As most of us have heard about by now, Snapchat, an app which has over 200 million active users is planning on launching “Snapchat Spectacles.” Snapchat’s new product reminds us of the time when Google Glass first launched, and well, that was certainly a fluke on Google’s behalf.
Priced at roughly $130, these glasses are advertised as sunglasses with a connected camera inside and are meant to record footage of your everyday life for up to 10 seconds at a time. The glasses work in conjunction with the popular app, Snapchat and are connected through Bluetooth, uploading your recording to Snapchat as soon as you get WiFi.
Personally, I believe that Snapchat has a chance at succeeding and breaking through while Google has failed.
Why?
Well firstly, Snapchat is much more focused in their design and their target is simple, it’s for users to record moments of their daily life worth snapping. In addition, by wearing glasses, it’s far more convenient to record something for your story, versus say, holding onto a phone while skateboarding, and the perspective your followers get are different as well. Google, on the other hand, offered too much on their product, giving us the function of browsing the internet or recording videos but there’s no purpose behind it and we don’t have an overall use for the product.
Furthermore, Google Glass was considerably more expensive than Snapchat, having had their glasses sold for a breath taking price of roughly $1500 in comparison to Snapchat’s $130. Snapchat’s glasses are far more price friendly towards it’s target audience of teenagers and young adults. Google, however, set their price too high, $1500 is a hefty price to pay for most adults making a decent living.
Lastly, appearance of the product is key to marketing and from this aspect, I doubt the success of Snapchat and understand a partial reason as to why Google Glass failed. Google Glass looked weird and out of style to begin, almost similar to laboratory goggles with a weird piece on the right lenses. In any case, Snapchat isn’t much better, though more stylist, they’re very fashion forward with their options for neon colours and oddly shaped cat frames which in turn may deter people from purchasing them.
In conclusion, I believe that Snapchat Spectacles will have a successful launch in the market based on the fact that it’s a reasonably priced, beneficial add-on to the already successful app.
References
https://www.cnet.com/products/snapchat-spectacles/preview/
http://www.theverge.com/2016/9/24/13042640/snapchat-spectacles-how-to-use
https://www.technologyreview.com/s/532691/google-glass-is-dead-long-live-smart-glasses/
http://www.slate.com/articles/technology/technology/2015/01/snapchat_why_teens_favorite_app_makes_the_facebook_generation_feel_old.html
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-3493078/Is-Snapchat-making-Google-Glass-Smart-specs-disappearing-pictures-videos.html
Photos
http://www.diazmag.com/ray-ban-partenaire-des-google-glass/
https://www.cnet.com/news/snapchat-spectacles-glasses-camera-snap-inc-evan-spiegel/
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