Snap Inc. Case Study

With the recent rebranding of the corporation of Snapchat to Snap Inc., it is apparent that the company founded by Evan Spiegel was trying to branch off from being just a mobile application. The first step they’re taking in that direction is the creation of wearable technology in the form of sunglasses, called Spectacles. These Snap Spectacles are designed to be fashionable but also possess the ability to record 10-second clips from the first-person point of view. With the press of a button, the camera begins recording, and light in the shape of a halo indicates to others that the glasses are active. Once the recording is completed, it's sent wirelessly to the user’s smartphone to be added to their “Snapchat Memories.”

The announcement of Spectacles is a bold move after the failure of Google’s “Glass” wearable technology, which garnered much attention in 2013. When first introduced, Google Glass was heavily ridiculed; its users were often insulted and mocked for wearing the glasses that were considered unnecessary and was a huge
Also, distribution will start small to gauge interest and allow Snap Inc. to examine which demographics the device appeals to the most. CEO Evan Spiegel refers to the device as a “toy.” It's supposed to be fun, designed to be worn at social events, concerts, parties. But what makes this device truly unique compared to just recording a snap on your smartphone is that the images it records are fundamentally different than that of a smartphone. The camera on Spectacles uses an 115-degree-angle lens which is much closer to the human eye’s field of view than a smartphone camera. The videos will be circular as well, which is a more natural way to view videos, rather than a rectangle. The goal of Spectacles is to make its recorded videos seem like real, organic memories as seen through the eyes of the person