Snap unveils AR glasses developer tools at AWE conference
Snap Inc. (NYSE: SNAP) announced a set of developer tools at the AWE conference for its augmented reality glasses, called SPECS, which the company describes as see-through glasses built for augmented reality computing.
The announcements include a developer preview of an agentic development framework for building SPECS Lenses in Lens Studio, Snap's developer environment. The framework integrates with existing AI coding tools including Claude Code, Codex, and Cursor, and is designed to assist with prototyping, testing, debugging, and publishing.
Snap also released the SPECS Spatial Benchmark, a tool intended to help developers evaluate how AI models handle spatial tasks such as reasoning about layouts, object relationships, and coordinates.
For developers with existing projects, Snap introduced a Migration Agent designed to port projects from tools such as Unity into Lens Studio. The company also launched a Native Development Kit that allows developers to bring C and C++ code directly into Lenses for use in areas including spatial mapping, physics, and navigation.
Snap said Niantic Spatial is using the Native Development Kit to bring its Visual Positioning System to SPECS, and that Mapbox ported its Navigation Engine to the platform in under two hours.
A Commerce Kit will enable in-Lens purchases and subscriptions at launch. Snap said developers can join the SPECS Developer Program and apply to test Lens prototypes on hardware at Snap studios globally.
Snap noted that Lens Studio has received 10 Snap OS updates with more than 40 new features and APIs over the past year and a half, and that developers have already published hundreds of Lenses for SPECS.
