What comes after smartphones, with Evan Spiegel of Snap
Snap CEO Evan Spiegel joins John at the pub for a deep dive into Snap's "crucible moment" of 2026: the long-awaited consumer launch of Spectacles. Evan explains why he believes the smartphone has become an isolating legacy device and how true AR glasses represent the first step toward making computing human again. They discuss the technical hurdles of fitting a spatial computer into a glasses form factor, why Snap built its own OS from scratch, and how Claude is transforming their software development, with over two-thirds of Snap’s new code now written by AI. Plus, the pair dig into the complex reality of teen phone usage, the distinction between social and media, and why Norway was the first country to embrace Snapchat.
Full transcript on Substack: https://open.substack.com/pub/cheekyp...
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Key moments
00:00:15 Snap’s crucible moment
00:01:05 Specs
00:09:12 AR as the right form factor
00:20:45 Stablecoin payouts on Stripe
00:21:46 Monetizing the camera
00:28:13 Social media vs messaging
00:47:37 Content moderation
00:59:49 Snap’s evolution