Category: AR View

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Combine Amazon’s Massive Black Friday Sale Event with AR View This Month

There are just over two weeks to go until the annual Black Friday sales bonanza begins, tempting shoppers with all manner of discounts and deals galore. Global retailer Amazon tends to go all out for the event, offering all sorts of limited time deals, and this year is no different with a full ten days of sales for UK customers. 

Amazon AR View

Prior to last years Black Friday sales Amazon had released augmented reality (AR) app AR View for iOS devices, allowing Apple users to try various products at home using the technology. Since then, not only have more products been added meaning that the likelihood of them being in the sale is increased, Android users will now be able to make use of the feature thanks to ARCore adoption in February.

“We know many of our customers are starting to think about Christmas presents, parties and decorations at this time of year and we’re excited to offer great deals when shoppers need them most,” said Doug Gurr, Country Manager, Amazon.co.uk in a statement. “We focus on making shopping as easy and enjoyable for the customer as possible so we hope customers will enjoy the new AR View feature in the app, which uses augmented reality technology to allow shoppers to see selected products in their own home before they decide to buy, just in time for this year’s biggest ever Black Friday sale and perfect for kitting out the home before Christmas guests start arriving.”

This year, the Amazon.co.uk Black Friday Deals Store will be open from 00:01 on Friday 17th until 23:59 on Sunday 26th November. Amazon will offer new ‘Deals of the Day’ every day throughout the period across the site, with products ranging from must-have electronics, toys and fashion to sports, beauty, home items and more.

And for those in London, Amazon will be hosting a Home of Black Friday pop up event to celebrate the start of the Christmas shopping season. Located at 3-10 Shoreditch High Street in London, the free four-day multi-room experience will be open from Thursday 22nd November until Sunday 25th November showcasing the very best of Black Friday at Amazon alongside prize giveaways, workshops, VIP experiences and product sampling.

VRFocus will continue its coverage of Amazon, reporting back with its best VR deals as soon as they’re announced.

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Amazon AR View now Compatible With Android Devices

After the launch of Apple’s ARKit a number of companies jumped on the augmented reality (AR) band wagon, one of them being online retail giant Amazon. In November Amazon added AR View to its mobile app, allowing users to place items in their homes prior to purchase. Now with the launch of Google’s ARCore 1.0., AR View is now available on compatible Android devices.

Amazon AR View_1

Just like the iOS version, Android users can now enjoy an enhanced shopping experience where 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. These can then be digitally placed in their home prior to purchase.

To use AR View you’ll need one of the 13 different models supporting ARCore to begin with: Google Pixel, Pixel XL, Pixel 2 and Pixel 2 XL; Samsung’s Galaxy S8, S8+, Note8, S7 and S7 edge; LGE’s V30 and V30+ (Android O only); ASUS’s Zenfone AR; and OnePlus’s OnePlus 5. After downloading ARCore from the Google Play Store all you need to do is open the Amazon app, select the camera icon then choose AR View to enjoy AR shopping.

Amazon AR View_2

Google rolled out ARCore 1.0. at the end of last week prior to the start of Mobile World Congress (MWC) which began yesterday. While device support is limited at present Google has partnered with the likes of Samsung, Huawei, LGE, Motorola, ASUS, Xiaomi, HMD/Nokia, ZTE, Sony Mobile, and Vivo to bring compatibility to further smartphones during the course of 2018.

Amazon isn’t the only retailer delving into AR to improve the shopping experience. Mastercard teamed up with ODG and Qualcomm, Apple and IKEA, Redbubble, Lowe‘s and QVC have all looked to immersive technology to attract customers.

Expect that to grow over 2018, as AR becomes more attractive to developers with the addition of Android. MWC and the upcoming Game Developers Conference (GDC) 2018 will likely have plenty of AR related announcements from studios. Additionally, Samsung unveiled its new flagship phone, the Galaxy S9 and S9+ with its own AR features. As further AR announcements are made, keep reading VRFocus for the latest updates.

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View Products at Home With Amazon AR View

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.