Lenny Rachitsky: belief

Transcript context

…Well, I think to take a huge step back, I love computers. I grew up using computers all the time. I built my own computer when I was in middle school. I fell in love with graphic design and would spend every lunch period in the computer lab. And I think one of the things that I noticed about computers and I think today with mobile phones is that in many ways they isolate us from one another. They actually take us out of our social interactions. They took me off the playground at recess and put me into the computer lab. Or if I look at our 15-year-old today and his friends, sometimes when they're hanging out, they're all looking down at their phones, even though they're all together. And so I think there's just such a big opportunity to build technology that actually brings us together, that keeps us grounded in the real world rather than removing us from it. And that's something that we realized early on with Snapchat. We were innovating, building lenses and augmented reality, but ultimately we saw that people were using AR on these tiny little phone screens that required you to use your thumbs to interact. And so it was almost like interacting with the world through a keyhole rather than actually staying grounded and being able to interact together with friends. So it just seems so obvious that as computers play a bigger and bigger role in our lives, I think today people spend seven or eight hours a day on average on screens that something has got to change to make this technology fit better into our lives. We get enormous value from computers, but at the same time, I think the cost is quite meaningful and I think they need to evolve. So with the early version of Spectacles, I guess that was back in 2014 or something like that, the initial idea was just to get the camera off the phone out of your pocket and allow you to more easily take snaps out in the world. But we've then sort of built a roadmap from there where we added a second camera to get depth. We added a display to be able to overlay digital objects into the world and help you interact with them. And then with the last generation in 2024, we released our operating system, which now allows developers to build full featured software inside of specs in preparation for the consumer launch. So I don't know, I think the time is right for a new type of computer. I think people are frustrated with the cost of using phones and computers today. They're kind of all hunched over like gremlins and we can build a new computer. We have built a new computer that brings people outside, that helps them connect together with their friends, that frees them up to actually use their hands to interact with the world. And that to me is really exciting. I think it's a whole new chapter. And gosh, I mean, what? It's been 20 years or something since the iPhone. So it's about time for something new, I think. So I got an early preview of the specs and it's extremely cool. I learned how to be an air bender. I put plants all over my house drawing all over the place and there's multiplayer features, which is very cool, which I think is part of the idea, is you're connecting with people versus sitting in a VR environment on your own. I worry about being connected all the time. So I imagine that's like a new thing we have to figure out. How do we not just get hooked on just watching things onto the side instead of looking at someone with? Do you have any thoughts there? Just is there a solution to that other than just like social norms? I do think social norms will play a big role, but I also think one of the things people experience with AR, specs, unlike these heads up display glasses, they don't just put an annoying little screen that's stuck to your face on the glasses. They actually anchor content in the world, which is really different. They put that content directly in your field of view rather than requiring you to look down at some little screen or get some text alert or notification. So I think, frankly, I don't think those use cases are very compelling. I don't think receiving phone notifications on your face is a valuable proposition for most folks. So I don't think we necessarily have to worry about that because I think most people don't want that. I think what is going to be really important with specs is showing people all of the incredible new ways they can hang out and connect together with their friends wearing specs, but I don't think it'll be disruptive or notification based or something like that. One of the things that I really dislike about the heads-up display glasses is when you're looking at the little heads up display in the corner, you're actually looking at your friend's crotch while you're talking to them if you check the heads up display. So the position is just very strange. And I don't think that that's something that really is resonating with customers, nor do I think that's something that's going to become like a widespread behavior.…

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