

It’s a gamble, with multi-million dollar research needed, but the stakes are high.If you are here, reading this article, it is likely that you are aware of one of the popular social media messaging apps, Snapchat. There’s also a forum and a Creator Marketplace to help with the creation process.īy offering a full suite of support for AR, Snap hopes to win big as the major player in the space. The Camera Kit beta includes developer coding tools, access to an entire developer community, and a window onto the Snapchat universe to try out applications with real live consumers. It could be a game changer for the civic design process. Neighbor citizens can then visualize the effects of proposed planning applications before they are voted on in town committees. Or the award-winning inCitu application, which uses Snap’s Camera Kit to embed AR into its phone app. Microsoft Flip is an education platform that uses the Snap tech stack to integrate AR into its education apps. The company is keen to stress the socially beneficial aspects of AR technology. And it’s not just for teen shopping either. The Camera Kit platform includes functionality to do basic face tracking, body tracking, machine learning, and VFX effects. Snap platform also comes with its massive Snapchat audienceīy giving developers state of the art AR tools, these brands can deliver cool apps on iOS and Android fast. Many of the mega brands like Meta and Google have their proprietary AR ambitions, but for global brands, it makes sense to work with a private company like Snap, which is not likely to become a competitor. Simply put, the Camera Kit opens up AR beyond the Snap universe by allowing brands like Disney to create their own AR applications and experiences quickly and easily. Much of the loss for 2022 can probably be put down to heavy expense on R&D for its AR products, which is where the Camera Kit comes into the equation.


These are big numbers, but like many such US tech giants, the company is still struggling to find a profitable pathway. Over 250 users take advantage of AR, and over 75% of 13 – 34-year-olds across 20 countries use the Snapchat app. Snap provides a wide range of visual platforms and products to let businesses, developers, and consumers play around with the ability to capture, share and manipulate visual imagery.Īround 363 million people use Snapchat every day. For those not familiar with Snap, it’s a camera company. Snap provides tools for developers and brands to create visual excitementįast forward to 2022, and the early promise of the platform has been vindicated by an opening up of the Camera Kit platform to more beta testers.
