Snapchat Announces 'Spectacles,' $130 Sunglasses That Record 10 Seconds of Video at a Time

[kas23]

"I'll be ready in about 2 hours, I need to charge my sunglasses"
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sure they have but with the Snapchat logo they have become (I hope not) mainstream. The sheep out ther will love them and buy them in their droves because they have the 'snapchat' brand of approval.

As a photographer I hate having my picture taken. I can see people with mobiles when they point them in my direction. With these you can't. Then suddenly your image appears on Social Media and the person who takes the picture could not care less about the implications.
If I want to use a picture where a person is the main subject I have to get their written permission.
I have yet to see anyone with a mobile phone lst alone anything like this ask for permission.
The legal implications of using images without the consent of the subject can be severe (in terms on financial penalties).
There is a very good reason that 99.99% of my photography is of landscapes where people are secondary.

I'm curious, why are strangers taking pictures of you?

 

[Stop Making Sense]

I dont´t really understand the complaints on these. Its not supposed to be a device for general tasks, but for shooting snapchat videos. Its supposed to be a toy for younger people using when skateboarding, at fraternity party, concert whatever. All the reasons why the more geeky crowd dont like it, makes me think the young people will like it even more. When it comes to looks, the black ones look OK. Their toyish looks will make spot people having them on, and you will never see a middle aged man ever wear them. Could be a hit for the younger crowd if they get it at the right price point.

 

[calabi-yau]

Came to thread to see if people mentioned Black Mirror. Thread did not disappoint.

Anyway, the episode is called The Entire History of You, and it's pretty damn good:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Entire_History_of_You

 

[Mr. Donahue]

has anyone seen the movie VHS 2 on Netflix? there's a guy who has a camera in his eye ball. When is that going to be a thing? Or metal legs for that matter? How about bionic organs! So we can live forever. Bionic kidneys and livers so we can consume all the alcohol and sugar we want. along with any other bionic organ that gets destroyed by the toxins and abuse we put on our bodies. Oh the humanity. I'm still waiting for the day we have "suicide phone booths" That was a satirical invention I came up with in the 5th grade to answer peoples need to rid themselves of this world.

 

[32828870]

Google Glass was too early for its time but its time may be coming. A pair of glasses that records everything that you see while wearing them is something that could exist in an era of unlimited storage which cloud computing will inevitably lead to. Artificial intelligence able to recognize and index objects, moments and people would make it possible to search our lives for memories. "Show me that time when I first noticed my wife walking out of Macy's".

The first thing I thought of was an episode of "Black Mirror" titled "The Entire History of You":

In the near future, everyone has access to a memory implant that records everything they do, see and hear - a sort of Sky Plus for the brain. You need never forget a face again - but is that always a good thing?

 

[Kabeyun]

"I wish I could have a conversation with someone while they wear glasses that could film me," said no one ever.

 

[Tompkinson]

Came to thread to see if people mentioned Black Mirror. Thread did not disappoint.

Anyway, the episode is called The Entire History of You, and it's pretty damn good:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Entire_History_of_You

 

[32828870]

Ha! Should have read the whole thread.

Great episode!

 

[mdelvecchio]

While this is intended for the Snapchat generation, I can't help but imagine a more mainstream application for something like this.

Google Glass was too early for its time but its time may be coming. A pair of glasses that records everything that you see while wearing them is something that could exist in an era of unlimited storage which cloud computing will inevitably lead to. Artificial intelligence able to recognize and index objects, moments and people would make it possible to search our lives for memories. "Show me that time when I first noticed my wife walking out of Macy's".

There's a privacy concern that is gradually fading away as the generation that Spectacles was built for have grown up expecting cameras everywhere and not only not caring that they're being filmed but craving it. Older folks will hate it but the world will no longer be built for them.

cool story bro. only problem is not everyone of a generation is the same -- and not everyone has a complete disregard for privacy.
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the 1990's called. they want their "mini" cameras back.

seriously. wtf is up with those jumbo cameras...

 

[Larry-K]

You would wear a pair of these glasses and risk being shot in America. Good luck with that.

I live in a country which is free and not a police state like America. We truly have freedom of speech.

Good, I was thinking of moving there.

Although you do know the NSA is keeping tabs on you as well, don't you?

I would think they'd just beat the guy to death with bare fists in NZ

 

[Mac 128]

Any type of recordable glasses are going to run into privacy concerns. Even though we have cameras on pretty much everything the "google glass" is literally the only cameras that are in your face/on your face, and that makes it much more personal. Until someone develops wireless glasses that both look good and addresses privacy concerns I think they are all destined to fail...

Agreed. And that's easy to do. If the glasses have an in-use indicator like FaceTime cameras on the Macs, then that's easily solved. I think snapchat is attempting to address this with the 10 second per touch limitation. If someone is touching their glasses every 10 seconds then obviously something's up.

And yes any device can be hacked to defeat such indicators, but if somebody wanted to surreptitiously record the person they were talking to, there's plenty of other better ways to do it.

And that's where this becomes about our own comfort levels. If we cant trust the person we're talking to, then we probably shouldn't be discussing sensitive information with them anyway, as they could have concealed recording devices.

These devices promote personal accountability in public. I absolutely would take issue in a private setting, but there is no reasonable expectation to privacy in a public area anyway anymore, even with only another person.

 

[Piggie]

To be fair, MacRumours did probably pick the worst type of image just to stir up negative posting on this.

I could see, designer wise, this looking far better than the image at the top of this thread makes out:

Such as these:

http://static.highsnobiety.com/wp-c...17/snapchat-spectacles-glasses-01-960x640.jpg

https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/7eb0...12&fit=max&s=1a24aa5a73cd743eb3c1a34983ea0dd3

http://www.gambitmag.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/Spectacles-1038x576.jpg

When presented in this manner, they look far more likely to appeal to many, at an almost why the hell not, these could be quite fashionable and fun, and allow for some nice action shots as opposed to holding a phone:

 

[twinlight]

Don't know when they will be available but you can bet it will be seen in masses at the next festival of choice. They don't look terrible and chicks will definitely have no problem going with them. Its just another fashion.

 

[Cmbqwerty79]

So natural looking!

Lol
[doublepost=1474754775][/doublepost]I buy into these when they can put them in my contacts!

 

[Jsameds]

Top comment, pic of Gene Wilder deleted for being "frivolous" so I am posting again padded out with some non-frivolous and utterly pointless text.

 

[jrawles92103]

Do businesses NEVER learn? Google glass didn't take off, the Oakley glasses with a camera sucked. these look like hipster pervert creeper glasses.

 

[Robert.Walter]

Looks like those glasses that have tiny wiper blades.

 

[toke lahti]

The video is recorded in a circular format, as Snapchat CEO Evan Spiegel argues that the square and rectangle form that photos and videos currently come in are a vestige of early photos being printed on paper.

I guess snapchat also has a fab manufacturing round imagers and they also sell round screens to watch these natural images...

 

[highdough]

I actually checked the comments just to make sure that no one actually thought this might be a good idea. Because it's not.

 

[gaximus]

Here is a humorous PSA about vertical videos:

Now, a PSA is needed for circular videos.

Yep. Love that video. Try to post it on social media every few months.

 

[Mac 128]

I guess snapchat also has a fab manufacturing round imagers and they also sell round screens to watch these natural images...

It'll look great on Samsung gear watches.

 

[newyorkone]

10 seconds of video and a lifetime of ridicule...

 

[sshambles]

Apple security really is failing these days. They approved their CEO being driven around whilst the driver dances, sings, wears 'glasses' that obstruct vision and is generally distracted from doing his main job - driving. Good job Apple security.

 

[spiderman0616]

And the trend continues in the Cult of Apple community ... it's bad until Apple says it's good ... then the Cult says it's great.

Uh.....not on MacRumors. Nobody here likes anything Apple makes. And no, I'm not being sarcastic.

 

[cdmoore74]

WTF!