AR And Mobile Apps
There are many industry trends that organizations tend to understand in their respective sectors, and many businesses position themselves for new technologies and applications for those technologies. Augmented reality (AR) has been considered one of the more disruptive technological trends in recent years, and many believe that it will change mobile apps forever. For those who are unaware, augmented reality is a combination of both real and virtual words, where technology allows for an interactive (and altered) perception for the user.
Pokemon Go is one of the obvious examples where we saw augmented reality go “mainstream”, and the game was so successful that it reached 1 billion downloads within several years. Of course, there are still many AR applications - whether we are speaking about the retail industry, the entertainment industry, or other sectors. In fact, it is already estimated that 80 million people in the United States alone engage with augmented reality technology at least once a month. Here are some ways that AR will change the future of the mobile app industry.
Navigation Apps
If you own a smartphone, there’s a good chance that you already use a navigation app for directions. Google Maps is the most popular navigation app in the world, and many believe that Google has dominated the space due to the fact that the company boasts an incredible attention to detail with respect to maps and directions. In fact, Google Maps’ closest competitor is Waze - which is ALSO owned by Google. The tech giant clearly has a huge interest in making sure that they dominate the navigation sector (which also leads to massive amounts of ad revenue for the company).
Google Maps now uses augmented reality to offer more clues for tourists that might not be too sure of their surroundings, and to ensure that they reach their location. While you’re walking, you can now be guided by virtual signs and audio notifications - and this is just one example of how augmented reality will make life easier for human beings in the future.
Home Decor Apps
One of the greatest things about augmented reality is that you can learn more about the product than ever before, without actually having to purchase the item. Let’s say that you are interested in a specific couch or chair, but are unsure as to how it would look in your home. Ikea now offers IKEA Place, which gives customers a chance to see how the furniture would look in their own home thanks to augmented reality technology. If you are interested in a chair, for example, you can view a 3-D rendering of the chair, on your smartphone, and observe it from different angles.
IKEA isn’t the only company that is taking advantage of augmented reality, and it’s important to mention that these companies help save consumers a tremendous amount of time and effort. They can immediately tell whether home decor fits within their house (whether it’s wallpaper, a sofa, or paint). Decormatters, an app that utilizes both AR and artificial intelligence (AI) to help users “design their dream home”, boasts over 4 million downloads.
Entertainment Apps
We all know that gaming is a huge part of the mobile app industry. Candy Crush Saga is a mobile app that is one of the most successful of all time, and the entire premise of the game revolves around swapping pieces of candy (with different colors) to create “matches.” During the game’s peak, the company was earning somewhere around $1 million every day, and the app boasts over 2.7 billion downloads.
The Candy Crush games might not utilize augmented reality, but that isn’t stopping other games from taking advantage of AR. In fact, one of the most popular social media platforms in the world, Instagram, plans on using AR game filters to grow their user base. You can expect more mobile apps to use AR, as well, as the COVID-19 pandemic is expected to cause exponential growth in the AR gaming sector.
Conclusion
AR technology has been around for decades, but it wasn’t always this accessible. In modern times, users can use AR technology using the smartphone in their pocket, and there are many industries that are already aware that it will change their industry forever. It’s also important to acknowledge that AR technology is not only more available than ever, it’s more affordable than ever, which is great news for mobile apps hoping to utilize its capabilities.
It doesn’t matter if you are a healthcare startup, a video game company, or a retailer - there’s a good chance that you already understand that augmented reality is the future. The success of Pokemon Go might’ve taken the world by surprise several years ago, but don’t be stunned to see the most successful mobile apps of the future take advantage of AR technology.