Small, limited production run at a high price.

They’re just iterating their R&D in public. Not a bad idea. The new higher price offsets losses of experimentation in a way the first version didn’t.

Ultimately the play here is slowly building up strategic hardware expertise (which takes a long time). Specifically expertise in camera and AR hardware/software integration.

I expect HN to be needlessly cynical about this and overstate the role this product intends to play for now.

I think Snapchat has a lot of potential, but they just need some more focus or an identity.

It's definitely an interesting space, and a more convenient and fast way to take pictures is a great idea.

I just feel like snap has been releasing a bunch of 'beta' hardware for a while now, but they should be at the stage where they can put out a real device with a sensible price, targeted at the average user.

How are these useful?

Do you actually build 3D models with the video that is recorded?

Do you leave them running 24x7 so that you can then rewind and capture the important bits you might otherwise have missed?