Snap revamps Spectacles, but will users buy them?
Snapchat hasn’t given up on Spectacles.
The revamp of the Spectacles video glasses, out Thursday, has a higher price tag at $149, a slightly smaller frame and can now do more than just take video clips — it also captures photos.
The first edition, which went on sale nationally in early 2017 for $129, was in hot demand at first but then flopped. After selling 220,000, Snap, the parent company of Snapchat, reported a $40 million write-down in November on unsold inventory.
Snap now describes Spectacles as a “hands-free camera” to capture ordinary moments and create circular video clips for sharing directly to Snapchat. The first edition had a limit of 10-second video clips, and on the new model, you can tap two or three times on the glass frame to create longer, 20-second or 30- second videos.
Unlike the wild colors of the initial Spectacles, the new models are available in more muted colors, Onyx, Ruby and Sapphire.
Snap says the new glasses are “more comfortable to wear” and water resistant, so they can be taken to the beach or pool. The shades have what’s billed as improved audio, with two microphones and less wind noise pickup.
The company — whose quick disappearing messages and goofy filters made Snapchat a hit with younger users — says its goal with the first generation of Spectacles was to get people comfortable with the idea of wearing cameras on their face. It admits it made “business planning mistakes” on predicting sales.
The company stock closed at $14.70 a share Thursday, up 16 cents from the previous day’s trading. It is still far below its first day of trading closing price of $24.48 on March 2, 2017.