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| The spectacles of Snapchat are not only for millennials |
Last month, Snapchat revealed its first hardware product, intelligent lenses equipped with a camera called spectacles.
Many
will match the spectacles with Google Glass, but I ask them not to do
so. Although we should take them with a healthy dose of skepticism, the
spectacles are different from Google's high-tech lenses. If we had to
match them with something, maybe it would be a GoPro. In addition, the
spectacles only cost $130, while Google Glass costs 1.500.
Most
importantly, in the eyes of the public targeted by this product, is
that Snapchat – now known as Snap Inc. – is much cooler than Google.
Spectacles
In
an interview with the Wall Street Journal, Snapchat's CEO, Evan
Spiegel, spoke about an occasion when he used a prototype of the
spectacles during a hike in 2015. "When I got the material and saw it, I
could see my own memories, through my own eyes – it was amazing," he
said. "Seeing pictures of an experience you had is one thing, but it is a
very different to have an experience of experience." "It's as close as
I've come to feel like I was there again."
Anyone
who has ever used a GoPro understands the value of this assertion. The
boys record themselves skating, skiing, swimming, snowboarding, and
more. We could call them the capture generation. It is the demographic
that snap understands and, as shown in this graph, which it seeks to
attract.
Snap Spectacles chart
"Would
you consider buying the spectacles?" asked Business Insider to the
millennials. Absolutely, "said 5%;" 26% stated that "I would think";
"Probably not," asserted 33% and "in no Way" was the 32% response. Only
4% of the millennials said they knew nothing about the spectacles.
However,
I suspect that the millennials are not the only ones who will be
interested in the spectacles. The baby boomers are avid photographers
and having a real time camera with them would give them more flexibility
in terms of the things they capture. They also have more time to travel
and relax. Personally, I often see interesting things during my travels
that I decide not to capture, so having a device that I record with a
single touch ready at any time would be very useful.
But
the spectacles could have a more practical purpose as a kind of cameras
for the dashboard of the car or "dash cams". The fixed location of
these devices makes them relatively limited. But if I had a few
spectacles, I'd have a more accurate view of what's around me. They
could even be used for police work.
It
can be hard to predict the success that a hardware product will have on
the market. That said, the concept is quite sensible and having a
recording device that looks like something most of us already have –
sunglasses – and less like, well, Google Glass, is a good first step.
You can bet that other companies will present alternatives with other
styles or ally with Snap Inc. to provide other designs. Still, the
hardware is complicated, Snap Inc. will need to work long before we take
the spectacles more seriously.
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