Snapchat has rebranded itself as Snap Inc., and has launched a new product called Spectacles. Available in three quirky colors, the glasses can record ten second videos.
Snapchat is evolving from more than an app to something bigger. With around 310 million monthly users, Snapchat is already at a high pedestal when it comes to social networking. Talking about the change, for starters, the company has rebranded itself as Snap Inc. The company, now Snap, has announced the launch of its new product, called Spectacles, which not only looks really cool, but comes with an even cooler feature and purpose. Sticking to its motto of keeping your memories alive in snaps and videos, Spectacles are not your everyday sunglasses. One can record videos using Spectacles, with just a tap of the button.
While everybody is wondering how the sunglasses work, here’s what you need to know. As explained by The Verge, the sunglasses come in one size and will be available in three colors black, teal and coral. The cost of the glasses is $130 (Rs 8,600 approximately). As of now, the product has been announced, and it will go on sale sometime this fall. The camera in the glasses has 115-degree lens, which is made to record in such a way that it imitates how a human eye sees things. There is a dedicated button on the top left-hand corner of the sunglasses which one needs to press to start recording. The allotted time for recording a video is 10 seconds, which is not surprising considering the limited time frame ‘Snapchat’ goes by in its app. However, one can tap again to add ten extra seconds to the recording. The maximum recording time goes up to 30 seconds.
Once you tap the button to record, an inward-facing light will turn on and an outward-facing light will turn on alerting anyone within the field of vision. Once the recording is done, Android users can transfer the recorded videos via Wi-Fi connection. As for iOS users, there is a dedicated Bluetooth connection which will transfer the snaps by default or one can also transfer them via Wi-Fi connection in high resolution. Even if you do not have a smartphone with you, the snaps will be stored in the device. The snaps are recorded in the way human eyes see, as mentioned above and can be viewed later in landscape or portrait mode. The videos are saved in ‘circular’ view and can be played on other devices as well. Snapchat also crops them accordingly.
Spectacles can be charged with its dedicated case and cable for charging which when fully charged can recharge Spectacles up to four times. A full charge would last Spectacles a day and the outward-facing light when double tapped will indicate how much power is left. Snap will only be selling a limited number of Spectacles. Spectacles is being compared to Google Glass, but Snap has replied saying that it costs less than one-tenth of what Google Glass costs, making them more accessible. Snap also said that they are positioning the glasses more as a GoPro, “And people love their GoPros.” Spectacles first spotted by The Wall Street Journal, which published a photograph of Evan Spiegel, CEO and co-founder of the now ‘Snap’, wearing unique sunglasses.
Even as Facebook is aggressively competing by introducing Snapchat-like features, Snap on the other hand is looking towards a new direction with Spectacles and is relying on the fact that hardware can have help with good profit margin. This is also not the first time that Snap has launched hardware products. In the past, the company has had products like Snapchat Ice Tray, Snapchat Backpack, Snapchat Playing Cards and more.
Source: bgr.in
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