Five platforms, five different bargains: what you write in, what you have to buy, how you ship, and what the assistant on the frame can do for you. Compare them below, or answer the questions and let the guide narrow it down.
Developer news
SDK releases, programmes to apply to, and who to talk to
Google's own SDK for Android XR, targeting display and audio glasses as well as headsets, with Unity, Unreal, Godot, OpenXR and WebXR routes alongside Jetpack Compose.
Application windows and costs change without notice — each link goes to the company's own programme page, which is the only authority on status and on whether an application is needed at all.
Open source
The code each maker publishes itself — SDKs, samples, and in two cases the whole product
Maker
Written in
Showing 23 of 23 repositoriesStar counts are a snapshot taken when the row was written, not a live figure. Only first-party repositories are listed: community SDKs exist for several makers, but listing them here would imply support the maker does not offer.
Hackathons, contests and funding open to glasses developers right now — each link goes to the organiser's own page, the only authority on status and eligibility
Company
Glasses
Type
Showing 4 of 4 competitions and grants
Hackathon
Hack the North
Hack the North 2026
Canada's largest student hackathon, 36 hours at the University of Waterloo. Snap has lent Spectacles and run an AR track in past years — check this year's sponsor list before you plan a build around the hardware.
Snap's monthly Lens contest for Spectacles. The September round takes new Lenses, updates to existing ones and open-source work, each as its own prize track.
Europe's largest hackathon — 48 hours outside Helsinki, with challenges set by sponsors. Snap's Spectacles team has brought hardware to past editions. The track list goes up with the challenges.