Last year, Google announced that it was planning to launch a revolutionary camera that would take pictures automatically. In October 2017, the search engine giant unveiled the new camera called Clips.
Clips is a small device that leverages on AI to take a photo when it sees something interesting. Details about the device were not clearly explained and Google has not said much about how the device works or what it can do. However, Clips has quietly started selling today. For such a unique device, you’d expect a lot of buzz, yet Google has decided to keep it low key.
Nonetheless, there are a few things that we already know about the camera. To start with, Clips will cost you $249 including free shipping. However, you will not be able to directly buy the camera today. Google is not taking direct orders and if you are interested, you will need to join a waiting list. The company will then notify you via email when the camera is available for sale again.
But there were a few people who managed to place orders directly. Those who were lucky enough to purchase the camera as soon as sales were opened are now waiting for the device to be delivered. No one knows for sure when these early buyers will finally get their hands on the device but a report on Engadget indicates that customers might get the camera before March 5th. Google has not announced when it will begin taking orders again or how many gadgets will be sold. Anyone who is interested in the camera will just have to wait. However, don’t forget to get on the waiting list.
Google’s Clips is a unique product. It’s of course a camera but it works very differently from a normal camera. The AI technology built within Clips has the ability to take pictures automatically when the right moment comes. The camera owner simply has to place it somewhere in the background. The camera will be like a surveillance system and once a great moment comes along, the camera will snap it.
But there are a few challenges that Google is likely to run into. For starters, the company will need to convince the target customer base that they actually could use an automatic camera. In addition to this, a number of privacy issues have already been raised. Very few people are comfortable with the idea of having a camera on all the time at home or anywhere else capturing photos on its own without the knowledge of the owner.
Despite these concerns, Clips is definitely a futuristic product and how Google expands its applications will have a huge effect on how successful this new product will be. For now, we will have to wait until the next batch of cameras is available.
