Snapchat's Spectacles Are Overhyped – But Amazing

I waited for five hours to buy Snapchat&;s $129 camera glasses. I don&8217;t regret it.

If you’ve ever shared a self-destructing photo or video, you probably did so on Snapchat. Two months ago, the company re-branded itself as Snap Inc., “a camera company” (though the app is still called Snapchat).

But what’s a camera company without a camera? Enter Spectacles.

Snap&;s new camera/sunglasses hybrid is like a GoPro for hipsters, or maybe like a cuter and less conspicuous Google Glass. While wearing them, you can take photos that automatically upload to your phone, ready for you to add to your Snapchat story. They cost $129 and come in three colors (black, teal and coral), all in a rounded, slightly cat-eye shape.

And their hype is real, thanks in no small part to a genius rollout that&039;s led to artificially scarce supply, super-long lines, and a media story in and of itself. Unless you live in New York City or LA, Spectacles are only available via so-called Snapbots — a cyclops/vending machine hybrid that&039;s trackable on this map and that has been popping up in places like Big Sur, the Grand Canyon, and Tulsa, Oklahoma (but curiously enough, not bigger cities like Chicago or Philadelphia). Some pairs are already going for two or three times retail price on eBay, and Lumoid is charging $20 to rent a pair for a day.

Xavier Harding / BuzzFeed News


View Entire List ›

Quelle: <a href="Snapchat&039;s Spectacles Are Overhyped – But Amazing“>BuzzFeed

Published by