But I don't think spectacles really has much influence on future of company; that is, Snapchat will fail or succeed for other reasons entirely. It might look expensive on paper, but the glasses project is more of a marketing stunt than a mass market product. If people don't want to use Snapchat, they won't use a device that is designed for it. So problems with the platform will make people not buy them.
The app is being copied by others, and their app also is getting worse. More features, more bugs, more ads. People promote their image and show off happiness and wealth on their stories. It has all of the negative experiences of other social networks, and it's got the sexual harassment aspect, too. Many many female friends of mine receive unwanted dick pics.
It's easy to see why they're struggling to grow. My first impression was that it was a messaging solution. Then it morphed into a social network, and some people expect to add you as a friend as casually as they would on Facebook.
In my opinion, Snapchat was more intimate and not something you just add everyone.
As a result of people adding hundreds of low-intimacy relationships to an app that was intended to be a 1-to-1 messaging solution, they are becoming disenchanted with the novelty. It's no longer fun to use Snapchat like it used to be.
Looking back, if paying $5 for the app would have kept Snapchat from doing their media stuff and led to making it a secure, encrypted platform, I would've gladly bought it. Just sad that it's become Facebook.