Apparently undeterred by sluggish sales of its first batch of face-hugging, video-recording smart specs, Snap is planning a return to the market with a second and third edition of its Snapchat Spectacles, according to reports.
Speaking to insider sources, Cheddar reports that Spectacles 2.0 will launch later this year, with Spectacles 3.0 coming in 2019 and bringing with it two cameras rather than one. That's a little surprising considering the first batch of social media glasses only sold around 150,000 units, leaving the company with a lot of stock on its hands.
Extra points for perseverance though, Snap. Apparently waterproofing and a new range of colors are in the pipeline for the Spectacles launching in 2018, together with a few bug fixes and performance improvements.
GPS, aluminum, and more
It's the third edition of the Spectacles that will bring substantial upgrades though: the rumor is that a second camera will add extra depth effects, and the 3.0 version of the hardware might even add integrated GPS and an aluminum frame. A potential retail price of around $300 has been touted.
And as we've reported before, augmented reality capabilities could well come built into the new hardware, so you can get a little Bitmoji version of yourself dancing on a table. Snap is said to be exploring the possibility of building more devices with third-party hardware makers as well.
The Snapchat Spectacles weren't a terrible idea, letting users quickly share fun videos without having to pull their phones out, but not enough people were convinced to meet the $130 asking price. We'll have to wait and see whether Snap has better luck this time around – with Apple waiting in the wings.
