What type of product are Snap's Spectacles?

Snap’s Spectacles are smartglasses.

Spectacles are wearable glasses developed by Snap Inc. that include cameras and other electronics for capturing Snapchat content. The first generation was designed primarily as camera-equipped sunglasses: users could record short first-person videos and sync them with Snapchat. That makes Spectacles a type of smartglasses, not headphones, a smartwatch, or a drone.

Snap unveiled Spectacles on September 24, 2016, and released the first generation on November 10, 2016. Their unusual launch used Snapbots, temporary vending machines that sold the glasses in selected locations, helping turn the product release into a promotional event. Online sales followed in February 2017.

Later generations added features such as improved cameras, lighter frames, and augmented-reality capabilities. The fifth-generation model, announced in 2024, uses Snap OS, hand tracking, voice input, and see-through displays. Thus, “smartglasses” describes the product category, while “Spectacles” is Snap’s product name.