Snap announces new Augmented Reality tools and Camera Experiences.
Snap announced new augmented reality tools and camera experiences for Snapchatters, creators, and businesses, the camera company announced on 21 May.
Snap said it was building a camera together with its partners that transforms how its community interacts with the world around them through access to contextual information and richer augmented reality experiences.
More than 5 billion Snaps are created every day on average, making the Snapchat camera one of the most used in the world.
Scan and Camera Shortcuts
Snap said that it was introducing new categories of intelligence to Scan with its partners. Screenshop gives shopping recommendations from hundreds of brands when Snapchatters Scan a friend’s outfit, and Snapchatters can also select photos from Memories to Scan with Screenshop. Soon, Allrecipes will recommend recipes based on ingredients seen through the Snapchat camera, said the camera company in a statement.
Scan not only connects Snapchatters to Lenses seamlessly, but will also offer suggestions for new ways to use the Snapchat camera, it said.
Snap is also introducing Camera Shortcuts, which are new combinations of creative tools that make it simple for Snapchatters to creatively capture moments to share with friends. Camera Shortcuts suggest camera modes, Lenses, and soundtracks relevant to what is seen through the Snapchat camera, and begin rolling out today.
Lens Studio
Snap said that it was updating Lens Studio with advanced tools that empower creators to build even more robust, innovative Lenses across gaming, education, shopping, and more, and refine them over time. Lens Studio now features Connected Lenses, which lets friends interact together in real time, whether located in the same room or across the world. Snap and the LEGO Group have created the first Connected Lens, so starting today, friends can collaboratively build with LEGO bricks on Snapchat.
Lens Studio is a powerful, free desktop application that lets any creator, developer, or business combine a range of technical and creative capabilities to build, publish, and promote Lenses. The Lens Studio community has grown to over 200,000 creators, and they’ve made nearly 2 million Lenses.
AR Try-On and Business Solutions
Snap said that it was also introducing new AR try-on experiences with fashion partners, bringing Snapchatters together with the businesses they care about through the Snapchat camera. For example, FARFETCH provides an immersive shopping experience using 3D Body Mesh and voice-enabled controls, letting Snapchatters now say what items they’re looking to browse and try on in AR. Prada is tapping into new gesture recognition capabilities that let shoppers signal to the camera when they want to try on another item, the company said.
Brands and businesses can drive valuable, scalable solutions through the Snapchat camera. Snap is introducing API-enabled Lenses, allowing businesses to tap into dynamic, automatic ways to feature real-time content in AR. Through Snap’s partnership with Perfect Corp, The Estée Lauder Companies will be among the first to leverage Snap’s AR Shopping platform tools. By integrating their product catalogue through Snap’s API in Business Manager, brands like M·A·C Cosmetics can build Lenses from new AR Shopping templates and publish them to Snapchat, based on real-time product inventory.
