Snap’s Spectacles Now Available & Sold Through 'Snapbots'

When Snap Inc., the newly-created company behind Snapchat, announced the release of Spectacles, it’s fair to say that they were something not many people expected. Today the new camera-equipped pair of glasses goes on sale, but the way consumers can get their hands on the product is fairly unusual.

Snap Inc. has confirmed that the unique pair of glasses will be sold through pop-up vending machines called Snapbots that randomly appear in locations for just one day. The vending machines aren’t ordinary ones, though. They feature huge yellow shells along with a large round display which plays footage taken through Spectacles whenever the motion sensors that are integrated into the machine detect a person nearby. As well as this, the vending machine features three round buttons, allowing the person to select the color of Spectacles they would like, either black, blue or pink. To help consumers wanting to get their hands on the glasses find a Snapbot, the company has also introduced a new online map which will allow consumers to view where the bots will be over the next day, allowing consumers to plan ahead in order to get their hands on the new product. According to the map, the first bot has appeared in California, near Snap’s headquarters.

Initially, the Snapbots will represent the only means of distribution for a number of months and even now it’s still unknown how the company plans to market the glasses. Either way, for those wanting to buy a pair of glasses, it would be wise to make sure to leave home with a full wallet, due to the fact that a pair of Spectacles will cost $129. It’s fair to say that sending customers to the Snapbots in order to get their hands on the new product is certainly a unique idea and goes hand-in-hand with the unique identity that Snap Inc. and its respective products are carving out for themselves. It’ll remain to be seen if Snap chooses to roll out Spectacles on a wider scale eventually, but the company may opt to hold off on this while it tests the market for feedback and, ultimately, it may decide to hold off a wide-scale release for the eventual second generation of the glasses.