Snapchat Spectacles 3 Review (2024): These  3D Specs Cost A Lot

Snapchat Spectacles was a spectacle (presentation) when its first iteration was launched in 2015. Fast forward to 2024, and we now have many such video-recording spectacles.

Moreover, Snapchat incurred around $140 million in losses by overproducing the Snapchat Spectacles 2. Now, it seems like they launched the Snapchat Spectacles 3 with an extra camera and many new features.

However, will Snap Inc. earn enough revenue through these specs and recover the losses? Moreover, are these specs worth buying?

Therefore. read this Snapchat Spectacles 3 review post to find out!

Snapchat Spectacles 3 Specifications And Price

The main specifications of the Snapchat Spectacles 3 are:

The current Snapchat Spectacles 3 price is $380 in the USA. You can only buy it online from the official Snapchat Spectacles store. Unfortunately, they aren’t available on other online retailers like Amazon, Walmart, or Best Buy.

Snapchat Spectacles 3 Review: My Experience

When testing out the Snapchat Spectacles, I was pretty excited to do so. I have never seen any “smart spectacles” of its kind (apart from using VR headsets like the Meta Quest).

However, the first thing that caught my attention was its high price tag. These specs cost $380 – which is pretty expensive for such spectacles. Moreover, the Snapchat Spectacles 2 cost $149 – less than half the price of these specs.

So, why is the price so high this time around? What new alien technology have they included here to warrant doubling its price? Let’s find out!

Design

I found the Snapchat Spectacles 3 design to be rather divisive. But why divisive?

First off, it comes in two colors – Carbon Black and Mineral Gold. I got the carbon Black specs, which look cool. However, when I looked at some pictures and videos of the Mineral Gold version, it didn’t look as cool as the Carbon Black one.

Apart from the color, these spectacles’ overall shape and design feel pretty weighty – because it is. These spectacles weigh around 57 grams – 15 grams more than the previous Snapchat Spectacles.

This increase in weight is due to the apparent inclusion of several new additions. Firstly, these specs have two cameras instead of one on the previous one. Both these cameras are on both sides of the specs, placed above them.

In addition, there are buttons on both sides of the frame. One button is for recording videos, while the other is for pictures. Moreover, we also got a quadruple microphone array. Additionally, the discreet LED lights around the lens flow when you click pictures or videos and indicate the remaining charge as well.

Therefore, design-wise, these specs look cool as long as you are using the Carbon Black color.

However, regarding its build quality, it removed one of the best features of the Snap Spectacles 2 – its water resistance. The previous specs allow you to shoot pictures and videos underwater. It’s too bad we can’t do so this time.

Moreover, the charging case design seems like a novel step up. Instead of a standard specs case, it now looks like a purse. I have to say – it does look pretty cool! 

Features

Regarding the Snapchat Spectacles 3 features, they have added many new features. The number of new and improved features we get here is greater than the Snap Specs 2 – which is one of the main reasons you would wish to buy this.

The Snapchat Spectacles 3 has an internal storage of 4 GB. This lets you record around 1,200 3D photos and 100 3D videos. 

In addition, connecting to your smartphone’s Snapchat app (not Snapchat Web) allows you to transfer your clicked photos and images instantly using Bluetooth and WiFi. However, I found the WiFi transfer speed to be more stable while using WiFi over Cellular data.

With this new iteration, we also get another cool new feature in the form of VR mode. This mode lets you see your videos in real-time on your spectacles. However, the quality of the “on-specs” video isn’t that great. They appear grainy, with color saturation amped up to max.

In addition, the greatest feature of this VR mode is that it lets you apply Snapchat Filters in real time. Therefore, you will see firecrackers and firecrackers appear around you. It’s a baseline form of AR (Artificial Reality) that Snapchat CEO Evan Spiegel says will be developed more moving forward. 

I loved the option to instantly upload videos and pictures on Snapchat with just a click of a button. Moreover, you can upload these VR videos to the YouTube Creator Studio as well! Therefore, it acts as a form of cross-posting.

Battery Life

It seems that the Snapchat Spectacles 3 battery life is still as bad as it was before. In my test, I could click around 70 snaps – which is approximately 12 minutes of video. 

Moreover, the chafing case charges the specs pretty slowly. It takes around two hours to charge up the specs fully. Two hours for 70 snaps is pretty pathetic, in my opinion. I am better off using my phone throughout the day. 

Camera Quality

As I mentioned earlier, one of the main upgrades we see here is the addition of a second HD camera. Now, you can shoot videos and click pictures in 3D mode since using two cameras allows the Snapchat Depth Algorithm to create a Depth Map, giving it a 3D look.

However, the video quality remains the same as in the previous iteration, capped at 1216 x 1216 resolution. Moreover, you can shoot them in either 30 fps or 60 fps mode – both supported in Snapchat Plus.

While the quality of the videos is good, they are not great. This becomes more apparent when you move around. The quality becomes blurry if you do too much. Therefore, if you want long shots, moving your head slowly is best.

Regarding the picture quality, its resolution has been amped up to 1728 x 1216 pixels. It’s a definite step up from the previous version. Moreover, the picture quality is crisp and good enough for Snapchat. However, I did feel the saturation becomes a little higher when you use Snapchat Lens filters on them.

The addition of two extra mics made the sound quality in videos better. However, they are not of exceptional quality, as if you are using a studio microphone. Moreover, there’s no noise cancelation as well.

Final Verdict: Should You Buy The Snapchat Spectacles In 2024?

In all honesty, I will NOT RECOMMEND the Snapchat Spectacles 3. It has poor battery life and weighs more. Instead, I recommend buying the Snapchat Spectacles 2 if you want your specs to record videos at less than half the price. $380 for such mediocre upgrades is not worth it.