Snapchat to Release $130 Video Glasses, ‘Spectacles’
The company will also rebrand as ‘Snap, Inc.’
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XqkOFLBSJR8
When Google came out with its $1500 Glass there was plenty of hype, but for a variety of reasons the smart, Android-powered eye gear never took off. Regardless of Google’s failure, Snapchat—which has also rebranded to Snap, Inc.—seems ready to try its hand at conquering this tricky segment of the wearables market with Spectacles.
Spectacles have an immediate advantage in looking like actual sunglasses, not some kind of medical device, as well as being much less expensive. When Snap finally puts its product on the market, Spectacles will sell for a reasonable $130.
The Verge broke down what’s known about Snap’s product, and here are some of the key details:
- Spectacles will come in teal, coral, and black.
- The cameras have 115-degree lenses, which supposedly mimic a human field of vision.
- Pressing a button on the top left side of the device will record video in 10 to 30-second increments—the better to post as Snaps, of course.
- Android users will be able to post Spectacles videos via wi-fi connection to their phones. iPhone owners will transfer footage over Bluetooth or wi-fi.
- Spectacles will store video until users want to send it to their phones.
- Snap claims the glasses can charge in their case and a charge will last a full day.
We won’t know just how big a gamble this product truly is for Snapchat until it’s on the shelves. Hopefully—for Snap’s sake—it won’t go the way of Glass or the strange Twitter-only device from the mid-00s, Peek.
Whatever the case, it’s a fascinating double-down on Snapchat’s current standing as social media site of the moment. Anything could happen.
h/t The Verge
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