Snapchat released its first hardware product called “Spectacles” back in 2016, featuring an embedded camera for capturing 10-second of video with the tap of a button, which ended up being a costly misstep for the company. Today, the company has released the second generation of Spectacles, which are not only slimmer, but also take photos and are water resistant (via The Verge).
Snap says it talked with customers and drew up a list of employees’ own complaints about the original Spectacles before building the sequel. The company ultimately made three major refinements.
First, it created a slimmer design to fit more easily in a pants pocket, with a noticeably smaller case for easy storage in the bag. Secondly, it improved the transfer speed between Spectacles and your phone. And third is that they are now safe to take into the water. The glasses are water-resistant at shallow depths, and the company says you can safely dive into a pool with them.
“There are a handful of other improvements as well. You can now take photos as well as videos — tap the top button to take a 10-second video, or press and hold for a second to snap a photo. (You can also tap two or three times to create a 20- or 30-second video.) Both photos and videos are now in high definition, and there’s no standard-definition mode any more. Photo resolution is 1642 x 1642, and video resolution has been improved 25 percent to 1216 x 1216.”
The new Spectacles come in three jewel tones i.e. onyx (black), ruby (red), and sapphire (blue), and are available to order starting today at Spectacles.com for $199 CAD.
