Snapchat Spectacles: Video-enabled glasses launched at the London Eye

Snapchat: Spectacles launch in the capital
PA

Snapchat has launched its video-enabled Spectacles sunglasses in London - but they're only available in one place.

The Spectacles have been dropped by the London Eye, the only spot in the UK where they can currently be bought.

They will be sold online, as well as from bright yellow vending machines – known as Snapbots - that change location each day.

Pictures started being shared online of a bright yellow machine near the popular tourist hotspot on Friday morning.

The colourful glasses can record up to 10 seconds of footage that can then be sent to the user’s Snapchat account and shared with friends.

The tech giant has now placed Snapbots in London, Paris, Berlin, Barcelona and Venice to mark the European launch.

It said more would appear in other locations in the UK and Europe during the summer.

The glasses have been launched at the London Eye
Snapchat

After their launch in the US, long queues at Snapbots were reported, while pairs were also listed on eBay for over £775 as demand soared.

It is estimated the company has sold more than 60,000 pairs of Spectacles in the US so far.

The glasses capture video in a wide-angled, circular format designed to mimic the field of vision captured by the human eye.

They are the first major smartglasses product since Google's ill-fated Glass augmented reality eyewear, which launched in 2014 and enabled users to read messages and get directions as well as take photos.

The sunglasses can record 10-second videos
Snapchat

Google withdrew Glass from sale in early 2015 after concerns were raised over privacy and safety.

The firm is said to be working on a new version of the device.

The Snapchat app has around 166 million daily active users, with more than 55 million in Europe.

It says more than three billion snaps are captured with its in-app camera every day.

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