Snap is mostly known for its engaging social network that includes fleeting messages and legitimately impressive augmented reality filters. But often Snap, which calls itself a “camera company,” makes new hardware. Things got a little weird. This is one of those times.
During its annual Snap Partner Summit today, the company demonstrated a flying camera, the type of device also known as Unmanned aircraft. Called the Pixy, this flat, yellow plastic copier is designed to pair with Snapchat app, lift it out of the owner’s palm, quickly take a photo or video, and zoom back into the person’s palm, possibly at Coachella. The captured media is then wirelessly shared to Memories in the Snapchat app, where Snap’s signature AR filters and video effects can be applied.
The tiny drone costs $230. For another $20 you can buy a Pixy set that comes with two extra batteries. You’ll probably need extra batteries, as a fully charged Pixy should be able to complete somewhere between five and eight short flight routes before requiring recharging. (A palm-sized drone weighing less than a pound doesn’t exactly allow for large batteries.)
Photo: Snap
Pixy will appeal to a specific type of Snap user, and Snap knows this too: It’s only selling a limited number of units, “while supplies remain” in the US and France. In an interview with WIRED about drones and Snap’s broader AR goals, co-founder and chief technology officer Bobby Murphy wouldn’t say how many he expects to sell, though The company’s goal, he said, is “to create something that really resonates with our community.” That seems in line with the company’s earlier hardware efforts. From it Camera glasses with glasseswas initially only available through Snap-branded vending machines when they launched in 2016. AR glasses it was introduced last spring, for developers only, Snap is good at generating buzz around, not necessarily the revenue from its hardware business.
That’s not to say that Snap’s lab-grown hardware products don’t make technological sense. Snap released video glasses years ago when it was much more influential Meta did. Last year’s AR-capable eyewear offered a glimpse of the lively and exciting AR lenses, as Snap calls them, viewed through the glasses on your face. This new drone Pixy relies on computer vision and object recognition technology to identify people’s faces and body parts, so it can follow or “circle” the user Pixy, take the best photo or video clip you can and then land yourself in the palm of one’s hand.
“We’re looking forward to developing Pixy and really exploring all the different ways a computer vision-controlled flying camera can add value,” says Murphy.
However, both in conversation with Murphy and during Snap’s virtual partner summit today, the company made it clear that their focus is on AR technology. Snap stands out for a number of reasons in the broader social media landscape, and one of those reasons is its AR technology. (It’s also important to note that Snap has millions more daily active users than Twitter, which has garnered all of this week’s news due to Elon Musk buys and plans to privatize Twitter.)
