source: techcrunch ai: after unveiling ridiculously expensive ar glasses, snap’s stock takes a dive
level: business
snap's stock dropped more than 5% after the company revealed its new ar glasses, called specs. the shares fell from $5.86 to a low of $4.83 the morning after the announcement. the stock had already declined 30% over the past year. the main worry is the price: nearly $2,200 per pair. snap's core users are teenagers, who typically cannot afford such expensive devices. this has led to doubts about how the product will make money.
ceo evan spiegel defended the cost in a cnbc interview. he said specs should be seen as a computer, priced similarly to high-end laptops. he positioned the glasses between cheaper devices like meta's ray-bans and bulkier headsets like apple vision pro. spiegel claimed specs are both wearable and powerful for immersive computing. however, investors remain skeptical about demand at this price point.
the market reaction highlights the challenge of selling advanced ar hardware to a young audience. snap has worked on these glasses for over a decade. the high price may limit adoption, making it hard to build a large user base. this could slow down the development of ar apps and services. the stock drop shows that investors are worried about the product's commercial viability.
why it matters: the high cost of advanced ar devices may slow adoption and limit data collection for ai-driven ar applications.
source: techcrunch ai: after unveiling ridiculously expensive ar glasses, snap’s stock takes a dive