Snapchat Launches Bitmoji-Enabled "World Lenses”; Making Difference
Snapchat is continuously launching new features to maintain its leadership in the augmented reality (AR) technology. One such recently launched feature is Bitmoji-enabled "World Lenses” with 3D capabilities. This feature lets overlaying of Bitmoji characters onto the surroundings to make the animations have a more realistic appeal. In other words, it combines the customizable characters based on the Bitmoji that has been already created using the app and has been linked to the Snapchat with the real-world surroundings.
The new feature allows interaction with the Bitmoji lenses in Snapchat by walking around and moving the position of the camera. The user can apply different activity effects to the Bitmoji, such as yoga poses and skateboarding, and can record and share them in a manner similar to the regular Snaps.
To create a 3D Bitmoji Snap, the user will first need to create a Bitmoji, a cartoon avatar of the person by tapping the Snapchat logo on the main screen in the top-left corner by hitting Create Bitmoji. Then they would switch to rear-camera mode in the app and tap and hold the screen. The next step would be to swipe left to the new 3D Bitmoji Lenses, point the camera at a surface and place the created Bitmoji there. Once the preferred Bitmoji has been created, it can be shared with Snapchat Friends or can be posted as a story.
Several advertisers including Warner Bros., Netflix, and Dunkin’ Donuts have begun using the feature for advertisements. Apple used the feature to show the AR capabilities of its iPhone. Warner Bros and Bud Light have put their own 3D creations into the real-world scenes using the Snapchat camera. Warner Bros has put the “Spinner” car from the new Blade Runner 2049 feature flick into action, whereas Bud Light is offering a beer vendor man. The brands can either directly buy from Snap for 3D World Lenses or can run a national campaign as a targeted audience lens. The target audience can be of certain age, gender, or interest-based audience.
The company is yet to derive financial benefits from the technology.
This development is an indication that AR Gaming Market is growing. According to Infoholic Research, Augmented Reality(AR) Gaming Market is expected to grow at a CAGR of 157.2% during forecast period, and touch and aggregate of $284.93 billion by 2023.