Augmented reality (AR) is the latest craze that all tech heads are fussing and fighting over.
That’s because it’s pretty awesome. And because no one wants to stay behind with the times, more app and mobile developers are branching into this new kind of technology by creating visuals or objects that are integrated with real-world environments.
In other words, pretending that a skeleton ballerina is dancing on your table without it actually being there. A few months back, you probably picked up the Pokemon Go phase, where people were going around town, searching for their Pokemon, bonding with other people and exploring nature while at it. That is the world of AR. And developers were taking notes, but on a smaller scale.
Although it’s been around for quite some time, it’s only getting the hype it deserves now. And the launch of Google Pixel and the Apple iPhone X partly triggered that.
If you’re an avid user of Snapchat, you have seen this already. The app integrated Bitmoji characters doing interesting things like making coffee or unlocking a door that speeds away.
But there are plenty more apps that are slowly but surely catching onto the trend. Like Stargazer – an app that allows you to point your phone to the stars and it will tell you exactly what constellation is right above you. Or the new Google Translate feature that allows you to take a picture of text and it will automatically translate it for you. Are you a fan of decor?
There are plenty of apps out there that help you add furniture to your room and give you an idea of what it will be like, without actually buying anything just yet. And just recently, the basketball association, better known as the NBA released a game that will help you shoot basketballs anywhere, without the use of physical basketballs.
As fun as these apps may seem because they make it easier to engage with the environment, it also takes away an aspect of exploration and makes you independent on technology. It’s like stargazing and testing your knowledge by figuring out what constellations are above you, instead of having the answers right in front of you already. Or not finding the pleasure in finding out the history of a particular painting, but rather pointing your phone at it and getting the background story of it within minutes.
The new generation, especially those heavily invested in technology, will find this interesting, but those who are old school and prefer a real world experience will likely give this a miss.
