Snapchat has been working hard to enter the hardware industry, and now it has done it by introducing Spectacles. The glasses are integrated with a video camera that makes the process of taking videos easier.
The news first came when Snapchat hired more people, including an eyewear designer Lauryn Morries and a former employee who listed his experience as working on highly miniaturized and very low-power electronics. The first glance at the device was when CEO Evan Spiegel appeared to be wearing the glasses in his vacation.
While the crowd didn't take much notice, paparazzi's photos clearly show the round-framed sunglasses with what seemed to be a camera. The rumor then escalated when footage videos have been leaked and shared on the web.
On September 24th, 2016, Snapchat finally revealed the badly kept secret. Spiegel took the device to a stage at a conference room in Venice, California. There he announced the rumored device.
Spectacles is Snapchat's first venture into the hardware space. Describing the device as a sunglasses equipped with one of the smallest video camera in the world, Spectacles are able to 10-seconds video at a time, and able to connect directly to Snapchat via Bluetooth or Wi-Fi. Contents taken will be transferred directly to the users' Memories using a new circular video format.
With a 115-degree camera on its frame for a wide field view, Spectacles can shoot whatever the user sees in his perspective, as easy as wearing a sunglasses.
Contents taken can be then viewed and played fullscreen on any devices.
To meet the new initiative, Snapchat also has undergone a major rebranding. While its app will still be known as "Snapchat", the main body that oversees the app and Spectacles will be known as Snap, Inc..
Evan Spiegel said in Snapchat's blog:
As a reflection of this rebranding, the company has started to introduce the brand to the web and on social media networks. Shown below is Snapchat's new Twitter account that goes under the name Snap.
Snapchat is one of the most popular platforms for teenager and a like. With hundreds of millions of users, Snapchat is ready to go beyond what was intended, and it undoubtedly hopes that it'll be received better than the ill-fated Google Glass. For that it has come prepared.
First of all, Google had a much higher ambition with Glasses, and that was envisaging the wearable computer as a notifications hub, telepresence rig, location-based services interface, and of course a mobile camera. Snapchat took a simpler path with Spectacles: just a way to take videos and share them on Snapchat, hands-free.
The next contrast is their price tag. Google Glass came with a hefty $1,500 for the Explorer Edition while Spectacles come much cheaper at $130.
Glass also came with issues, and the most prominent was privacy. People may not realized they were being filmed. Glass had no apparent way for saying "I'm recording you." Spectacles on the other hand, has an LED ring surrounding its camera. The eyepiece will look illuminated while recording. While Glass can connect to the internet and users can make it perform tasks by voice command, Spectacles just have a hinge to start with the recording with.
As good as Spectacles can be, the real question Snapchat has to answer is: "Is it ready for it?"
Beside facing possible software glitches and privacy issues, Snapchat needs to address the ways and cost for mass manufacturing, marketing and distribution. Furthermore, meeting deadlines for hardware demand is more difficult than software where updates can be pushed.
We have a long history where software-oriented companies failed at their attempt in entering the hardware industry. It's populated by giants with strong foundations, and it's also so unforgiving that even those big players can also fail.
But Snap is taking its venture slowly as Evan Spiegel explained, and it's playing safe. The company will observe how its users are using and appreciating it. It's describing the wearable as more of a toy than anything else as it explores how it could expand from merely being an app. So if there's an expected problem, the company can pull the plug quickly before taking matters worse.