Snapchat Changes Name to Snap Inc.; Introduces "Spectacles"

September 26, 2016

Evan Spiegel, CEO of Snapchat, announced to the Wall Street Journal that Snapchat has been renamed Snap Inc., and also introduced a new hardware product called Spectacles – a video-sharing sunglasses that will free up the user’s hands from the smartphone cameras.

In the Wall Street Journal, Spiegel said the reason for the name change is “refreshing the company name because its offerings now go beyond the Snapchat app.”

The new Spectacles turn on when you slip them on and tap a button near the hinge of the lens. The tap will record up to 10 seconds of video from your first-person vantage point with each new tap records another clip.

The camera uses an 115-degree-angle lens, which has a wider view than any smartphone camera and records in a circular, more human-like vision. With your hands free from holding the camera, you can now use your hands for video. Spectacles video will automatically sync to your smartphone which will make it easily shareable.

Look for Spectacles to be released this fall at a price of $129.99. They are one-sized-fits-all and will come in black, teal, or coral.

UPDATED: I was questionable of this new product at first, but this tweet is making me feel differently:

Snapchat just solved the portrait vs landscape video argument forever pic.twitter.com/iOsKeaeXkb

— Owen Williams⚡️ (@ow) September 24, 2016

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