These new standalone AR glasses are launching in Europe, but there's a catch

Fans of AR glasses outside the US will be happy to learn that the new fifth generation of Spectacles from Snap are now launching in six European countries: Germany, Netherlands, Italy, France, Austria, and Spain.

The catch is, these futuristic, standalone AR glasses are currently only meant for app developers, as Snap continues to build its app library for the glasses' own operating system – Snap OS.

So there's a reason these are still pretty bulky and not quite ready for the masses to wear outside – they're just a step towards something better and more polished.

Snap's idea is – eventually everyone will be able to buy and wear standalone Spectacles like these during their daily lives, playing AR (augmented reality) games, getting phone notifications, doing video calls, and enjoying other helpful or entertaining experiences without actually using their phone.

These Spectacles already weigh an impressive 226 grams (impressive compared to VR headsets of today) and rely on voice commands and hand gestures. They also already feature some impressive AR specs, such as "46 degree diagonal field of view with a 37 pixel-per-degree resolution – similar to a 100 inch display just 10 feet away."

App developers will surely make good use of them. Speaking of which, if you're a developer interested in making apps for these Spectacles, prepare to spend €110 per month for a Spectacles Developer Program subscription, and here's hoping it's a worthwhile investment.

And if you're just an AR fan and/or user, for now, we can guide you towards glasses that are already out and available to consumers:

• Xreal Beam Pro review – simple, affordable, socially acceptable spatial computing?
• Xreal Air 2 Ultra preview: next-level AR experience
• Rokid Station review: Full Android TV on your face, supercharged Rokid Max