Next-Generation Snapchat Spectacles Appears In FCC Filing

It was reported last month that Snap Inc. is planning to release a new version of its Snapchat Spectacles. Now the report appears to be true because the FCC has published a new filing for the company that describes a “wearable video camera” device.

The FCC filing was first spotted by Variety and it includes the “Spectacles” branding as well as “Model 002” label on its packaging label. Not a lot of other information was listed on the FCC filing, but the upcoming Snapchat Spectacles is listed as having support for 802.11ac Wi-Fi and Bluetooth 4.2 (BLE). The support for the Wi-Fi standard means that the upcoming wearable device will be able to perform faster file transfers in the 5GHz band.

The original Snapchat Spectacles had issues with transferring files over Wi-Fi. Perhaps this upgrade could address that issue and provide better performance. Another thing to point out here is that the original Spectacles had a visible FCC ID label on the inside of the temples. However, this new version will come with an electronic ID label that can only be accessed with the Snapchat app. This may not be a big deal, but it does hint at a redesigned frame.

Last month, it was reported by Cheddar that Snap Inc. was working on two new versions of Snapchat Spectacles. The first is expected to be released in 2018, while the other is planned to be released in 2019. The third-generation device is said to be equipped with two cameras, GPS and a $300 price tag. The device in the FCC filing is most certainly the second-generation device, which is more of a minor upgrade.

The original Snapchat Spectacles first launched back in 2016 with a $130 price tag. It had a successful marketing campaign which resulted in high demand, but quickly lost steam soon afterwards, according to The Verge. Snap Inc. reported a loss of $40 million on the device as it was only able to sell 150,00 pairs, leaving hundreds of thousands still unsold.

Snap Inc. CEO Evan Spiegel believes that selling hardware will be important for the company. “Hardware is going to be an important vehicle for delivering our customer experience, maybe in a decade. But if we believe that it's going to be important in a decade, we don't want to be starting a decade from now,” Spiegel said back in October. “We took that first initial leap with Spectacles, and we're excited to see where it goes from here.”