Snapchat to bring augmented reality to the mass market
Recently Snapchat bought an AR startup, Cimagine for $40 million dollars. This is focused on making the world of online shopping a more immersive process.
Augmented reality is not a new phenomenon but the fact that it could become part of our daily lives is an exciting prospect. The rise of the Pokémon GO app is proof of how thrilling and addictive the world of augmented reality can be.
Everyone’s favourite FX-style filter app, Snapchat could be making the move to a future where augmented reality is officially here. It has a lurid back-story as a sexting app but has transformed into a fun, playful, and spontaneous sharing tool. Other social media sites and apps have in fact copied their features in a bid to compete. A good example is Instagram adding “stories” as a feature in response to the Snapchat “my story” feature.
Previous augmented reality tools such as HoloLens and Phab 2 Pro were not made readily available to the public. However Snapchat and its one hundred million daily users can change all of that.
Forty one percent of all 18-34 year olds in the US make use of the app every day.
Cimagine’s technology is all about using augmented reality to encourage people to buy more things. By analyzing the movement of your Smartphone and the view its camera is pointed at, it can superimpose virtual objects into the scene. That might be a new couch, TV, or a car in your garage. You will also be able to move around it to explore it from different angles.
Snapchat has evolved beyond being a video and photo sharing app into a daily ritual and experience for those who use it. They even have their own Snapchat spectacles. Users gravitate towards the app for entertainment and not just to over share.
With augmented reality and the ability to lock virtual objects in real 3D space, Snapchat could introduce digital characters that hold conversations or sing with you. You will be able to hold products and even customize them.
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