NO-NONSENSE AR APP DEVELOPMENT

WHAT IS APP AR?

App AR refers to an augmented reality application that installs directly to your device. App AR allows users to leverage more technologies and features than alternative platforms.

Why do I need App AR?

First off, you need to know that there are a few primary approaches to creating an AR experience:

Create a web-based AR experience
Create an application-based AR experience
Create an experience for existing social applications such as TikTok, or Snapchat

(Our augmented reality agency provides more specialized options for those who need a Kiosk setup – to see more information click here) As far as flexibility goes you cannot find anything better than a native application that takes full advantage of a device’s hardware. Users that want to leverage the power of AR to the fullest would be interested in developing an application. Applications require a download before the user can interact with the AR experience. The additional friction downloading implies would be a deterrent for many users. If you’re interested in a no-download approach, check out our articles explaining Web AR or Social AR. If you know your greatest concern is creating the most cutting-edge AR experience possible, then App AR might be the way to go. Most first-timers will have a slightly warped idea of the level of complexity they need to achieve their desired outcome. This might make it hard to assess which platform to use.

If you want to assess your detailed project needs consider a free discovery consultation from our AR Agency based in Montreal.

Examples of AR applications

Application-based AR permits developers to take advantage of cutting-edge technology to craft unmatched AR experiences. Take a look at some of these AR applications that push the boundaries of what’s possible in AR.

Wanna Kicks

Wanna Kicks has crafted a unique app that allows users to see and experience how different sneakers would fit them. This application uses advanced software (that isn’t available on Web AR) alongside other secret ingredients to identify the user’s feet and overlay a shoe. This in turn allows users to see how the shoes would look like in real-time from different angles. Users can purchase shoes directly from the app, mimicking an in-store shopping experience.

Porsche AR

Porsche set out to create an experience that allows users to interact with a Porsche as if it were parked in their yard. It makes use of advanced spatial tracking to place a Porsche model in the real world that can then be customized to the user’s liking. Users can play around with colors, rims, body parts, and more, while even being able to explore the interior. Porsche also included a ton of educational snippets along the way. An astoundingly creative way to explore a car you probably can’t afford!

Artys (by Upreal Digital)

Artys (created by Upreal Digital) allows users to add stunning augmented reality graphics to their video content. Artys makes it possible for users to differentiate their social content by using the power of AR. Create jaw-dropping video content without needing complex editing software. . Using a simple drag-and-drop interface, users can place eye-catching 3D graphics in their home, office, or studio. Artys even allows users to move around the 3D graphics as if they were there in real life.

Ikea Place

This app allows you to browse a wide variety of Ikea products and place them in your house to get an accurate idea of what they would truly look like. You can see the exact dimensions of the furniture and decorate your home with true-scale models.

Users can see that coffee table they’ve been thinking about from every possible angle before deciding on it. You can even get a feel for how this new item will affect color and space balance in your room before ever hitting checkout or visiting a store.

For companies like Ikea, being able to provide their users with such an in-depth experience is truly next-level. In this case it requires tools only available on App AR.

Advantages and disadvantages of App AR

Now that you’ve had some time to think about the use cases of App AR, lets take a look at the reasons why (and why not) to use App AR. Here’s a table that clearly lays out the differences between App AR, Web AR, and Social AR.

	Features	Performance	Accessibility
App AR	Most advanced	Excellent	Limited (Requires a download)
Web AR	Advanced	Average	Very high (Accessible in any modern browsers)
Social AR	Limited	Average	High (Accessible on specific socials media platforms)

Advantages

More advanced features

The unmatched access to all the latest features available in AR is the greatest advantage App AR has over other platforms.

Developing a native application allows developers to truly get the maximum visual fidelity and performance out of a given device.

App AR gives developers complete control over the application. This is why the most advance and complex AR experiences are application-based.

Offline use

Since applications require a download, all the files needed to run the application can be stored locally on your device.

This means that even if you’re not connected to the internet, the application will still run as intended! For some use-cases, this is a must-have and it’s only achievable by using App AR.

Though it’s great to have the option of using your application offline it comes at a cost…

Disadvantages

Download required

Creating an app fundamentally means your experience needs to be downloaded.

Unlike in Web AR where you can instantly use existing augmented reality tools in your browser to display items, with an app your experience will take time to install on your user’s device.

This is why it’s so important to consider the outcomes you need from your campaign before delving into augmented reality.

Think about it, you’re asking your user to navigate away from wherever it is that they found you, to the AppStore/PlayStore.

Once in the AppStore/Playstore, they need to click a button to download your app (potentially being required to provide login details). After that, they will need to wait for the download to complete before ever being able to interact with your experience.

That might be a lot to ask depending on what you’re hoping to achieve.

The additional friction is going to be a prohibiting factor for many projects. In the case that you’re after the widest user-base possible, consider taking a look at our articles on Web AR and Social AR.

What do we use to build App AR?

For App AR, we use the following tools:

Unity (3D Engine) + AR foundation

Unity’s AR foundation allows our developers to create applications once and compile them for native Android and IOS use

Native android development + ARcore (Java)

In addition to creating native Android applications using Java, our team leverages the latest edition Google’s ARCore. This enables us to make use of all the best AR features on Android.

Native IOS development + ARKit (Swift)

Using Apple’s Swift programming language in addition to ARKit our team can provide access to IOS exclusive features. These features include 3D object tracking, meshing, and even human segmentation.

Conclusion

Developing an App is a great idea that gives you access to the most features possible in AR! Though, App AR has a few crucial disadvantages that need to be considered. If it’s become clear that the disadvantages of App AR make it sub-optimal for your project, please check out our articles on Web AR and Social AR to see if these options are right for you.

If you’re still not sure wether or not App AR is right for your project, feel free to book a call with one of our AR agency consultants. We’ll give you qualified feedback and advice on which platform to use for your next AR campaign.