Snapchat Gamifies Itself With "Snappables" AR Lenses

Along with regular Snapchat glasses, users can now use “Snappables.” But Snappables may suffer the same fate as Google Glass.

Despite competition from Instagram Stories, Snapchat remains a popular platform for disappearing content. The unique filters and friend engagement potential keeps users coming back.

But now, users can tap into another aspect of future tech: augmented reality.

What are “Snappables” — the new interactive AR lenses from Snapchat?

Did Snapchat Just Gamify Itself?

The ad above displays the things you can do with Snappables. It shows different people in a variety of settings making silly faces at their phone.

Boom: the reveal happens and we see that people are actually playing games.

You can start a rock band, play basketball, fight aliens, and more all with your friends. Apparently, you can also challenge your friends to outscore you in the solo game.

Their blog post about the features is short and to the point, but it left me with questions.

The multiplayer aspects come after news of Snapchat’s group chat feature. The latest update allows group video chat for up to 16 users. You can also now use @ mentions to tag your friends in your snaps or vice versa.

But all of these updates debuted after severe concerns over Snapchat’s UI redesign. The new UI received criticism in nearly 83% of user reviews when it released.

Still, Snapchat might be thinking in long-term goals with the Snappables release.

Snapchat Wearable Tech and User Engagement

Despite further concerns that Instagram will eliminate Snapchat, the company remains positive. But the real question here is: how will Snappables integrate with Snap Spectacles?

Snap Spectacles capture video, so it stands to reason that Snapchat might want to integrate the two. If they do, we might find ourselves in an odd Google Glass situation.

But this might be the exact boost Snapchat needs to maintain high user engagement. This kind of interactive AR tech may be a solution over wearable tech in the short term.

Of course, many users fled the platform after the Rihanna ad debacle that affected Snapchat stock prices. Still, the company presses onward, incorporating user-generated AR lenses for their carousel.

The jury is still out on whether this will be a fad, flop, or AR revolution, but it certainly restores some of Snapchat’s public reputation.

How much more successful will Snapchat AR be than wearable tech like Google Glass?