Cost: FreeRelease: Aug 25
Available for: iOS and Android
Now this is cool. I've tested augmented reality apps before but so far I haven't been super impressed. This article quickly summarizes most of the AR apps I've tried and enjoyed so far. Especially Goggles, Skymap, and Wikitude.
The use of this technology for such products is very smart. As per this article, measurements will not be necessary and the catalog app has access to over 90 different products. Apparently it will be a new app released August 25, however the functionality is already in the catalog app linked at the very bottom of this post.
To actually place the furniture in your home, it's recommended that you have the catalog. This is because the app apparently needs to scan the catalog to get "a more accurate scale of the model, so you won't have to resize it yourself. The IKEA catalogue becoems the scale reference used by the app to calculate a more accurate scale." If you don't have a physical catalog you can download/email it and print out a specific page to scan or just use the "without IKEA catalogue" mode and scale the model yourself with finger gestures.
But that's easier said than done. I've just tested the app and it is a processor hog. It crashed twice on my S3 while trying to place a desk chair in my bathroom. For this to work effectively you'll need 1) a fast internet connection, 2) a top of the line phone, and 3) some patience.
IKEA isn't exactly pioneering anything here either. Another app called Furnish (previously known as 'Ikea Now') has been doing the same thing for quite some time. (Furnish on: iOS | Android) However, the fact that a large company like IKEA is adopting this concept is pretty neat. I don't doubt that we'll be seeing more augmented reality as the technology continues to improve. Imagine this kind of app on Google Glass?
Below are links to the current iOS and Android apps. If I remember, I'll check back in a few weeks when the update gets pushed/app gets released to notify you of any changes.
iOS | Android
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