Snapchat is possibly working on an augmented reality headset.
Snapchat has officially joined the group that is behind the Bluetooth wireless standard. The company’s current offerings only include digital services, which means this could be a sign that it plans to expand into hardware. The organization hasn’t said anything official about work on an augmented reality headset.
Despite Snapchat staying quiet, there are still plenty of signs that an augmented reality headset is in its future. Vergence Labs, a startup that was working on a headset similar to Alphabet Inc’s (NASDAQ:GOOG,GOOGL) Google Glass, was acquired by the company in 2014.
Hints also showed up in March when the social media company started hiring individuals from Nokia Corp (ADR) (NYSE:NOK) and Logitech International SA (USA) (NASDAQ:LOGI) with hardware experience. Insider sources claim that the company has been increasing hardware efforts since the start of this year, reports Financial Times.
Snapchat may also be making a further rival out of Facebook Inc (NASDAQ:FB) if it releases an augmented reality headset. FB owns Oculus Rift, which makes its own virtual reality headsets. While augmented and virtual reality aren’t the same, they are similar enough to be compared.
Rumors that Snapchat is working on an augmented reality headset come after Google Glass failed to take off. Glass was attempting to bring a vast amount of information to users with its augmented reality headset. It’s hard to argue that Snapchat could make a better product when it might only be used for selfies and filters.
