approach with Ray-Ban, estimated to hold about 70% market share and ship around 3.5 million units. Snap does not compete on all-day wear; it sells short-term 3D overlays. A one-minute freeze during a demonstration is still compared to Ray-Ban, indicating that the competitor's definition remains Meta, not Apple Vision Pro.
The analogy is BlackBerry treating keyboards as an uncopyable difference, and GoPro strapping cameras to bodies. Software features can be copied in a quarter, but optics, weight, and supply chains cannot. Spiegel is in the second round of hardware commercialization: the previous round of Spectacles failed, and this round bets his life's work on the $2,195 Specs.
Structurally, this represents a transfer of pricing power. The pricing power of social features is already in Meta's distribution. Snap wants to reclaim the pricing power of the next screen. The mechanism is that the cost of copying is nearly zero in software, but $3.5 billion and ten years in glasses. The market has yet to convert this expenditure into market share.
ABAB News · Cognitive Law
- What can be copied in a quarter is not a moat.
- After software failure, differences will be moved into hardware.
- Those who refuse acquisition must create something uncopyable.