Snapchat Spectacles Review
Snapchat Spectacles Review
Snapchat is one of the latest social media platforms that has taken the world by storm. It provides a different social experience that gives it an edge over all the rest. Snapchat, basically a video and picture messaging app, did not at any one point seek out to be appealing in the way Facebook is or even Twitter. It set out an uncharted course for itself which has proven to be fruitful so far. Recently, Snapchat rebranded to Snap Inc. and now Snapchat is only a part of the larger company.
That said, Snapchat is the very first social media platform to design its very own hardware to be paired with the social media app and platform. The Snapchat spectacles are a must have for every individual on Snapchat. They take the already great Snapchat experience to a whole new level, yes, I’m a Snapchat Fan. You should be cautioned though. These glasses are not designed, and neither are they intended to act like reality devices or even heavy duty action cameras. They are simply designed to be glasses that take snaps in a simple playful way. You can take your snaps and upload them on Snapchat in an instant using these spectacles.
back to menu ↑Design
These Spectacles like Snapchat, have revolutionized wearable tech. they are designed to be lightweight, unlike most basic spectacles. As a matter of fact, some of its users have gone ahead to term them as fashionable, which is rarely synonymous with wearable tech gadgets.
These glasses are designed in all curves and circles complete with a nice funky ridge on the nose bridge. This design is rather impressive and inviting, unlike the boxy edges that Google Glass featured. These units are currently available in only 3 colors: Coral, Black and Teal. As for the size, the unit measures 5.25 inches across from one arm to the other, has a 1 inch wide bridge and is 6 inches from the lenses to the temple. They weigh an impressive 1.76 ounces.
On the inside of one arm, Snap Inc. included the writing ‘Spectacles’ in a silver script font. This invokes a premium feel just like the high end Ray-Ban sunglasses. On the other arm, the Smart glasses have ‘Designed by Snap Inc.’ written on them.
There are two yellow circles at each end of the spectacles (depicting Snapchat’s theme color). The circles outline the camera on the right and a LED lit ring on the left. The camera modules are hidden in the glasses themselves between the temple and the frame hinges. This is a pretty neat design as they make the overall design sleek. The failed Google Glass tech featured protruding camera boxes which were unsightly and possibly one of the reasons why it did not create much traction. Clearly, Snap Inc. learned from the mistakes of others.
When you take a closer look at the colored rings at the edge of the glasses, you will note that one houses the camera and the other contains LED lights that rotate when you are recording. This feature gets rid of the ‘Glasshole’ factor. When you Snap anyone while wearing the Spectacles, they will know.
Wearing the glasses, you will notice that they fit perfectly. On the inside of the frames are comfort rubber circles which rest on the nose bridge.
The only downside you might find with regards to its design is that there is no way you can wear these units over other glasses. If you depend on lenses to improve your vision and do not have contact lenses, you will not enjoy this piece of tech. You can, however, opt to get the lens from Rochester Optical as they make prescription Spectacle lenses. Be ready to spend more than the actual Snapchat glasses price.
The Spectacle lenses are designed with UV protection. This helps to block the harmful sun rays as well as provide impact protection which reduces damage from the shallow drops. The lenses are not polarized and do not have an anti-reflecting coating either. But all the same, you will see your phone screen clearly without experiencing any distortion.
You should be warned that these glasses are not waterproof.
back to menu ↑Features
The Snapchat Spectacles are a brand new way of telling your everyday story in short but sweet 10 seconds videos. The Video glasses work by pressing the record button once to capture the 10 second memory. If you wish to capture moments longer than this, you can press it twice or even thrice but the videos will always be broken down into 10 seconds.
The videos captured are transferred to smartphones through the Snapchat application. Here you can mark up the clip with some cute stickers, texts, geofilters and many other Snapchat editing tools. With these features, the Snapchat spectacles are now the fastest, handsfree way of creating Kodak Perfect moments.
And the best part is that you do not need to have your Smartphone on hand for you to record your videos. You can have it tucked away in your bag or in your pocket or even at home. Your Glasses will still work fine. Without your phone to transfer your 10 second videos, you have a total of 200 snaps before you run out of your storage space. This is twice the amount of snaps that the battery will allow.
Importing the videos can at times be challenging especially when you are trying to import HD clips over Wi-Fi. The standard definition clips automatically arrive through Bluetooth. You always have the chance to decide which videos you want to transfer as there are no automatic uploads. And when you upload them to your Snapchat, they will appear in the order in which you took them.
back to menu ↑Spectacles Video quality
Snapchat spectacles come with a 115 degree field of view for its video. This is not exactly the best there is, but the fact that the video is recorded in a circular shape to mimic the human eye makes all the difference. While viewing the videos on your phone, changing the phone orientation from portrait to landscape will have you notice some bit of zooming in. the videos will appear larger than the regular 16:9 rectangular smartphone screen.
The quality of the video recorded is good but not as insane. While the videos can be rather clear during the day, they cannot possibly compare to the video quality of Smartphone cameras even the HD video versions. In low light, the video quality turns grainy and noisy.
That said, the video quality is clear enough to get the point across to your followers. The microphone also picks up every sound clearly and is better than one imagines.
back to menu ↑Battery life
Just like you became a pro at the Snapchat app, you also will have to become very efficient at using the Spectacles camera. This is mainly because it comes with a very short battery life. On a single charge, the battery has the ability to take 100 videos. However, transferring videos especially via Wi-Fi significantly reduced this capability. As such, it is best to capture one video for every moment. This will provide you with around 8 minutes of footage for a single charge. In the event it is not enough to get you through the day, you can carry your Spectacle battery charging case.
This charging case is bright yellow in color and rather bulky. It has the ability to recharge the spectacle about 4 times before it itself needs recharging.
The Spectacles take about 90 minutes to go from 0-100% of full charge. And given the design of the charging case, where the magnetic contact is located at the back of the hinge, you cannot wear the glasses and charge them simultaneously.
back to menu ↑Who should buy the Spectacles?
There are a host of individuals who would want and probably need to have this gadget.
The athletic persons – unless you will be bungee-jumping or riding the rollercoaster, the chances of the glasses falling off your face are pretty slim. You can wear them while playing dodgeball or while on the trampoline.
Parents – These Spectacles are perfect especially for parents with toddlers. Toddlers have lots of goofy and cute moments that need to be captured fast. The handsfree design of the glasses are perfect for capturing such moments as they happen.
Anyone who wants in on the action – the glasses will be on your face and will not get in the way of you completing your daily tasks. In addition, other persons are less likely to be weirded out when you are filming them. Great thing they can’t tell when they are being filmed. You should, however, try not to be such a creep.
Anyone who needs to have a Point of View
With these glasses, anyone can see what you are seeing. Be it cooking, singing or dancing.
Where can you get these Snapchat glasses?
The Snapchat spectacles were launched in November 2016. And for the longest time since their launch, they could only be found on roaming Snapbot vending machines. This has however changed with time and you can now make your Snapchat glasses buy online. You can make an order on the Spectacles site in a color you fancy. The color options are teal, coral and black.
back to menu ↑Our Final Thoughts
Spectacles are the hands free way of telling our Snapchat story better. The 10 second videos will give your followers and friends your perspective of things. And the fact that it takes advantage of all the Snapchat fun edits really improves the experience.
The fact that the glasses look normal has made them popular with teens. If you are wondering whether you should make that purchase, the answer is yes. Waste no more time.
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