technology
Snapchat co-founders: Could use software for TVs
Evan Spiegel, founder and CEO of Snap, at a panel discussion in Munich. Photo: Karl-Josef Hildenbrand/dpa
© dpa-infocom GmbH
Snapchat is best known for photos that disappear on their own. Now the company is focusing on enriching the real world with digital content – and taking on Apple and Facebook.
In the competition for the computer platforms of the future, the creators of Snapchat want to establish their technology far beyond the limits of their own photo app.
Snapchat co-founder Evan Spiegel told the German Press Agency that he could imagine partners using the software for televisions on which, for example, clothing could be tried on virtually.
Snapchat became known above all for photos that disappear on their own, but for years it has relied heavily on so-called augmented reality (AR), in which digital objects on the display can be displayed in real environments. In addition to fun applications, companies use this technology, called Camera Kit, to let fashion or cosmetics be tried out on the smartphone. But Camera Kit is now also being used for video conferences.
AR glasses as a new offer
The Snapchat operating company Snap also released AR glasses last year, in which digital content is displayed directly in the user’s field of vision. Such devices are also expected from Apple and Facebook, among others.
Snap has so far put its AR glasses in the hands of developers and content producers – and Spiegel defends the approach of releasing a device that is not yet ready for the mass market. “It allows us to innovate much faster because we’re constantly learning.”
There are currently many technological limitations for AR glasses, such as battery life and the size of the projector required. One of the findings with Snaps Spectacles glasses, however, is that an impressive AR experience can also justify larger device shapes: “We have learned that we don’t have to try to compete with sunglasses.”
Spiegel sees a fundamental difference between his vision of an augmented reality and Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg’s plans for a virtual world called the Metaverse. “The Metaverse is about replacing reality. And we’re thinking about how we can enrich reality,” he said. “Our fundamental thesis is that people love the real world.” And helping them explore the real world with the help of computers is more exciting from Snap’s point of view.