June 10 (Reuters) - Snap will launch its

first-ever smart glasses for all consumers next year, ratcheting

up competition with bigger rival Meta in the wearable

technology market.

The augmented reality smart glasses, called Specs, will be

lightweight, the social media company said on Tuesday.

Long known for its messaging app Snapchat and animated

filters, Snap has been doubling down on AR, which can overlay

digital effects onto photos or videos of real-life surroundings

through a camera or lens.

Integrating technology into wearable products can open up

new lucrative markets and diversify revenue streams for Snap

amid an uncertain digital ad market due to changing U.S. trade

policies.

The company had launched its 5th generation of Spectacles

glasses in September, but these were only available to

developers.

The company has invested more than $3 billion over 11 years

developing its augmented reality glasses, Snap co-founder and

CEO Evan Spiegel said at the Augmented World Expo 2025 on

Tuesday.

"Before Snapchat had chat, we were building glasses."

The popularity of Meta's Ray-Ban Meta smart glasses

developed in partnership with EssilorLuxottica have

prompted companies such Google to explore similar investments.

Meta continues to add AI features to its glasses to attract

more consumers.

Snap said it would partner with augmented reality and

geospatial technology platform Niantic Spatial to enhance the

Lens Studio, which is an application used by creators to design,

animate and publish AR lenses for Snapchat camera, and Specs.