Snapchat is known for some bold moves when it comes to adding new and sometimes, perplexing features. It is also known for its rather interesting monetisation strategy. But we’ve never been aware of the company looking into developing hardware. Until now, according to a report from CNET.
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Snapchat has recently hired quite a few senior employees and engineers from augmented reality specialists like HoloLens, Vuforia or even eye-tracking tech companies like Eyefluence. And that makes industry-experts believe that Snapchat could well be secretly working into developing a pair of smart glasses.
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It is not the first time either. Back in 2014, during the hype surrounding Google Glass, Snapchat already showed its interest in smart devices by acquiring Vergence Labs for $15 million. Then, Vergence Labs was building a pair of glasses equipped with an embedded camera.
Personally, I believe that Snapchat is the type of business that could indeed go ahead with such project. Google gave up because the market wasn’t ready for it. And that is exactly what Snapchat has been surfing on ever since it was created: going where no-one else thought it would be viable to go.
I don’t know if the recent hires from Snapchat will lead to the launch of a new piece of hardware. I don’t know if smart glasses make sense. But I do believe that if a company was to make it work, Snapchat would be a good bet.
What do you think?
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