Snapchat CEO to Deliver Keynote at AWE 2025, Highlighting Company’s XR Expansion Plans

Snap Inc., the mastermind behind Snapchat and the innovative Spectacles AR glasses, is gearing up for a significant moment at AWE 2025 this June. The CEO of Snap, Evan Spiegel, will step into the spotlight at this major XR conference to present the company’s latest advancements in augmented reality. This appearance is a strategic move by Snap as it seeks to cement its presence and influence in the expanding XR landscape.

Snap has carved a niche for itself with its standalone AR glasses, one of the few options available to consumers today. However, within the broader XR community, Snap is still perceived as somewhat of an outsider. This view is largely because Snap is treading a path less traveled when it comes to their AR pursuits, contrasting with the approaches of big players who usually focus on gaming or productivity.

In contrast to the likes of the Quest, PSVR 2, and Apple’s Vision Pro, which cater predominantly to gaming and entertainment enthusiasts, Snap’s Spectacles are crafted from a social-centric philosophy. Their focus is on creating augmented reality experiences that are deeply tied to real-world locations and enable shared adventures among users in the same space.

Come June, Spiegel will bring Snap’s unique AR vision to AWE 2025, held in Long Beach, California. This event, one of the largest of its kind, is expected to draw over 6,000 participants and showcase 300 exhibitors on a vast 150,000-square-foot expo floor. With more than 400 speakers, AWE is a melting pot of ideas and innovation in the XR field, and Road to VR readers have the added benefit of an exclusive 20% discount on early-bird tickets.

Joining Spiegel are industry giants like Qualcomm and XREAL, who are established names within the conference circuit. Interestingly, Snap’s independent pursuit of building an AR ecosystem from scratch is partly why they remain somewhat on the fringe of the XR industry.

Snap isn’t merely producing AR glasses; it’s also crafting its own ecosystem with Snap OS and a tailor-made developer tool, Lens Studio. Unlike using more widespread platforms like Unity, developers working with Spectacles need to grow accustomed to this proprietary system—a testament to Snap’s bespoke approach to creating AR experiences.

This approach underscores Snap’s genuine investment in the XR arena. In a insightful conversation with Road to VR, Scott Myers, Snap’s VP of Hardware, revealed aspirations for Spectacles to evolve beyond just an extension of Snapchat. Snap envisions a future where these glasses eclipse the role of smartphones, heralding the next era of mobile computing.

“We aim for people to look up through their glasses, absorbing their surroundings, rather than being glued to a smartphone screen,” Myers elaborated.

Further emphasizing Snap’s developer-focused ethos, Myers expressed a commitment to devising the best possible tools and welcoming developer feedback to steer improvements. He shared his daily routine of using Spectacles to test new functions, highlighting a collaborative journey with developers to streamline the creation process.

As the race intensifies with tech giants like Meta, Apple, and Google all striving to introduce mainstream AR glasses, Snap’s strategies will be critical in carving out its place in this competitive arena.

With its position as the Premier Media Partner of AWE USA 2025, Road to VR is thrilled to offer its readers an exclusive 20% discount on event tickets, inviting them to witness the future of AR unfold firsthand.