Snapchat is replacing the Camera icon on its homescreen, adding the AR Scan feature in its stead.
Snap, the company behind Snapchat, has been leaning rather heavily towards further implementations of AR technology in the app's interface. Snapchat is an application that's very well suited to supporting these implementations in the first place. The short-form video sharing nature of Snapchat easily opens itself up to AR features. It's why TikTok, another short-form video platform, is also developing AR technology, to be implemented down the line. But credit is where credit's due, and Snap has been working on developing AR technology for quite a while. It's even successfully implemented it quite a few times.
The best example of Snapchat incorporating AR technology comes in the form of a marketing deal with Walmart. Essentially, Snapchat held a limited time online market, displaying clothes and other such accessories by the American super store. By using AR technology, users could rely on Snapchat's camera to virtually "try on" all of the associated clothes and accessories, allowing them to window shop without even having to step outside of their homes. This is also only one of the examples at hand. Snap has been very busy developing its Lens Studio for quite some time. This interface allows creators to develop their own AR technology enhanced content and features, paving way for a lot of creativity.
Ultimately, AR is fun. The technology may seem gimmicky, but there's a lot of associated charm as well. There's also a hint of futuristic development wherever AR is involved. While we objectively understand that the ability to virtually try on clothes is nothing more than a face being transposed on top of a shirt, the novelty of being able to do even this much is hard to resist. And, even if we were to put the gimmick argument aside, a case can still be made for AR being incredibly useful. During the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, with most countries in near perpetual lockdown, the ability to browse and try out clothes and accessories at one's home was a sorely needed feature.
At any rate, in lieu of this heavy push towards AR technology, Snapchat's removing the Camera feature from the home page. The feature will still be there, but must manually be sought out. Scan will first be rolled out to iOS users. Following that, Android users will receive access to the feature in a few weeks worth of time.
Read next: American Spending on Tech to Approach Half a Trillion Dollars in 2021
Snap, the company behind Snapchat, has been leaning rather heavily towards further implementations of AR technology in the app's interface. Snapchat is an application that's very well suited to supporting these implementations in the first place. The short-form video sharing nature of Snapchat easily opens itself up to AR features. It's why TikTok, another short-form video platform, is also developing AR technology, to be implemented down the line. But credit is where credit's due, and Snap has been working on developing AR technology for quite a while. It's even successfully implemented it quite a few times.
The best example of Snapchat incorporating AR technology comes in the form of a marketing deal with Walmart. Essentially, Snapchat held a limited time online market, displaying clothes and other such accessories by the American super store. By using AR technology, users could rely on Snapchat's camera to virtually "try on" all of the associated clothes and accessories, allowing them to window shop without even having to step outside of their homes. This is also only one of the examples at hand. Snap has been very busy developing its Lens Studio for quite some time. This interface allows creators to develop their own AR technology enhanced content and features, paving way for a lot of creativity.
Ultimately, AR is fun. The technology may seem gimmicky, but there's a lot of associated charm as well. There's also a hint of futuristic development wherever AR is involved. While we objectively understand that the ability to virtually try on clothes is nothing more than a face being transposed on top of a shirt, the novelty of being able to do even this much is hard to resist. And, even if we were to put the gimmick argument aside, a case can still be made for AR being incredibly useful. During the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, with most countries in near perpetual lockdown, the ability to browse and try out clothes and accessories at one's home was a sorely needed feature.
At any rate, in lieu of this heavy push towards AR technology, Snapchat's removing the Camera feature from the home page. The feature will still be there, but must manually be sought out. Scan will first be rolled out to iOS users. Following that, Android users will receive access to the feature in a few weeks worth of time.
Read next: American Spending on Tech to Approach Half a Trillion Dollars in 2021
