Snap's fifth-generation AR Spectacles are now available in India
What's the story
Snap Inc, the parent company of Snapchat, just celebrated its second annual India AR Day in Mumbai.
The event served as a platform to highlight India's major contributions to the global augmented reality (AR) scene, especially in the creation of Snapchat AR lenses.
Snap's fifth-generation AR Spectacles also made their debut in the country at the ceremony.
AR leadership
India leads in Snapchat AR lens creation
Bobby Murphy, CTO of Snap Inc, highlighted India's pivotal role in the AR area.
Murphy emphasized that Indian developers are at the forefront of innovation, with the most number of lenses published on Snapchat worldwide, coming from here.
This goes on to show how much Indian developers contribute to the advancement of AR technology across the globe.
India's AR developer community has grown by over 50% in the last two years.
User engagement
AR is central to communication and creativity in India
Pulkit Trivedi, the Managing Director of Snap India, said that with more than 200 million Snapchat users in India, AR has become an essential part of communication and creativity.
He added that users interact with AR Lenses over 80 billion times a month, showcasing the power of creative expression.
This level of engagement highlights the increasing significance and adoption of AR technology among Indian Snapchat users.
Product launch
What do the 5th-generation Spectacles offer?
The India AR Day event also saw the debut of Snap's fifth-generation Spectacles.
These standalone, see-through AR glasses, powered by Snap OS, deliver an immersive AR experience, which can be controlled using voice and hand gestures.
Designed for indoor and outdoor use, the Spectacles combine wearability with advanced AR capabilities, further improving the experience.
Community growth
Initiatives to nurture India's growing AR ecosystem
India's thriving AR ecosystem has witnessed over 85% of Snapchat users leveraging Lenses to connect, especially during cultural events.
In the last year alone, over 375,000 global creators have developed over four million AR Lenses that have been interacted with over 4.5 trillion times.
To continue fostering this growth, Snap has expanded its footprint beyond metros by hosting over 120 meetups in Tier 2, 3 cities in 2024 alone, interacting with over 6,000 developers.
Educational partnerships
Collaborations with educational institutions to foster AR talent
Snap has also partnered with educational institutes like K.J. Somaiya (Mumbai), Pearl Academy (Bengaluru, Mumbai, Delhi), and Loyola College (Chennai) to develop future AR talent. The collaborations would help nurture the next generation of innovators in India's fast-growing AR space.
AR recognition
Snap announces India Lens Awards
At the event, Snap also announced the India Lens Awards to honor the best AR creators.
The winners were Pratyush Gupta for "Perfect Pitch Game" (Best Viral Lens), Krunal MB Gediya for "Diwali Game" (Best Game), and XRFX Studio for "Ethereal Dress" (Best Artistic Lens).
Wasim Ghole won for "Domino Pro LIDAR" (Best Technical Lens) and Jeetesh Singh for "Rang De Mohey" (Best Festive Lens).
The awards recognize and celebrate the creativity and technical prowess of Indian AR lens creators.