Snapchat user numbers are up, but Spectacles weigh the social network down
The technology giant has taken a 40 million dollar hit thanks to unsold inventory of its video glasses.
Snapchat’s user base has grown by 17% to 178 million in the last year, the social app’s parent company said.
In reporting its latest financial results, Snap Inc revealed daily active users had climbed from 153 million compared to this time in 2016.
However, the technology giant also announced it had written off 39.9 million US dollars (£30.3 million) in relation to unsold stock of Spectacles, the firm’s video camera-enabled sunglasses.
However, the figure, along with the number of daily active users, was below analysts’ expectations.
Snap Inc chief executive Evan Spiegel said the firm was preparing to redesign the Snapchat app to make it “easier to use”.
Snapchat has come under increased pressure from Facebook and its family of apps in the last year – the social network and its other services, including WhatsApp and Instagram, have aggressively
introduced features similar to Snapchat to entice users to them.
Instagram has also introduced a “story” feature similar to that of Snapchat, user numbers of which have already risen above 200 million people.
The photo and video sharing app has recently announced plans to create its own TV shows to promote within its app.
