With all the success of their app product, Snapchat wanted to upgrade to a new level of content capturing. They launched spectacles, their first ever hardware product. Nevertheless, any technology always comes with open areas for development. In the following, I will briefly give my critique of Snapchat Spectacles.
Pros
Hands-free content capturer
One major point that Snapchat wanted to provide with their new product is a hand free device. The genre of the Snapchat app is to share moments with others. Therefore, users should be able to capture those moments in an easy and fast way. Snapchat wanted to facilitate that through the one-click button on the spectacles. The spectacles detached the video capturing from the phone into an easy access device. However, the snapchatters need to complete the snapping using their phone to actually post captured videos on the app.
Hands-free content capturer
One major point that Snapchat wanted to provide with their new product is a hand free device. The genre of the Snapchat app is to share moments with others. Therefore, users should be able to capture those moments in an easy and fast way. Snapchat wanted to facilitate that through the one-click button on the spectacles. The spectacles detached the video capturing from the phone into an easy access device. However, the snapchatters need to complete the snapping using their phone to actually post captured videos on the app.
Circular videos
There are two modes to capture videos using the phone, portrait and landscape where the landscape offers a wider view of the scene. This feature is smartly designed in the Snapchat spectacles. The videos that these glasses take are not like the horizontal or vertical videos that we used to. They record videos in a circular format so when you’re viewing videos that you have recorded in the Snapchat app, you can rotate the phone to see more of the video as shown in the figures below.
There are two modes to capture videos using the phone, portrait and landscape where the landscape offers a wider view of the scene. This feature is smartly designed in the Snapchat spectacles. The videos that these glasses take are not like the horizontal or vertical videos that we used to. They record videos in a circular format so when you’re viewing videos that you have recorded in the Snapchat app, you can rotate the phone to see more of the video as shown in the figures below.
Source [1]
Obvious recording
Snapchat also made a smart decision by making it obvious when you do the recording. A light will spin in a circle to let anybody knows that you’re filming. By this feature, they are trying to avoid the stigma of Google glasses. Google glasses were the first wearable glasses that could record but they faced a negative social behavior. Snapchat wanted to make a good first impression with these spectacles to reverse the Google glasses stigma.
Snapchat also made a smart decision by making it obvious when you do the recording. A light will spin in a circle to let anybody knows that you’re filming. By this feature, they are trying to avoid the stigma of Google glasses. Google glasses were the first wearable glasses that could record but they faced a negative social behavior. Snapchat wanted to make a good first impression with these spectacles to reverse the Google glasses stigma.
Cons
Bluetooth transfer
The spectacles store the videos that you have recorded so they can be transferred later to the Snapchat app. The videos are transferred through Bluetooth, which is a bit slow compared to other technology like Wi-Fi. Limited transferring technology will also limit the quality enhancement of the taking pictures. That is because transferring data through Bluetooth can be painful with high quality images like high-definition (HD) images. The low quality is also a drawback of these spectacles. The videos are dark and blurry at night.
Bluetooth transfer
The spectacles store the videos that you have recorded so they can be transferred later to the Snapchat app. The videos are transferred through Bluetooth, which is a bit slow compared to other technology like Wi-Fi. Limited transferring technology will also limit the quality enhancement of the taking pictures. That is because transferring data through Bluetooth can be painful with high quality images like high-definition (HD) images. The low quality is also a drawback of these spectacles. The videos are dark and blurry at night.
Two devices for one app
Having two devices to work with one app can be a drawback. Users always go back to the app to actually post the taking videos. From one aspect, that would make the experience is even longer.
Having two devices to work with one app can be a drawback. Users always go back to the app to actually post the taking videos. From one aspect, that would make the experience is even longer.
One shape and limited color
Every buyer of optical glasses knows that one shape doesn’t fit all. The spectacles came in one shape and a limited number of colors that wouldn’t fit everybody. From another hand, if we just ignored the design issue, people who wear optical glasses have no obvious way on how to use those spectacles with their own glasses. The glasses itself is not important but the camera on it is the core component. Some people would like to have an option to replace the lenses with the ones that work for them.
Every buyer of optical glasses knows that one shape doesn’t fit all. The spectacles came in one shape and a limited number of colors that wouldn’t fit everybody. From another hand, if we just ignored the design issue, people who wear optical glasses have no obvious way on how to use those spectacles with their own glasses. The glasses itself is not important but the camera on it is the core component. Some people would like to have an option to replace the lenses with the ones that work for them.