Snapchat Spectacles: Incredible Glasses You Won't Use Much

Do you remember that golden age in the world of technology when we believed that smart glasses would be the future? Google was the first company to explore this market with its Google Glass. He did it for years and with expensive prototypes (at 1400 euros each) and difficult to acquire. Now, the project seems dead, although Google said months ago "that the thing did not end here", we have not heard anything about it.

Snapchat has bypassed the unsuccessful attempt at Google Glass and has dared to develop modern glasses that equip a technology that to me, at least, has left me speechless. You would never expect a social network to do its homework so well in the retail hardware section and the Spectacles surprise, but their use is limited.

Homework Well Done: A Modern, Useful Design

The main difference between Spectacles and Google Glass is their design. Google's bet was a simple ornament on our faces that cast a tiny screen into one eye. The user had to make a great effort to focus his attention on that screen. However, Spectacles offer an elegant, refined design and one that sunglass lovers will appreciate (yes, Spectacles can double as sunglasses). However, it will not make much sense to wear them indoors, where you will look a bit ridiculous if you wear them.

The style of Spectacles is traditional, but futuristic at the same time, as seen in the two circles seen on the front frame of the glasses. The lenses are rounded, but we can "have fun" by choosing a finish that matches our personality, be it black, blue or red. Personally, I prefer the model with teal-green tints, but in this review I only had the opportunity to play with the black model, which also looks pretty good.

At first it was a bit strange for me to get hold of the glasses. When you put them on, you notice the two circles at the top and it seems to restrict your viewing angle. But it impacts the fact that be extremely light. You would think that a camera integrated in glasses and LED lights would weigh more, but the fact that these plastic glasses hardly weighs is striking. Of course, they seem to be made of "cheap" materials.

Spectacles come with their respective beige case-Snapchat And, believe me, when you are not wearing them, you will want to keep them well stored in their respective cover because it is quite resistant (shockproof and accidental drops). Inside the case, the glasses rest on a sophisticated integrated charger. The good news is that having to carry more cables is not a hassle, because the Spectacles charger can be conveniently stored next to the glasses.

Another aspect that I must highlight is the ease with which we can connect the glasses Smart to our phones via Bluetooth. To do this, once we have the glasses in our hands and connected, we go to the Snapchat application on the phone, we slide to the settings and once there we click on the option «Shows«. In this section you can add your new fashion accessory, check if they are connected, the remaining battery level and check if there are software updates available.

Press and Record

Snapchat glasses are designed to further enhance the stories on the social network. After the appearance of Instagram Stories, the company responded quickly with an accessory that is easily integrated into our daily lives and that, encourages, without a doubt, the use of the social network.

In my case, I was one of those users who said "Sayonara!" to Snapchat When the Instagram stories and Spectacles appeared, they made me use the social network again. Why? Why It is easy for me to capture any moment of my daily life Just press a button on the glasses and record for a few seconds. How many times has it happened to you that a friend has done something funny and you have asked him to repeat it once more to record it on social networks? Now you can capture these types of scenes the first time. And taking selfies with the glasses is quite practical too, in case you had doubts about it, but the video will not look good if you are just recording when you pass the glasses to a friend.

If you appreciate your privacy and don't like the idea of ​​knowing that someone is recording you with their glasses, don't worry, because one of the front circles of the Spectacles shows some LED lights to alert people around what are you recording. This was precisely one of the most controversial and criticized aspects of Google Glass, since you never knew if someone could be recording or taking photos of you without permission. Even so, I could see for myself that society still does not feel prepared to deal with "techies" that may be recording them.

What you are going to appreciate the most is the fact record videos hands-free. Something that I miss in these glasses is the possibility of taking photos, an option that is not possible at the moment. Spectacles only help us take 10, 20 and 30 second clips (with the option to record several in a row).

Once you have tired of wearing your glasses or are ready to view the recorded material, you will need to export the material to the application. The good news is that we don't need to carry the phone with us everywhere, because glasses can record completely independently.

This step may choke you, just like me. If you are one of those who are lazy to extract photos and videos from a microSD card, then it will give you the same laziness to extract the clips from the glasses.

In the Snapchat application you will see that a shortcut appears to the clips captured with the Spectacles. You can download them from this section, but important notice to consumers: have a plug or portable battery handy, because the battery of your smartphone will suffer. Stories will be downloaded in SD format by default, but you have the option to download your favorites in HD. Of course, I must admit that data is transmitted at high speed.

As usual in Snapchat, the user can add filters and their geolocation in the clips taken with the glasses, but forget about adding the funny masks or effects on your faces (which are still the favorite tool of the followers of the social network) .

With each load of Spectacles we will get about 100 clips. Perfect for a whole day of activity. After a day of intense use, leave the glasses in their corresponding case. Click on the side button to check how much additional charge they have left.

Impressive quality

My jaw dropped when I downloaded the first HD video. I never thought that such simple and light glasses could hide such high technology. The quality is just awesome. Audio is not far behind, either. Videos play smoothly. It is surprising that this tiny camera hides such power to stabilize the image in a semi-professional way.

In addition, the glasses offer the possibility to play with the viewing angle When we publish the video on Snapchat (if we turn the mobile and put it in portrait or landscape mode, the focus remains on the same subject as if we were still wearing the Spectacles, but we go through a greater angle of the captured scenes).

The only drawback is that, if you want download the video to use it on any other platform, then Snapchat will include it in a white frame that detracts from quality.

Are Spectacles worth buying?

It seems clear that Snapchat was aware that selling smart glasses like these would be a delicate mission, but marketing deployment they have done in the United States to promote them has been, to say the least, brilliant.

Until recently, Snapchat followers and techies could only buy them at temporary kiosks popping up around the country. You never knew where it would appear, or at what time, or how long it would take for the glasses to run out, but every time they have appeared somewhere (be it Venice Beach in Los Angeles, in Las Vegas or deep in the Grand Canyon), the Spectacles have been sold out in seconds.

In this sense, the marketing department of Snapchat has created a "fever" in which it has encouraged the public to get hold of a technological device that was in short supply and that, therefore, gave a touch of exclusivity.

However, the situation changed last week when the glasses came out officially on sale for $ 130. At the moment, they are only available in the United States and we do not know how the international expansion will be, since Snapchat has not announced anything about it yet.

Are they worth buying? Really price is affordable, but limited use. It is only intended for those users who cannot live without Snapchat. Yes, the glasses hide a true piece of technological engineering inside, but after a few days of intense use, you may start to forget about them and they become part of your collection of forgotten gadgets.