New York (CNN Business)Snap isn’t giving up on its smart sunglasses.
On Tuesday, the Snapchat parent company announced Spectacles 3, the latest version of its video-recording sunglasses now with new 3D effects and an eye-popping price tag. The device, which will ship in the fall but is available for pre-order now, retails at $380, more than double the cost of its previous version.
The move comes less than three years after the launch of Snapchat’s first pair initially sold in vending machines. Spectacles were a viral hit; people waited hours to get them. Some resellers listed them on eBay for more than $900. But the hype fizzled and the company ultimately had to take a nearly $40 million writedown for excess inventory.
Snap (SNAP) took a second stab at Spectacles last year, which had a similar look to the original pair, but were smaller and water resistant.
Now the product is back with a sleeker, slimmer look, round lenses and 3D cameras. Like its predecessors, the glasses lets users take photos and videos by tapping a button on the frame, and transferring them to the Snapchat app. Spectacles’ dual HD cameras aim to capture depth and dimension with 3D in the same way as the human eye.
In a video teased on social media, Snapchat teased the new special effects users can add to their “Snaps” with Spectacles. For example, it showed videos overlayed with an augmented reality sting ray or bright pink bird.
