On Wednesday, Snapchat dropped one of its elusive Snapchat Spectacle-dispensing Snapbot vending machines in a Dave & Buster's in south suburban Orland Park, Ill.
Let's back up--earlier this year, Snapchat, the photo and video-based messaging platform valued at $25 billion, announced it would dip into the hardware game with Snapchat Spectacles, a pair of sunglasses that would take shareable 10-second 360 degree point-of-view video through tapping a button on the frames.
Over the past few months, they've eschewed typical sales in favor of selling through whimsical pop-up vending machines (called "Snapbots")--the location is only revealed earlier that day through a secretive website. Previous locations have included a scenic overlook in Big Sur, Calif. and a taco joint in Austin, Texas.
This week, it landed in a south suburban arcade, 32 miles outside downtown Chicago. So I hailed an Uber and headed to Dave & Busters.
An arcade was a rather fitting setting for Snapchat's goofy Snapbot vending machines, which look like a giant yellow cyclops that blinks as it reads your credit card and spits out the Spectacles through its light-up mouth.
When I arrived at 10:15 am, about an hour after the Illinois Snapbot location was revealed, there were about 15 people in line ahead of me and the woman behind me was in line for a second time. She had tried to get two pairs (customers are allowed to purchase one per transaction, and two pairs total) but her credit card had been declined. This was a common problem amongst Snapchat Spectacle hopefuls--the vending machine does the transaction in California, so credit card companies were flagging the transactions as fraud. The savvier purchasers in line called ahead and warned their banks that the charge was coming.
By the time I got to purchase my Spectacles (about a 45 minute wait) the teal shade was already sold out, so I opted for a classic black (there was also a coral option). The glasses cost $130, but with Illinois tax they rung up as $142. I dipped my credit card, the Snapbot blinked, and my card was approved. I reached inside its mouth and grabbed my Spectacles. They were sold out before 1 pm.
I'm not a particularly avid Snapchat user, but something about the Spectacles is intriguing. The round frame is trendy (unlike Google Glass' thin wire frame), and while I'm resistant to the notion that everything must be filmed, the ease of tapping a button versus pressing and holding a spot on the screen is far more user friendly (especially for someone with small hands, like myself, who has trouble navigating large smartphone screens with one hand). While the hardware is a bit of a novelty, it's a product that could expand how people view Snapchat. Iquo, a woman in line near me (she did not share her last name) said she uses Snapchat when out with friends, but is excited to go beyond selfie-mode.
"It might change the way I use Snapchat," she said. "Sometimes I do selfies. This will be different. It will be like, 'what am I looking at today?' And I’ve always wanted to do that with Snapchat."
When I got back to the office, I was impressed at how quickly the Spectacles connected to my phone--you simply turn on Bluetooth, open Snapchat, swipe down to access your Snapcode and press the button on the frame of the glasses, and boom, you're connected. The Spectacles charge through a small port in the case (the case can be recharged via USB when not in use).
The Spectacles can take 10 second videos at a time, and an additional 10 seconds if you tap the button a second time (A small rotating light turns on when filming, only slightly mitigating the creep factor of filming the world from your glasses). I tapped the button, spun around in my office chair and saw the world from my perspective recorded on Snapchat. While an office view is far from the most exciting environments where you could take a video, other users have snapped ski trips, painting sessions, and even a surgery. The 360 degree camera allows viewers to flip their phones vertical and horizontal, and still see the same scene, allowing for a more immersive viewing experience that feels much more real without having to strap on a VR headset.
It's likely that Snapchat's Spectacles are destined for a larger scale release--already they're available at a pop-up store in New York City and are being re-sold on Amazon (for a $225+ premium price). But for now, Chicago-area Snapchat enthusiasts who missed their chance to get Spectacles, can keep their eye on the Snapbot site (or Chicago's Craigslist, where resale is likely to pop up).
