Snapchat has launched the Spectacles on Amazon, according to an Amazon listing of the product.
The Spectacles, released late last year, were first only distributed via a Snapchat dispenser that would be moved every single day which made them extremely difficult to find, according to CNET. Also, the dispenser only took debit or credit card and did not take cash.
Later on, the Spectacles were made available for purchase on their own website, and would be shipped in five to 10 business days and come with a charging case and cable so that you can charge your sunglasses. The charging case doesn’t need to use the cable at all times, and can be used to charge your Spectacles without needing to plug it into a wall (it can hold up to four charges).
The Spectacles, which cost $129.99, enable a user to record videos and send them to Snapchat without needing to be on your phone. All you need to do is connect the Spectacles to Wi-Fi so that you can send your Snapchats hands-free. They can also be saved to your Camera Roll or other apps. The Spectacles can record either 10, 20 or 30 seconds of video or take 100 Snaps at a time. They are currently available in three colors, which are black, coral and teal.
When first released, the Spectacles were definitely considered a collector’s item more than something a person would want to use on a daily basis due to their limited availability. The Spectacles only sold around 60,000 units and made up a chunk of Snapchat’s “other” revenue in Snapchat’s Q1 2017 according to Tech Insider (the “other” revenue was around $8 million). Snapchat made a total of $149.9 million during this quarter, showing that the Spectacles are not really making a dent in Snapchat’s revenue.
Snapchat has been struggling despite still bringing in revenue with people switching over to Instagram. Although the Spectacles are an interesting idea to keep Snapchatters using their app, they have been unable to stop people from switching to Instagram completely after Instagram created their own version of “stories,” photos or videos that can be added yo a user profile for only 24 hours.
Instagram has around 500 million monthly active users while Snapchat has around 30 million monthly active users, according to the Huffington Post. Although the difference in monthly active users is huge, people tend to use Snapchat for story-posting and sending timed photos to friends over Instagram. As shown in the polls in the Huffington post article, Snapchat seems to be the fan-favorite for those functions for now over Instagram.
In more recent news, Snapchat has added new features to the app according to TechCrunch. One of the new features is that if you hold down the record button on Snapchat, you can record six-10 second clips instead of having to pause in between recordings. The second feature made available was the Tint Brush, which allows Snapchat users to change the color of something without having to draw over it with Snapchat’s pencil feature. You will still be able to see the image, just with a different color of your choice.
Making Spectacles more available for everyone could help Snapchat boost the sales of the Snapchat recording sunglasses. In their fight to keep Snapchat relevant, I’m expecting Snapchat to create something even more far-fetched than the Spectacles to keep Snapchat users on their feet and wanting to use the app instead of moving to Instagram. For now, the Spectacles are made more accessible and Snapchat and Instagram will keep fighting for users.
You can buy the Snapchat Spectacles on Amazon or on the Spectacles official website for $129.99.
Featured image via Flickr/Anthony Quintano.
