- Snap, the parent company of Snapchat, is releasing a new version of its Spectacles camera glasses, Cheddar reports.
- The newest model of Snapchat's Spectacles will reportedly come equipped with two cameras instead of one, and will cost $350 — way more than previous versions.
- According to Cheddar, Snap is planning to produce around 24,000 pairs of the newest model, a huge difference from the 800,000 units the company ordered of its first generation glasses in a big overestimate of customer demand.
Despite the fact that the first version of its Spectacles were something of a flop, Snapchat parent company Snap is planning to release another model of its camera sunglasses, Cheddar's Alex Heath reports.
In the third iteration of Spectacles produced just this year, these glasses will come with two cameras that will be used to "overlay AR lenses and create 3D-like photo effects" on captured footage, says Cheddar.
According to Cheddar, Snap plans to release these glasses before the end of 2018 at a price point of $350, which makes them the most expensive pair of Spectacles to date. The more stylish, fashion-forward version of Spectacles, released just this September, cost $200, while the first two versions of the hardware cost $130 and $150, respectively.
Snap is placing roughly 24,000 orders of its newest Spectacles, Cheddar reports.
This is a significantly lower number of units compared to the first iteration of the glasses, which launched in 2016. At the time, the company reportedly ordered 800,000 units in response to early hype around the hardware. However, the glasses never caught on as the company expected: less than half of owners were still using the glasses after the first month, and the gross overestimates resulted in $40 million worth of unsold inventory.
Cheddar reports that Snap dramatically lowered its orders to 35,000 units for its 2.0 version released in April, and 52,000 pairs of the more stylish model launched in September, but this new, most-expensive model could also be the least-ordered.
Still, even as sales are lower than perhaps hoped, CEO Evan Spiegel has often commented that he sees Spectacles and augmented reality hardware playing a significant role in Snap's future.
"Over the next decade or so, the way that these pieces fit together will probably be what defines our company," Spiegel told Wired back in April.
Representatives for Snap did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
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