Snap is pausing development of Pixy, its $230 flying camera drone that was first announced in April, according to a person familiar with the matter who was not authorized to speak on the record.
The news was first reported by the Wall Street Journal, which said the decision was relayed to the company’s staff by CEO Evan Spiegel.
The Pixy was introduced as a new way for Snapchat users to capture photos from unique angles. It’s capable of launching from a user’s hand and can follow four different flight paths, including one that follows the user.
Snap, which calls itself a camera company on its website, has been trying to break into hardware, most notably through several iterations of Spectacles sunglasses with built-in cameras. The first version of Spectacles caused the company to take a nearly $40 million writedown in 2017 due to excess inventory.
As the company’s struggles continue with physical products, its core ad business is also getting pummeled. Snap’s shares have lost almost three-quarters of their value this year, as the company reckons with slowing demand for its ad platform, a challenging economy and Apple’s 2021 privacy changes that have made ad targeting much more difficult.
Snap said in its second-quarter earnings report in July that it was “not satisfied with the results we are delivering, regardless of the current headwinds.” The company announced plans to substantially slow its rate of hiring and the rate of operating expense growth.
The Pixy is still available to order on Snap’s website, which suggests the company may be selling whatever inventory remains.
