Snapchat parent Snap Inc. has decided to stop further development of its flying selfie drone, the Pixy, that was launched publicly less than four months ago, the Wall Street Journal reported on Thursday, citing people familiar with the matter.
The move comes after the social media company reported disappointing second-quarter earnings in July and due to adjustments made by Snap in the wake of rising financial challenges and the recent economic downturn. Over the last year, Snap’s shares have fallen by around 80 percent.
Snap’s Chief Executive Officer, Evan Spiegel conveyed the decision to no longer develop the Pixy line to the staff during a regular Q&A session around the drone. He told staff workers, “The effort to halt further development of the project is part of broader reprioritization of company resources,” the WSJ report added.
For those unaware, the Pixy drone was unveiled at the end of April during Snap’s fourth annual Partner Summit with a starting price of $229.99. Unlike traditional drones, Pixy is a pocket-sized drone that allows users to capture photos and videos from unique angles.
The drone comes with four tiny propellers and weighs just 101 grams, which makes it profoundly portable. It comes with a single 12MP sensor on the drone along with an integrated 16GB storage that can store a maximum of 100 videos or 1,000 photos.
Pixy is capable of launching from a user’s hand and can fly in four preset flight paths, including one that follows the user. It can float, orbit, and follow wherever the user leads, without a controller or any set-up.
Since Pixy comes with four preset flight paths, it doesn’t have a remote control. Whenever you want to stop a recording or simply bring the drone down, you can place your hand beneath the drone, it will land in your palm.
Further, the drone offers five to eight flights once it is fully charged. Videos and photos captured by Pixy are automatically uploaded to Snap Memories where users can edit them with Smart Edits and crop them to fit smartphone screens.
While the company has scrapped the further development of Pixy, the current iterations of the drone are still available for purchase on Snap’s website. It is listed as available in the U.S. and France “while supplies last”.
Snap has yet to officially comment on the report. Last month, the company announced its plans to significantly slow down hiring and the rate of operating expense growth.
