Augmented reality (AR) has plenty of applications outside of videogames, one of which is now being employed by online retailing giant Amazon. This month the company has released AR View through its mobile app, allowing users to place items in their homes prior to purchase.
Using Apple’s ARKit, AR view helps customers make better shopping decisions by allowing them to visualize the aesthetic and fit of products in their own living space. Customers simply open the Amazon App, click on the camera icon and choose AR view. They can then select from thousands of items – from living room, bedroom, kitchen and home office products to electronics, toys and games, home décor and more. Whether customers are buying a sofa or a kitchen appliance, they can overlay it onto their existing living space, move it and rotate it to get a full 360-degree peek in a live camera view to make sure it fits their style and aesthetic.
Amazon’s latest AR offering within the Amazon App is available for customers with iOS 11 installed on their iPhone 6S or later.
The introduction of AR View comes just before one of the biggest sales period of the year, Black Friday, originally an American pre-Christmas sale day that’s now expanded to other countries as well as running for a longer stretch. Naturally, Amazon has loads of deals going on, so with AR View customers will now be able to make more informed choices when looking at items like furniture. A knock-on effect will likely be that less returns are made as consumers won’t receive their item then find it’s not quite right.
Earlier today Microsoft announced that its online store would be offering Black Friday deals on its Windows Mixed Reality headsets. While last week saw Sony Interactive Entertainment (SIE) reveal PlayStation 4 and PlayStation VR deals, and Samsung will be discounting its Gear 360 Camera.
VRFocus will continue its coverage of Amazon, reporting back with its latest technology updates.