Four months after launching the second version of Spectacles, Snapchat today revealed two new styles of its wearable glasses, called "Nico" and "Veronica." Instead of the circular lenses with colorful styles, the new Spectacles come in black-on-black with polarized lenses and more traditional sunglasses designs.
Otherwise, the glasses appear to be largely the same as the the models that were announced in April. You can capture up to 70 videos or "hundreds" of photos on a single charge, and all the content will be transferred to your connected smartphone via Bluetooth. Nico and Veronica also retain the Spectacles 2's water resistance feature, so you don't have to worry about wearing them in the rain or at the beach.
In the fall, Snapchat says that a new Spectacles feature will debut that automatically curates your Spectacles Snaps into one Highlight Story. The company explains that this should make it "faster and easier" to find your favorite recorded moments and share them with your Snapchat friends after you've recorded a lot of videos and photos.
In addition to polarized lenses, The Verge reports that another difference between the new Spectacles and the models from April is a new black "semi-soft" carrying case. This is another aim by Snapchat to be more subtle with its Spectacles line, as the original devices all came with a bright, hard yellow charging case.
According to Snapchat, the April launch of Spectacles 2 saw a 40 percent increase in content uploaded to Snapchat via Spectacles:
Snap says that since the introduction of Spectacles 2, users have been posting, on average, 40 percent more photos and videos captured with the glasses. The company has also made it easier to share that content on other platforms outside Snapchat by adding automatic camera roll saves and by allowing users to export video in more conventional square and horizontal formats.
Those interested can purchase the Nico and Veronica Spectacles on Snapchat.com today for $199.99. Following the online launch, the updated Spectacles will be sold at select Nordstrom and Neiman Marcus retail stores in the fall, as well as a "variety of retailers in Europe." Prescription versions will also be available through Lensabl.
The new Spectacles come after Snapchat lost millions of users throughout 2018, following its controversial redesign that began rolling out in November 2017. During its second quarter earnings results, the company said it went down from 191 million daily active users in Q1 2018 to 188 million in Q2, "primarily driven" by the "disruption caused by our redesign," according to CEO Evan Spiegel.
Still, Spiegel at the time said that Snapchat is working to iterate and improve the app based on community feedback, promising that the major frustrations have already been addressed.
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