Despite a dip in daily users, a surge in Snap+ subscribers is funding a renewed push into AR glasses
Snap Inc.’s Q4 2025 earnings report revealed a company in the midst of a pivot from a social media platform to a bona fide AR hardware player.
While the company reported total revenue of $1.72 billion (a 10% year-over-year increase) and a net income jump to $45 million, it saw a slight decline in daily active users, falling from 477 million to 474 million.
This dip in North America and Europe was offset by the success of Snapchat+, the paid subscription tier (which grew 71% to 24 million users), providing Snap with a more predictable revenue stream less dependent on digital ads.
The most significant takeaway for the hardware sector was the formalization of the previously announced Specs Inc—the new dedicated subsidiary tasked with launching Snap’s next-generation AR glasses later this year.
CEO Evan Spiegel confirmed that the company is moving past its ‘camera company’ label to focus on augmented reality that exists independently of the smartphone.
Spiegel hinted that the upcoming Specs hardware will target a different, perhaps more professional or prosumer audience than the core Snapchat user base, signaling a serious attempt to compete with Meta’s Ray-Ban collaboration and Apple’s Vision Pro ecosystem.
The Wareable take: Preparing to face off again
As we noted when Snap announced the split-off of Specs Inc in January, it’s a bold move to try and insulate itself from sitting at the mercy of hardware companies in the new age of AR wearables.
By carving out a dedicated hardware division, Snap is attempting to carve out its own place—and joins just about every other major brand in preparing 2026 hardware to help do so.
The revenue from Snap+ will almost certainly be used to fund this gamble, allowing the company to sustain the high costs of AR development even as its user growth in traditional social media plateaus.
However, in many ways, the core challenge remains the same as when it last released hardware: creating glasses people will actually stick with long term.
However, with a dedicated subsidiary and 24 million paying subscribers backing the project, Snap is in its strongest position yet to succeed.
