Augmented reality is one of the buzzwords in our time’s technology. The giant Amazon understood this, and decided to launch “AR View“, an augmented reality feature on the iPhone. Released on November 1, 2017, “AR View” is available on all iPhones, models 6S and further.
But what is augmented reality?
Augmented reality combines “the real world with digital elements in real time”. It offers the user immediate interaction possibilities, and is usually based on a 3D environment.
This feature follows in the footsteps of augmented reality recently adressed by Ikea. It facilitates product purchases, leaving consumers more choices before forming their decision to buy. When pointing your phones camera to the desired location, the application virtually deposits the selected article.
This could be convenient if you want to see a virtual example of the furniture placed in a corner of the room, you can also turn the article or zoom into it. Even if Amazon’s return policy allows you to change your mind, this is still boring. And thanks to this new technology, it might not exist anymore.
The feature can already display several thousand items, going further than furniture since even kitchen utensils can be viewed.
Augmented reality has a great potential for e-commerce but its implementation remains limited by the lack of adequate visualization devices. The release of ARKit for iPhone and ARcode for Android has changed things since each smartphone can do augmented reality, but still it should be adopted by consumers.
Eventhough this is just a technological test for the giant, it could quickly develop and expand to furnishing or fashion. Especially since each smartphone is capable of augmented reality. Applications that use it are expected to grow in the coming months.
