Snapchat gets into hardware with video sunglasses

Snap Inc. - the company formerly known as Snapchat - made a bit of a surprise announcement over the weekend, and revealed its first hardware product: video sunglasses. Dubbed Spectacles, the glasses record video in 10 second blocks that get saved to your Snapchat Memories folder.

The glasses have a 115-degree lens, and record video in a circular format designed to mimic the way the human eye sees. When you're watching these back on your phone, they'll automatically be cropped to either landscape or portrait orientation, depending on how you're holding your phone.

Spectacles feature an outward-facing light that fires up when you're recording (presumably, to alert others they're being filmed), and an internal light for your benefit. Tapping a button on the top-left hand corner of the sunnies will start recording a snap. Users can tap again to expand the capture time up to 30 seconds.

You'll pair Spectacles to your Android smartphone or iPhone over Bluetooth or Wi-Fi, but you'll still be able to use the glasses as a standalone device. Videos will be stored on them until you connect to your phone.

Snap Inc. will be making a limited number of Spectacles, priced at USD$130. Snap Inc. has yet to confirm when the glasses will be available, or where you'll be able to buy them.

Alex Choros

Managing Editor + Group Telco Editor | X | Instagram | Threads | LinkedIn

Alex Choros is the Managing Editor of WhistleOut Australia and an award-winning journalist. He's been writing about consumer technology for over a decade and is an expert on the Australian telco sector, to the point where he knows far too many phone and internet plans by heart. In addition to leading the WhistleOut editorial team, Alex is responsible for ruining the office Sonos with his troubled taste in music.

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