What comes after smartphones, with Snap CEO Evan Spiegel

About this episode

Evan Spiegel discusses the future of computing beyond smartphones and the launch of Snap's AR glasses, Spectacles.

Snap CEO Evan Spiegel joins John at the pub for a deep dive into Snap's "crucible moment" of 2026: the long-awaited consumer launch of Spectacles. Evan explains why he believes the smartphone has become an isolating legacy device and how true AR glasses represent the first step toward making computing human again. They discuss the technical hurdles of fitting a spatial computer into a glasses form factor, why Snap built its own OS from scratch, and how Claude is transforming their software development, with over two-thirds of Snap’s new code now written by AI. Plus, the pair dig into the complex reality of teen phone usage, the distinction between social and media, and why Norway was the first country to embrace Snapchat. Timestamps (00:00:15) Snap’s crucible moment (00:01:05) Specs (00:09:12) AR as the right form factor (00:20:45) Stablecoin payouts on Stripe (00:21:46) Monetizing the camera (00:28:13) Social media vs messaging (00:47:37) Content moderation (00:59:49) Snap’s evolution

People in this episode

Host: John

Guest: Evan Spiegel

Topics covered

• augmented reality
• smartphones
• social media
• technology evolution
• teen phone usage
• software development

Keywords

• Snap
• Evan Spiegel
• Spectacles
• augmented reality
• smartphones
• AI in software
• teen usage
• social media

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Snap, Stripe, Claude

Products: Spectacles

Places: Norway

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