Snap’s New ‘Spectacles 3’ AR Sunglasses Get Updated Design, Second Camera

Snap has today announced that its new ‘Spectacles 3’ augmented reality (AR) sunglasses featuring a sleek new design and an added HD camera “for creating depth perception,” will be releasing in November and will retail in the U.S. for $380, The Verge is reporting.

The company said that Spectacles 3 glasses, that mark its efforts in building a new computing platform centered on the face, will be released in limited quantities, which is also why they are twice as expensive as last year’s model which cost $150.

According to Snap, the higher-end Spectacles 3 is meant to appeal to a smaller group of “fashion-forward” creative types. A Snap spokesperson also said that this year’s model “represented a necessary investment in the platform,” adding that the company has to figure out a way to do AR computing right before it can do it cheaply:

The glasses’ marquee feature is a second camera, which enables Spectacles to capture depth for the first time. Snap has built a suite of new 3D effects that take advantage of the device’s new depth perception ability. They will be exclusive to Spectacles, and the company plans to let third-party developers design depth effects starting later this year.

The glasses will be available in two colors: “carbon” (black) and “mineral” (somewhere in between beige and gold). They have a lightweight steel frame, adjustable tips, and tinted lenses for protection from the sun.

Spectacles allow users to easily capture photos and videos by tapping a button on top of the glasses, sync them to their smartphones, edit them, and send them to their friends on Snapchat.