Snapchat CEO to Deliver Keynote at AWE 2025, Aiming to Bolster Company’s XR Presence

Snapchat’s parent company, Snap Inc., is making waves in the augmented reality (AR) world. Come June, Evan Spiegel, the company’s CEO, will be front and center at the AWE 2025 conference, one of the most respected events in the extended reality (XR) field. During his keynote, he’ll be unveiling Snap’s latest AR breakthroughs, as the company aims to secure its position in what is quickly becoming a competitive landscape.

While Snap stands out as one of the rare players with fully standalone AR glasses—the Spectacles—it’s still somewhat of an underdog in the broader XR community. Unlike many tech giants, Snap is charting its own course by approaching AR from a distinctly social perspective. While devices like the Quest headsets and PlayStation VR primarily focus on gaming, and Apple’s Vision Pro aims at entertainment and productivity, Snap’s Spectacles lean heavily into social interactions. They offer unique, location-based experiences that encourage users to engage collectively in real-world settings.

This year’s AWE conference, slated to take place in Long Beach, California, from June 10th to 12th, will be a bustling hub with over 6,000 attendees, an impressive line-up of 300 exhibitors, and a robust roster of 400 speakers—all packed into a 150,000-square-foot expo space. For those keen to attend, early-bird tickets are now available, and an exclusive 20% discount is on offer for Road to VR readers.

Spiegel’s talk will be followed up by presentations from industry heavyweights like Qualcomm and XREAL. Despite Snap’s solid commitment to its AR ambitions, building everything from the ground up has somewhat kept the company on the periphery. Unlike others who rely on widely-used solutions like Unity, Snap has developed its own operating system, Snap OS, as well as a unique authoring tool, Lens Studio, which requires developers to adapt anew to its ecosystem. This innovative approach underscores Snap’s deep commitment to the XR space, even if it means treading a slightly lonelier path for now.

Scott Myers, Snap’s VP of Hardware, recently shared with Road to VR that the company is fervently working towards making Spectacles more than just Snapchat extensions. Snap’s vision extends to a future where smart glasses could replace smartphones. This ambition is deeply ingrained in their design, aiming for Spectacles to function independently without the need for a phone or tethered unit. “We want people to look up instead of down at their smartphones,” Myers emphasized.

Aside from pushing forward with social and location-centric AR experiences, Snap is doubling down on creating a welcoming platform for developers. They’re investing in top-notch tools and iterating based on feedback to streamline the development process, a testament to their close collaboration with developers. Myers even hands-on tests the Spectacles “nearly every day” to continuously refine the feature set and user experience.

As the race to create the first mainstream AR glasses heats up, with tech giants like Meta, Apple, and Google all in the fray, Snap’s strategic decisions in the coming years will be crucial. Their distinctive approach could either set them apart or present uphill battles in an evolving marketplace.

Road to VR proudly stands as the Premier Media Partner for AWE USA 2025, providing readers with the chance to secure an exclusive discount on tickets and witness the thrilling developments firsthand.