Snapchat Debuts Spectacles That Record Video

Bounding into hardware and physical fashion, Snapchat just unveiled Spectacles -- stylish video-recording sunglasses that are expected to retail for $130.

Set to hit shelves later this fall, the shades can record 10-second video snippets, which are designed to approximate one’s natural field of vision. That’s thanks to a 115-degree lens, which records circular video.

If Spectacles are well received, Snapchat would become the first company to convince consumers to wear connected gadgets on their face.

Google notoriously spent millions of dollars in development and marketing dollars, before giving up on its Glass initiative. Yet, Snapchat -- which just rebranded itself as Snap, Inc. -- seems to have learned a few things from Google's failure.

Spectacles’ $130 price tag is far more reasonable than the $1,500 that Google tried to charge people for Glass. Snapchat’s glasses are also being sold as a single-purpose device, which is historically much easier to market.

Unlike Google, Snapchat currently enjoys a strong bond with young consumers -- the ideal demographic for starting trends and popularizing products.

Though bold, Snapchat’s move into hardware shouldn’t come as a complete surprise to industry watchers. The social darling recently joined the industry group that runs the Bluetooth wireless standard, which followed several hires and smallish acquisitions in the arena of consumer electronic.

The move also comes at a time when Snapchat is making more money than it can count.

Indeed, despite direct competition from Facebook and other tech giants, the company is positioned for “explosive” growth in ad revenue over the next few years, according to a recent forecast from eMarketer. The research predicts that the playful messaging app will generate $366.69 million in ad revenues this year.

That figure is expected to jump to $935.46 million, next year.

Cathy Boyle, principal analyst at eMarketer, recently said Snapchat’s bright outlook has everything to do with its young user base. “Advertisers are attracted to Snapchat for its broad reach among young millennials and those in Generation Z, which are valuable demographic groups for many businesses,” Boyle notes in a new report.

To its credit, Snapchat has also tailored its ad strategy specifically for this easy-to-alienate demographic.

“To engage those often hard-to-reach consumers, Snapchat has expanded its advertising portfolio over the past year to include a wider array of video ads and more sponsored geo-filters and sponsored lenses,” according to Boyle.

Stateside, Snapchat’s Discover feature generates 43% of ad revenue, which is its largest single share, according to eMarketer.

Next year, however, the research firm expects Stories to overtakes Discover as the dominant ad revenue source -- by generating 37.8% of the company’s domestic ad revenue.

Having launched its ad platform in mid-2015, Snapchat still only captures 2.3% of social-networking dollars, eMarketer estimates. That’s despite the fact that it now commands 36% of the market in terms of domestic users. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

1 comment about "Snapchat Debuts Spectacles That Record Video".
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  1. L M from agency, September 27, 2016 at 1:47 p.m.

    Spectacles should sell very well at the entrances of strip clubs, clothing stores dressing rooms, to all porn viewers, topless beaches, lockerrooms, as well as movie theaters and sporting events. One more strike for privacy in the world.
    Though, considering the insane # of shootings everyday in the USA, a few seconds of getting perpetrators on camera might be helpful in police identifications... and that includes abusive cops too.

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