Developer guide
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 toFrom the developer blogs
Developer programmes
Hardware access, previews and research programmes you can join nowCamera, audio and display access on Meta's AI glasses, plus Neural Band gestures, through a companion mobile app.
Developer Spectacles hardware on subscription with Lens Studio support; Specs 27 is the current target.
Aria Gen 2 sensor glasses, tools and support for academic work on egocentric perception — research only, nothing shippable.
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 productCompetitions and grants
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 eligibilitySnap's monthly Lens contest for Spectacles. The August round takes new Lenses, updates to existing ones and open-source work, each as its own prize track.
VisitFour one-week builds in Lens Studio with CLAD, an AI-assisted agent workflow, aimed at the upcoming Specs. Every week has its own theme, workshop and winners, and no hardware is required.
VisitCanada'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.
VisitEurope'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.
VisitThe student-run XR hackathon. Hardware is lent out on site and past years have run glasses tracks. Exact dates are not published yet.
Visit