Snap, the company behind the widely popular Snapchat and the more recent Spectacles, has reportedly been working on a camera drone to expand its scope.
The main achievement of Snap is Snapchat, an app famous for its disappearing messages, photos and videos. Over the last few years, however, Snap has been making efforts to become a modern-day camera company and it may have more tricks up its sleeve toward that goal.
According to a new report from The New York Times, Snap has been working on a drone. The publication cites three people familiar with the project, but it remains unclear whether the product will actually see the light of day. The project details are confidential, so the NYT's sources spoke under condition of anonymity.
Snap Drone Project
A drone could go a long way toward Snap's endeavors as a camera company, as it could allow users to take overhead photos and videos and Snap would greatly extend its visual data trove.
At the same time, it's important to take into account that technology companies are always trying on new things and working on experiments, but only a few of those projects actually make it to market. Many are either dropped, or repurposed into other projects, so even if Snap has indeed been working on a camera drone, there's no guarantee that it will actually release it.
That said, the drone project reportedly builds on the Snapchat Spectacles, the special sunglasses that record short video clips.
The rebranding itself — from Snapchat to Snap — mirrors the company's efforts to expand beyond just Snapchat, and a Snap camera drone could bolster its position as a camera company.
Snap IPO
Snap's growth is in the spotlight these days, as the company is getting ready to go public this week and price its IPO on Wednesday, March 1. The stock should go on sale on the New York Stock Exchange on Thursday, in what could be the largest technology IPO since Alibaba went public back in 2014.
The drone prospect offers a glimpse into what Snap might be considering next, and could have a huge impact on its future value and growth. For now, Snap is expected to set a $14 to $16 price per share, which would translate to a massive $22.2 billion valuation.
Why A Camera Drone?
For a company like Snap, extending its trove of visual data such as photos and videos is essential because it helps deepen users' interactions with its main product, Snapchat.
Everyone who's ever used Snapchat knows that the visuals are front and center in the ephemeral messaging app, boosting users' engagement and keeping them hooked to the app.
In its official public offering prospectus, Snap revealed that the average Snapchat user opens the app at least 18 times per day, and more than 2.5 billion images and messages are sent daily through Snapchat.
On that note, it makes perfect sense for Snap to bet big on the camera front, as the company has always encouraged communication through visuals. Whether this purported camera drone will actually become available to consumers remains to be seen, but it's an intriguing prospect nonetheless.
