How does AR help - right now and in the future?

How does AR help people and brands right now, and how will it help in the future?

The usage of AR right now is getting more and more popular. Day by day we are getting used to the fact that we are adding some filters on our faces on Instagram or Snapchat or TikTok. It is becoming so common that we are not even noticing that what we are using on daily basis is a very powerful tool. Probably, all of us used AR without even thinking “oh. that is some new stuff”.

In this article, we will not be focusing on “how does it work?” because there is plenty of information online about it. Here we want to focus on “how does it help brands?”, “how do we engage with brands thanks to AR” and “why YOUR brand should create its first AR experience soon”.

We will split this article into two categories, 1. How does AR help now? and 2. How will it help in the future? Let’s begin… 

How does AR help now?

There are a lot of examples of how we are using AR on daily basis. But we want to focus on a couple that we think are the most relevant.
Let’s start with the fact that all of us already have the most important tool which can handle AR, our smartphones! And thanks to the applications that we are using every day we can have fun with it.

Effects on Snapchat or Instagram or TikTok

Those are the most common application right now that we are using on daily basis, which contain AR solutions.

Since the “technological boom” with Snapchat’s “dog with tongue” filter in 2016 we are getting used to AR every day.
Right now, every major brand and even small business has its own “filer or effect” that lets the customers engage with the brand. Thanks to the amount of customization that we can create the sky is the limit of how we can engage with our followers or customers.
But you can ask, how does it really help the brand?

Brands right now need as many opportunities as possible to give better experiences to their customers or gain attention on social media. We need more stimulus to remember the brand or interest in the brand. That’s why you can notice that when you are using one of the application that we mentioned, there is a lot of branded AR options that make you engage with the brand even for a moment.
And behind all of it, there is one the most important things, getting more SALES.
That’s right! The AR solution for brands helps the brand to hit more sales thanks to the engagement that they are getting from people who are using it. Even right now, when you are using branded AR effects on Instagram or Snapchat, it gives you the option to purchase something straightforward from the app.

Besides the experience and fun that you are getting from AR, it is an amazingly working marketing tool. So remember, next time when you use Kylie Jenner’s Instagram effect, you are a part of their marketing strategy. ;) 

Ikea AR Furniture

Probably all of us have at least one piece of furniture from Ikea. It is not surprising because of Ikea’s popularity. But, did you know that before you order something that you think will match your house’s design you can literally check how it is going to look like there live on your phone? That’s right, Ikea invested a lot of money in this solution for you. Thanks to their new AR option you can just click one button in their app and check if this “lagkapten” desk can fit and match your house.
It really helps the customers to choose furniture and gives them peace of mind that everything is gonna be alright with it.

Google and their AR solutions help the World to be easier and more accessible.

As we know, Google implemented a lot of AR solutions that work amazingly in their apps.

One of the many examples right now is Google Maps. When you are walking around the new city and you want to get from point A to point B very easily, you don’t have to use a normal 2D map anymore. Why is that? Because when Google maps notices that you are walking, it gives you an option to click the “AR icon” and through your camera, it can show you should be getting to your destination. It works perfectly! This amazing tool shows you live directions, it shows you arrows and lines which you should follow. You can just look through your camera and see how you should be moving. Also, it shows you on the street and what street are you on. The algorithm that Google used to create it is fantastic and even for us, it was really surprising. Even when you are walking next to some important places or restaurants, you can click on your phone to check what is it and if this place is worth visiting. We highly recommend trying it out when you will be walking around your neighborhood or when you will be visiting a new place.

The second app that we want to focus on is Google Translate. This is not something new, that with Google Translate you can translate something live through your phone. But it works so well that every time when you are in a different country and you don’t know what the sign says or what is on the menu, you can just pull out your phone and understand everything in your language. This AR feature is always worth mentioning because Google is all the time improving it and it is getting better and better day by day.

We love the fact that AR can be used for good in this World. But thanks to Google we can appreciate these subtle features in their apps that a lot of us has already on our phones.

How will we engage with AR in the future?

Let’s start this part of the article with facts. A lot of companies like Apple, Lenovo, Meta, Microsoft, and Google, are already investing a lot of money to build AR technology for “everyday users”. Some of them already presented examples of their work in recent years. But is it really going to be only “AR”? We don’t think so. Because after AR, new technologies like MR and XR appeared on the market. And we could write a new article about the difference between all of those terms. But the most important thing that we want to mention is that in the near future all of us will be wearing AR Glasses and we will be engaging with the World completely different compared to what we have right now.

A few of those companies that we mentioned at the beginning already presented the first working examples of their AR glasses. Right now they are heavy, they don’t have many functionalities and they are not created for the everyday user yet. But they are moving forward with it all the time.

You may ask, what will we be using the AR Glasses for?

Let us give you a few examples of what we know is happening right now and what we think would be a good use of those glasses.

Clothing

Start-ups like Metaverse.io or Zero10 are already presenting the first usage of AR/XR clothing. Imagine that you are wearing your AR Glasses, and someone is wearing a hoodie of your favorite brand. And when you walk past them you can see that with this clothing you can see some 3D elements around them. For example, only you can see it because of the fact that they are wearing this piece of clothing of this brand.
Another thing is trying on clothes in front of your mirror. If you want to buy yourself new shoes or any other piece of clothing, you can just go to your favorite retail store on your AR glasses and you can put them on yourself and see how is it going to look like on you.

Google or Apple Maps on steroids

You want to get from point A to point B without all the time looking at your phone and accidentally hitting the tree with your head. That’s what the AR glasses will for sure prevent. With them, you will be able to normally walk on the streets, see the direction in front of you and you can focus on your safety. There are a lot of concepts of this solution already. But imagine what we’ve mentioned before about Google Map’s AR feature on your phone but on your nose.

This will help a lot of people and it will prevent a lot of accidents. And we can’t wait to see it in real life!

Restaurants

Besides the feature that we’ve mentioned with clothing - what could have usage with restaurants’ logos. Imagine that you are going to your favorite restaurant or just a new one. And thanks to the QR code that we have already on our tables you will be able to see the restaurant’s menu in front of you on the table. You will be able to see every food on the menu, see the photos and allergens and it would give you better dining and ordering experience.

There are tons of examples of usage of the AR in the future. As you can see our future will look more colorful and exciting than it is right now.

At MPMTeam, we’ve worked on a few AR projects that helped our clients to grow their businesses and bring more engagements with their customers. And we are not going to lie, every time when something like this happens we are more and more excited about the future of our World.

Thank you for taking your time to read our article. We hope that right now you are excited about AR and its future as we are!