We have all become more comfortable with a little augmented reality (AR) in our lives, although many of us may not realize it.
AR has always had a magical ability to amaze and delight, from those early days of chasing Pokemon across the city to the recent virtual shows by Gorillaz in New York’s Times Square and London’s Piccadilly Circus to launch their new single “Skinny Ape.”
Brands have also experimented with harnessing this magical quality in a variety of ways, from consumer-led entertainment to customer-led utility. The AR dragons and direwolves created by AnalogFolk for Game of Thrones bottles of Johnnie Walker elevated the consumption experience on social occasions, while Ikea Place was a groundbreaking way for customers to arrange virtual furniture in living spaces.
However, despite the advancements in AR technology, it has not yet reached the level of public adoption that many futurologists predicted.
AR goes mainstream
Social media has played a significant role in the mainstream adoption of AR, weaving the functionality into their user experience. Of course, consumers don’t necessarily call it AR or even know that it is AR. But that doesn’t matter. In fact, it merely demonstrates the pervasiveness of technology.
Snap reports that more than 70% of users engage with AR elements every day, sharing effects that contort and transform how they look on screen. But whether it’s Snap Lenses, TikTok Effects or Meta Spark, the potential use cases for brands continue to evolve from entertainment to shopping and from viewing 3D products to virtually trying on items within a brand’s channel.
Debates about hardware and public adoption
The conversation about the future of AR often gets wrapped up in debates about hardware. And it’s easy to see why. AR through smartphones or tablets is magical, but through dedicated eyewear, it is otherworldly. There is a paradigm shift on the horizon. But when it will arrive depends on a number of factors.
Ever since Google Glass, futurologists have imagined a world in which we could look up and around us, instead of always down at our handheld screens. They created hype films showing how AR could be used to assist with our everyday lives, creating quality-of-life enhancements. But as humans, we had just as many questions about data, privacy and social behavior as we did about the practicality of any technology.