时间:2025-04-03 14:31:40 来源:网络整理编辑:休閑
Snap "we're a camera company" Inc. just launched its second piece of hardware: the next version of i
Snap "we're a camera company" Inc. just launched its second piece of hardware: the next version of its camera-enabled Spectacles, which are on sale now.
If we're comparing to the originals, then Snap has improved the glasses in just about every way. The design is slimmer and looks more like regular sunglasses, the video quality is better, they're waterproof, and they can finally snap still photos in addition to 10-second video clips.
SEE ALSO:Snapchat just proved why lenses are a bigger deal than StoriesBut, at $149.99, they're also $20 more than the original. And if you were hoping for augmented reality features or a fancy dual-camera version, then you're going to be disappointed. What you get instead is a solid -- if slightly boring -- update that feels like what Spectacles should have been all along.
The latest version of Spectacles doesn't look significantly different than the ones that launched in 2016. They're still plastic, with a camera in the corner of the right lens, and they still charge more or less wirelessly via metal contacts on one hinge that line up with counterparts in their case, which doubles as a battery. (You doneed a wire to charge the case.)
But even though the basics are the same, Snap has improved the design in noticeable ways. For starters, they're smaller and lighter. The frames are slimmer and the part behind the right lens, which houses the camera components, is way less bulky.
The charging case is also mercifully smaller (by about 20 percent, according to Snap). It's still triangular, but it's no longer awkwardly big, which means the case will actually fit in smaller bags.
Snap has also made the Specs look more like, well, normal sunglasses. They still light up when you snap a photo or video, but the conspicuous yellow rings at the top of the frames have been swapped for colors that match the frames. And, speaking of colors, the selection has also improved.
The new Spectacles are available in three shades of blue, red, and black, and the colors are darker -- more like what you'd find in traditional sunglasses. And each one is available in two different lens styles. (The company's also partnering with online retailer Lensabl to offer prescription lenses for the first time.)
What all this amounts to are glasses you're more likely to actually wantto wear. While the original Spectacles still looked far better than most tech-enabled glasses (a very low bar), they also had a weird, toy-like look, no matter how much Snap tried to suggest the glasses were a fashion accessory.
The new Spectacles, by contrast, look enough like "regular" glasses that you might not mind trading in your usual sunnies.
The physical design isn't the only way Snap improved Spectacles. The internals have also been upgraded. The glasses themselves are waterproof, or, about as waterproof as you'd expect for camera-enabled sunglasses.
They'll easily survive splashes and wet weather, and can be submerged up to a couple of feet. The company hasn't provided an exact depth rating, though, so you may not want to take them too far underwater.
In terms of the actual camera, Snap's narrowed the field of view slightly from 115 degrees to 105 degrees. It's not a difference I noticed in my initial testing, but your mileage may vary. Video resolution is 1,216 x 1,216, which looks good on your phone, or when you export it somewhere else. Dual microphones mean audio is stronger, too, though you should still expect a lot of wind noise if it's a breezy day.
Better still, the transfer process has also improved dramatically. While the process was clunky with the original Spectacles -- you had to first import low-quality videos before manually enabling HD -- videos now import in full resolution automatically. And, the transfer process happens via Wi-Fi so it's much faster overall.
Adding a photo mode also feels very long overdue. Now, in addition to snapping video clips, you can hold down the button to snap a still image. (Snap is also making this available to the original Spectacles via a firmware update.)
But even though the still-pic mode is a nice addition, don't expect the quality to match your smartphone's. Outdoor photos were generally good: properly exposed and with decent dynamic range. Pull them off your phone and they don't look spectacular, but they're certainly passable for sharing on social media.
Lower-light photos are another story, though. And by lower light, I mean anything inside. Every photo I took indoors, no matter how well-lit the room, looked downright terrible. This may not be a huge knock, considering these are sunglasses, after all, but it's a bit disappointing if you'd hoped Spectacles could become a full-on replacement for your phone's camera.
The bigger question is not whether Spectacles are a good product (they are), but what's the point? With Facebook constantly breathing down the company's neck, are camera glasses a differentiator or another costly distraction?
For Snap, the second generation of Spectacles proves just how committed the company is to playing the long game when it comes to its hardware strategy. Yes, the glasses are considerably more boring than we may have hoped for Version 2, but they improve on the original design in just about every way.
At the very least, Snap has learned from the mistakes it made with its first launch. The gimmicky Snapbots are gone, at least for now, and the only place to buy the new Spectacles will be on its website. Snap says this will help it control its supply a bit better than the previous launch, which reportedly resulted in a $40 million loss for the company due to unsold Specs.
The company also plans to advertise the new glasses inside of its own app -- a seemingly obvious move it didn't do the first time around.
Even so, it seems unlikely that the company will sell significantly more Spectacles this time around.(By the way, Snap has officially provided numbers on how many original Spectacles sold: 220,000.) But that almost doesn't even matter.
That's because Snap's strategy is about much more than trying to sell a load of Spectacles right now. Look, there's a reason CEO Evan Spiegel loves to say "we're a camera company." And, as much as the company can brag about how Snapchat is the best camera, it also needs hardware to back up those aspirations.
And until it can launch its (rumored) drone or actual augmented reality glasses, iterating on Spectacles gives them that credibility.
So boring though it may seem, it's the update Snap needed to make, and -- most importantly -- one that makes an already-good product significantly better.
Now they just have to hope that's enough.
TopicsSnapchatGadgets
Major earthquake and multiple aftershocks rock central Italy2025-04-03 14:18
【波盈足球】 世足日韓表現誰更佳?亞洲6隊全出局但已寫下曆史 ( 日本,美聯社 )2025-04-03 14:11
【波盈足球】 世足西班牙重演4年前悲劇 !無敵艦隊還是跨不過這「心魔」 ( 西班牙,摩洛哥 )2025-04-03 13:43
【波盈足球】 世足C羅姊姊重砲開轟葡萄牙主帥:羞辱付出這麽多的人非常可恥 ( 葡萄牙,的人 )2025-04-03 13:28
MashReads Podcast: What makes a good summer read?2025-04-03 13:22
【波盈足球】 世足拋開金球獎爭議 範戴克:梅西是這時代最佳球員 ( 阿根廷,荷蘭 )2025-04-03 13:21
【天下體育足球】 32025-04-03 12:52
【波盈足球】 世足相信隊友 「魔笛」:李瓦柯維奇會擋下所有球 ( 日本隊,西亞 )2025-04-03 12:29
Pokémon Go is so big that it has its own VR porn parody now2025-04-03 11:58
世界杯首次6大洲晉級誕生!亞洲16強紀錄+奇跡之約:梅西+C羅決賽(16年歐洲杯葡萄牙奪冠)2025-04-03 11:46
Snapchat is about to explode in popularity, report says2025-04-03 14:25
2022卡塔爾世界杯巡禮之H組:C羅 、巴爾韋德領銜(葡萄牙與韓國的恩怨情深)2025-04-03 13:50
從技術上分析 ,阿根廷打不過荷蘭(阿根廷點球勝荷蘭)2025-04-03 13:20
【波盈足球】 影韓國隊輸在這 !遭巴西「花俏腳法」耍爆 慘丟世足8強門票 ( 巴西,韓國 )2025-04-03 13:12
Florida hurricane forecast remains uncertain, but trends in state's favor2025-04-03 12:57
被質疑又如何 !梅西如願捧起第七座金球獎,曆史第一人坐實?(梅西到場送擁抱)2025-04-03 12:56
【波盈足球】 世足從上屆出賽掛0晉身「克國門神」:一生最棒比賽 ( 門將,西亞 )2025-04-03 12:46
梅西拯救阿根廷 !創造10項紀錄 ,超越C羅追平馬拉多納 封王在即(馬拉多納與梅西世紀進球)2025-04-03 12:42
Mom discovers security cameras hacked, kids' bedroom livestreamed2025-04-03 12:38
【波盈足球】 世足巴西森巴舞不會停歇 2大優勢力壓克羅埃西亞 ( 巴西,西亞 )2025-04-03 12:06