Spectacles are back again.
Earlier this year on this blog, I wrote about Snap’s disastrous over-commitment into Spectacles inventories, and subsequent difficulties in selling the items, as thousands of inventories piled up. I argued that their sales figures were in fact not terrible in comparison to the first generation iPods, but it was the capital expenditure on inventories that crippled Snap’s venture into hardware.
So, after Snap is back again with Spectacles 2. I cannot really figure that if the new designs of Version 2 are any better, but Snap definitely seems to be making some better operations and retail decisions.
Here is coverage from Verge:
Both the Veronica and Nico styles are available starting today (ed: Sept 5, 2018) for $199 in “limited quantities” at launch. This fall, they’ll also be sold at select Nordstrom and Neiman Marcus stores in the US and a variety of retailers in Europe. And like before, Snap’s partner Lensabl will let customers order prescription lenses for their glasses. Both models are only available in black for the time being.
Limiting inventories and low initial variety in product design are two sensible ways to explore demand learning, before scaling, re-designing, and adjusting prices.
In the interim, the world has changed rapidly. The much-derided Google Glasses are now a thing of the past. It is very evident that Augmented Reality (AR) glasses have picked up in technology capabilities and the landscape has become competitive. Earlier this year, Apple acquired Akonia Holographics that works on building AR lenses. Amazon-Alexa funded startup North has now arrived with Focals which seem to have come up with a fairly good demo. I definitely like the fact that Focals look very much like regular glasses.
The price points are very different (Focals at $999 vs. Spectacles at $199). A well expected, vertically differentiated, and competitive landscape is emerging in the AR wearable glasses market. Soon, I think it will become difficult for Snap to compete with Apple and Amazon on Retail.
It is time to be bullish on AR glasses, even if one is bearish on Spectacles.