Wearable smart glasses have so far failed to capture the public’s imagination. Google Glass flopped, at least as far as consumer sales were consumed, though applications for the kit’s augmented reality capabilities have since seen the glasses start to take off in a number of sectors, including manufacturing and medicine.
The Snap Spectacles, made by Snapchat’s parent company, Snap, also fared poorly. They only sold 220,000 units of the initial V1, but now V2 is here and Snap is hoping that the redesign will be a much bigger hit.
It still remains to be seen whether the general public will take to them, but most of the reviews seem positive.
TechCrunch’s John Constine wrote: “After two days of use, I think Spectacles V2 cross the threshold from clumsy novelty to creative tool accessible to the mainstream. And amidst user growth struggles, that’s what Snap needs right now.”
Spectacles have a new slimline look
So, what’s new? First of all, the design is slimmer and more streamlined, with a smaller case. The consensus seems to be that they actually look and feel more like genuine smart spectacles or sunglasses now and less like a wearable camera in the vague shape of a bulky pair of glasses. In the US, in fact, Snap is currently working with a company called Lensabl to provide prescription and polarised lenses for the product. This facility won’t be available in Europe for now, but they are available in a range of colours – choose from onyx black, ruby red or sapphire blue.
In today’s climate, privacy issues are more important than ever, and there’s a small ring of lights to show recording. The bigger yellow circle from V1 has been removed, and whether or not this decision will turn out to be a mistake, we’ll just have to wait and see.
A number of technical improvements
In technical terms, there is an array of improvements. The connection speed between the Spectacles and your smartphone is much faster, allowing for much easier transfers. You can connect via Bluetooth, and transfers are about four times faster. Unlike the first iteration, you can now use V2 to take still photos as well as videos.
They are now also water-proof at shallow depths. Snap says that they’re fine to take into the pool or sea – as long as you’re not going scuba diving! The case, which doubles as the Spectacles’ charger, is also now splash-proof.
One of Snap’s goals appears to be to get Snapchat users to wear the Spectacles as their standard sunglasses rather than as a novelty, only-on-a-special-occasion item. With the Lensabl partnership, they might even get some people wearing them as their everyday glasses. If this happens, they can expect a lot more content to appear, helping to differentiate Snapchat from its big rival, Instagram.
Snap VP of Hardware Mark Randall told TechCrunch that the company is starting to reach out to professional content creators, who could help demonstrate the potential of Spectacles and other smart glasses.
Editorial credit: NYCStock / Shutterstock.com
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