SnapChat SPECTACLES

2016 - 2019

These spectacles recorded short videos for the Snapchat video-sharing platform. Highly successful marketing hype with special Spectacles vending machines in Los Angeles made Snapchat grossly overestimate demand. The sunglasses were no longer cool when they became available five months later. Massive piles of Spectacles remain unsold and the company was forced to write down nearly $40 million in costs. But Snapchat did not give up. In 2019 they launched an updated version of Spectacles, affordably priced at $380. The latest versions of the camera-glasses feature AI for an even more exciting experience.

Additional info:

The Verge - Snap’s first AR Spectacles are an ambitious, impractical start

UXCONNECTIONS - The spectacular failure of Spectacles – why did SnapChat lose out?