Snap’s chunky Specs AR glasses take a different line on the camera-glasses backlash

Camera glasses have had a rough time of it lately. Meta’s Ray-Bans work well but have drawn a steady backlash over the discomfort of not knowing when someone’s filming you. Snap’s answer, with its new Specs AR glasses now on pre-order, is a rather different one, and it’s not just the eye-watering price. Details are on the official Specs site. The difference: you can see them working Meta’s glasses look like ordinary sunglasses, which is exactly the problem for anyone standing in front of them — there’s no obvious sign a camera is running. Snap has gone the opposite way. The Specs are unapologetically chunky, visibly a piece of technology on your face, and that’s the point: they announce themselves. You can, as the coverage puts it, see them from a mile away. Whether that solves the privacy question or just trades one awkwardness for another is a fair debate,...