Snapchat has finally launched its new AR content studio, encouraging users on the platform to create their own engaging content with the tool provided.
AR is a form of technology that Snap is heavily investing on. It’s not necessarily a bad investment either. Augmented Reality may not be augmented in the strictest sense of the word, but it does allow for a lot of nifty, eye-catching visuals to be incorporated into Snapchat’s interface. The sort of features that can come off as new, and therefore help the social media site stay relevant. Snapchat’s previous forays into the technology are a mixed bag of results. While the AR Spectacles, the company’s own attempt at making a pair of smart glasses, received a lot of initial praise, sales numbers ended up being lower than initially thought, leading to a very mediocre overall reception. Snap’s attempts at brand deals, however, have yielded better results, with the company carrying out sales on Snapchat where users can utilize the AR technology to virtually try on different clothes and accessories before buying them. So, overall, not the best but not too bad.
This new endeavor at creating the platform’s own AR studio, named Arcadia, is entirely focused around giving Snapchat an edge when it comes to mobile-based AR technology and features. To be fair, the company isn’t really facing the most intensive form of competition in the category, but the commercial benefits of these endeavors may just pay off. Arcadia is being marketed as a platform of its own, designed to provide brands and businesses the ability to create their own virtual experiences, for the purposes of marketing and advertising. However, casual use of the platform is possible as well, if not probable.
The reason it isn’t probable is that Arcadia’s set of tools are a touch more sophisticated than those of the average AR studio. Unlike Lens Studio, where much of the technology is already mapped out and easily accessible, Arcadia will end up requiring expertise and certain specific designing sensibilities. Therefore, it’s more probable that the most we’ll be seeing out of this new Snapchat AR interface is from the outlets provided by major corporations and businesses.
An introductory video to Arcadia and what it’s capable of doing has been uploaded by Team Snap on the Snapchat For Business YouTube Channel.
Read next: Snapchat users will now finally be able to change their usernames
AR is a form of technology that Snap is heavily investing on. It’s not necessarily a bad investment either. Augmented Reality may not be augmented in the strictest sense of the word, but it does allow for a lot of nifty, eye-catching visuals to be incorporated into Snapchat’s interface. The sort of features that can come off as new, and therefore help the social media site stay relevant. Snapchat’s previous forays into the technology are a mixed bag of results. While the AR Spectacles, the company’s own attempt at making a pair of smart glasses, received a lot of initial praise, sales numbers ended up being lower than initially thought, leading to a very mediocre overall reception. Snap’s attempts at brand deals, however, have yielded better results, with the company carrying out sales on Snapchat where users can utilize the AR technology to virtually try on different clothes and accessories before buying them. So, overall, not the best but not too bad.
This new endeavor at creating the platform’s own AR studio, named Arcadia, is entirely focused around giving Snapchat an edge when it comes to mobile-based AR technology and features. To be fair, the company isn’t really facing the most intensive form of competition in the category, but the commercial benefits of these endeavors may just pay off. Arcadia is being marketed as a platform of its own, designed to provide brands and businesses the ability to create their own virtual experiences, for the purposes of marketing and advertising. However, casual use of the platform is possible as well, if not probable.
The reason it isn’t probable is that Arcadia’s set of tools are a touch more sophisticated than those of the average AR studio. Unlike Lens Studio, where much of the technology is already mapped out and easily accessible, Arcadia will end up requiring expertise and certain specific designing sensibilities. Therefore, it’s more probable that the most we’ll be seeing out of this new Snapchat AR interface is from the outlets provided by major corporations and businesses.
An introductory video to Arcadia and what it’s capable of doing has been uploaded by Team Snap on the Snapchat For Business YouTube Channel.
Read next: Snapchat users will now finally be able to change their usernames