On the 22nd of September 2016, Snapchat rebranded itself as Snap Inc. and unveiled their newest product – Spectacles. The Spectacles are Snap Inc.’s first move into the wearable tech industry. The Spectacles are able to record 10 seconds of circular videos through a 115-degree angle lens (up to 30 seconds if record is clicked again) and upload them directly to the user’s Snapchat account via Wi-Fi or Bluetooth. The Spectacles are expected to go on sale in the fall season and will cost $129.99.
The CEO of Snap Inc Evan Spiegel said that the spectacles were produced ‘because it’s fun’. Furthermore, they will only be available for a limited amount of time when they go on sale. Inferring from this, it seems that the Snap Inc is playing it cautious and easing their way into the wearable tech market to avoid another situation like the Google Glass where it was rejected by majority of the public. Marketing the product as a ‘toy’ as the CEO describes lowers the expectation of the product and makes it seem like a fun accessory to compliment snapchat rather than a product that takes on a completely new focus such as the Google Glass.
One of the big marketing features that differentiates the Spectacles from the Google Glass, one of the only products we are able to compare with due to the lack of face tech-wearables, is the fact that the spectacles look similar to the average pair of sunglasses with a big frame. On Snap Inc.’s Instagram account they have been posting photos of the Spectacles in a fashion shoot. This could possibly be to advertise the product as fashionable unlike the Google Glass where wearers would be labelled ‘GlassHoles’.
Finally, the cost of the product ($129.99) is relatively cheap compared current wearables such as the Fitbit Charge 2 which costs $149.95, the Apple Watch Series 2 – $369 and the Google Glass which costed $1500 in 2013 at its initial release. This strategy of a low cost product makes it more accessible to a larger market as more people will be able to afford it. Furthermore, this allows Snap Inc. to tap into their market of existing customers as a majority of Snapchat’s users will be able to afford this complimentary product
On the whole, it seems that Snap Inc. has taken a step in the right direction into the wearable tech industry by paying attention to the failures of Google Glass and working on what they did wrong. One of the main features that I feel that Snap Inc. is going for with the Spectacles is a socially acceptable face wearable-technology accessory that is casual and fun.
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Bibliography
The most genius thing about the Snap Spectacles is their $130 price tag
http://mashable.com/2016/09/27/snapchat-glasses-are-coming/#hBScmSbHDqqj
https://www.engadget.com/2016/09/29/snapchat-spectacles-low-risk-wearables/
http://www.cnbc.com/2016/09/25/heres-how-snapchats-new-spectacles-work.html
http://mashable.com/2016/09/24/snapchat-spectacles-price/#Ulv_JvEGm8qH
https://www.cnet.com/topics/wearable-tech/best-wearable-tech/
http://mashable.com/2016/09/24/snapchat-spectacles-snap-inc/#avlsVlQMm5qh