An inside look into Snap’s Spectacles

Camille Encarnacion

Snap Inc. is currently in the process of innovating Spectacles. This camera-equipped pair of glasses is able to capture content through a 115 degree camera lens, similar to the field view of an average man. The company shares on their Snap Inc. blog site, “imagine one of your favorite memories-what if you can go back and see that memory the way you experienced it? That’s why we built Spectacles.”

Camille Encarnacion, Tech Editor

Snapchat, now known as Snap, is currently in the process of innovating a new way to share ten-second videos as well as capture pictures through a camera-equipped pair of sunglasses called “Spectacles.” With a 115-degree camera lens and touch-sensitive recording controls, users are provided with a first-person take on media recording as it is similar to a person’s natural field of view. Through Specs, users will be able to directly transfer media content onto the Snap app via Wi-Fi or Bluetooth.

Spectacles will be available in three colors: coral, teal and black and will be sold at approximately $130 a pair. It will come with a rechargeable case that contains a week’s worth of use after being fully charged; the Spectacles itself can last an entire day by a single charge. The glasses can store the videos in its memory space after recording so the user isn’t required to have their handheld device nearby; a ring of LED lights are also attached on both the inside and outside of the lens corner allowing others, as well as the user, to know when a recording is taking place.

There is currently no exact release date for the new Spectacles, but Evan Spiegel, Snap Inc.’s CEO, reports that “Specs” will be available in the fall, with only a limited amount being released. Spiegel explains in an interview with Wall Street Journal, “we’re going to take a slow approach to rolling them out. It’s about us figuring out if it fits into people’s lives and seeing how they like it.” Snap Inc.’s consecutive increase in innovation may put their company into higher popularity and bring more demand into their business.