Snapchat Spectacles to be sold via vending machines

The futuristic new glasses being released by picture messaging app Snapchat will be sold in vending machines, according to Snap, the company which owns the network.

Snapchat's star has risen during the last few years to become one of the most popular mobile applications among millennials, and earlier this year it announced the addition of its first hardware item, Spectacles.

The devices are video-capturing glasses, and the company plans to distribute them in machines known as Snapbots, similar to a traditional vending machine. According to Snap, the machines will constantly move around rather than being based in one fixed spot.

Commentators have said that the release of the device is more of a marketing ploy than a product launch, with only a few thousand of the Spectacles being made available for purchase.

In a trial for the Snapbots and Spectacles yesterday in Venice Beach, California, excited tech fans queued up for a chance to buy the devices, before they quickly ran out and were replaced by Snap.

The company has forged a reputation for innovating on quirky designs and is now recognised by many as one of the most-sought after apps in the world.

Snap is widely expected to enter the public sphere next year with an Initial Public Offering, with some estimates valuing the company at more than $25bn.