According to what CEO Evan Spiegel told The Wall Street Journal, the new smart glasses that film first-person video will appear on the market this fall.
They will go under name Spectacles, and you will be able to record videos up to 10 seconds. Moreover, the glasses will use an 115-degree-angle lens which is a sort of a human eye replica that allows a natural field of view. If you want to record a new video, you just need to tap the button located on the upper edge of the left lens.
This fall, there will be a limited number of glasses, which will come in one size, but in three different colors. The people would be able to choose between black, coral and teal all of which cost $129.99.
Spiegel said:”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.”
There was a leaked advertisement for the glasses and Spiegel confirmed speculations. The pair of glasses with the beam of light which represents the camera is the first part of the commercial. Later on, we can see kids having fun in the yard. The commercial ends with two elderly people, who are probably the grandparents, watching the video.
When Business Insider talked to the company about this commercial, Snapchat decided to remove the video. At the end of the video, there is also a line “Spectacles by Snap Inc.” As the CEO clarified, the company will change the name to Snap Inc.
There were indications that Snapchat would do something like this. In 2014 they purchased Vergence Labs, a start-up company that produces glasses with which you are available to record what you see. A year later, they started to compose a research team, under the radar. The team consisted of numerous scientists and software engineers whose specialties were in the domain of computer vision and machine learning.
In March this year, it was reported that they needed hardware experts for some new venture. Excluding backpacks, the company never dealt with the production of physical gear. Moreover, someone saw the company CEO to wear the prototype glasses in public.
Although the exact release date is unknown, it won’t be long before the Spectacles reach the market.
