Snapchat’s new smart sunglasses, Snapchat Spectacles, are the hottest gadget in America at the minute. It’s probably the first wearable designed specifically for the Snapchat generation. They’re also in incredibly short supply and only available through special robot vending machines dotted across the United States only at the moment.
Unlike previous wearable glasses, Spectacles look, more or less, like hipster sunglasses. Snapchat did all it could to hide the technology away. The only indications that there’s something else afoot here are the two yellow circles on either side of the sunglasses. One houses the video camera and the other a circle of LEDs that make it clear to others when Spectacles are filming.
Setting up the glasses to work with your phone is easy and straightforward, and Snapchat includes step-by-step instructions inside the package. Once they’re paired with your phone, you can begin shooting videos that will upload directly to your phone and are housed inside the Memories folders.
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There’s one other major problem with Spectacles: It’s actually a hassle to view the videos after they’re done recording. While the shooting part is easy, the entire experience after the fact is clunky and time-consuming.
The videos are buried in your Memories folder, which most people likely never even open but was clearly created to house Spectacles videos. You have to watch through every single video in order, so you can’t just select your most recent video and look at it — all the videos you’ve created play back much like a Snap story
Right now, their allure mostly lies in how difficult they are to buy. Everyone who tries these on will immediately uploaded a selfie while wearing them, but probably not record any video with them.
The product seems worth the money, and would be fun to have on-hand for the few days a year you’re at a music festival or taking a road trip with friends. But don’t be surprised if, after a few selfies and a couple fun POV videos, your Spectacles start to gather dust.
TECHstance 