Explained · 30 second read

Wearable AR is glasses
with a screen built in.

In short: wearable AR, usually called smart glasses, is a pair of glasses with a small display built into the lenses that projects digital content into your field of view, while you can still see everything around you normally. Flip the switch to see the same pair of glasses, plain and then augmented.

Normal glasses Turn left in 40 m walking route 2 messages notification

Same physical shape, same room behind it. The only thing that changes is whether a display is drawing content into the lenses.

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Not your phone. Not VR either.

Three ways to see digital content

Wearable AR sits in the middle: unlike a phone it is hands-free, and unlike VR it never blocks the real world.

A phone in your hand You hold it up and look down at a screen to see anything overlaid on the world.
Directions 120m ahead
AR glasses on your face Content floats in front of your eyes. The real world stays fully visible and both hands stay free.
A VR headset over your eyes The real world is fully blocked. Everything you see is generated by the headset, with nothing behind it.
Not a concept. Shipping today.

What wearable AR can actually do right now

No sci-fi required. These are things current smart glasses do today, hands-free.

Navigation overlays Turn-by-turn arrows anchored to the street in front of you, no phone in hand.
Hands-free capture Photo and video from your point of view, started with a tap or a voice command.
Live translation Someone speaks another language, subtitles appear in your view a moment later.
2 Notifications A glance-sized message or alert appears in the corner of your view, then fades.
Not concept art. Shipped on Snap Spectacles.

Real wearable AR, built by the studio

Noodle, a spatial AI workbench on Snap Spectacles
Noodle
Spatial AI workbench
 Ice Fishing, a hand-tracked wearable AR game
Ice Fishing
Hand-tracked game
 Timely, a glanceable wearable AR time tool
Timely
Glanceable time tool
 Spatial Mapper, a room-scanning wearable AR tool
Spatial Mapper
Room scanning
Now you know what wearable AR is

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Quick answers

What is wearable AR?

Wearable AR, usually called smart glasses, is a pair of glasses with a small display built into the lenses. The display projects digital content, like text, icons, or 3D objects, directly into your field of view while you can still see the real world around you.

Is wearable AR the same as a VR headset?

No. A VR headset fully covers your eyes and replaces the real world with a digital one. Wearable AR glasses are see through. The real world stays visible the whole time, and digital content is added on top of it, not instead of it.

How is wearable AR different from just using my phone?

A phone needs one hand to hold and your eyes to keep dropping down to a screen. Wearable AR sits on your face like regular glasses, so both hands stay free and you keep looking straight ahead at the world instead of down at a device.

Do I need a phone to use smart glasses?

Not for the AR itself. Content displays directly through the glasses. A phone is usually only involved for initial setup, pairing, and installing new experiences, not for running them.

What can wearable AR actually do right now?

Today's smart glasses can show turn by turn directions, capture photo and video hands-free, translate speech into live subtitles, and surface notifications, all without pulling out a phone.