Well, the big fuss about the implementation of snaps in Ubuntu Linux, which will coexist with the standard Debian packages, is that you’ll be able to (finally) install newer software versions, as soon as they are out from upstream, but only if there are developers willing to create these snaps for Ubuntu, of course.
In layman’s terms, when GNOME release a newer version of their desktop environment, let’s say GNOME 3.20.1, you will be able to install it (entirely or part of it) on your Ubuntu 16.04 LTS operating system. Same goes for any other popular software, including, but not limited to, KDE, GIMP, Transmission, Mozilla Thunderbird, etc.