Trends in AR

In recent years, AR technology has gained immense popularity and has revolutionized many areas of our lives, from entertainment to business. In this article, we'll take a look at the latest trends in AR and how they affect our daily lives.

AR becoming more common every year

Augmented reality is becoming more and more popular. In 2022, it is estimated that 1.1 billion people will use AR on their phones alone. These are the effects of the pandemic and trending habits in online shopping. Investing in innovations is a natural result. More companies started to use AR technology, inspired by tech giants pushing heavily in this area. Here are the most important trends in AR.

AR in the Metaverse

For the record: the metaverse is a shared digital environment layered over the real world. The idea is that one day we will use mobile apps and smart glasses to inhabit virtual spaces in the form of an avatar that looks just like us or show up as a hologram in our friend's room. One of the most widespread uses in the work environment is the visualisation of offices, where workers from one or more companies can meet in the “same room”.

In 2021 we experienced lots of experiments with NFTs. New technologies have allowed brands to offer their consumers the ability to visualise their products in 3D and share them in AR before they make a purchase. If last year's level of activity in the metaverse keeps up, we can expect more and more brands to launch NFTs.

Spread of AR on e-commerce platforms

Not only big brands are investing in AR technology. Nowadays, even small business owners using e-commerce platforms like Shopify can create augmented reality product previews. Shopify introduced its AR feature back in 2018 and, from now on, is a leader in this area, providing multiple platform integration with AR. Shopify makes AR accessible to businesses even with the leanest budgets. Other platforms currently offering AR features to merchants are Magento, BigCommerce, WooCommerce and Etsy. One e-commerce store that is doing it well is the furniture giant IKEA. The company has an AR app that allows users to measure home furniture and see precisely how it would look when fitted into their spaces.

If you are interested in the topic of AR in e-commerce, we encourage you to learn more about the benefits of implementing augmented reality in e-commerce .

3D/AR results on Google

Retailers adding 3D and AR experiences to product pages aren't anything new. Shopify data shows that Shopify shows that products with AR content see a much higher conversion rate than products that don't have such elements. Google released this capability back in 2019. We anticipate that in 2022 and beyond, companies will rush to avail of 3D search results to better accommodate customers who have gotten used to shopping online. If you are one such person, try out our 3D configurator today and be ready for modern world!

AR for navigation

Another major AR trend concerns how people will navigate from one place to another. Currently, we can see a wide range of tools that can be used to improve the experience in this area, but the best options are those based on AR. Now, Live View integration with Google Maps location sharing and altitude enhancement is expected to be implemented soon, further improving indoor navigation. Also, Apple has introduced a navigation tool called Geo Tracking, which uses street views to improve positioning as much as possible.

AR in architecture

The architecture industry may take the advantage of augmented and virtual reality. As 3D modelling will enable the creation of fully interactive models, users will immerse themselves in the project, and designers will be able to create hologram projections or immersive equipment. Now is much easier to show visual results that were harder to imagine in the past. These technologies will help us to see the result of a construction or renovation from the eyes of an architect.

AR technology in healthcare

The Healthcare industry involves various methods, medicines, equipment, doctors, and other staff. VR can help doctors to make patients trust them by providing them with a virtual surgical plan that shows a human body and surgery in a 360-degree view. By AR, the anatomy of the human body can be delivered to the patients to make them understand the whole surgery in detail. It is also an excellent opportunity to teach students how to do surgery and other procedures.

All these trends might have seemed distant a few years ago, but rapid growth and development will be seen shortly. As you saw, AR will undoubtedly be helpful in various industries for various purposes and many people.

And that's not all! You can also read posts on our blog post about the role of AR in the future of education , as well as augmented reality in the manufacturing industry i and more.