19 April 2017, USA:
Snapchat today is rolling out world lenses, a new twist on its popular face filters that continues the company’s exploration of augmented reality. Starting today, tapping the camera screen while using the rear-facing camera will bring up new 3D lenses. A cloud, a rainbow, flowers, and a floating “OMG” are part of the initial lineup, which will change daily, the company said.
Snapchat’s 3D world lenses rely on similar augmented reality-powered animations that made its selfie filters so popular. Snapchat’s selfie filters were eventually stolen for Facebook’s own AR camera features. Instead of using AR to animate your face, however, Snapchat’s 3D world lenses can be used to add floating animations to what’s in front of you using the rear-facing camera on your smartphone.
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World Lenses is the second major feature that Snapchat released since parent company Snap went public in March 2017. The move could also help Snap stay ahead of arch-competitor Facebook, whose Instagram Stories recently passed Snapchat in terms of daily users.
Instagram stories might have overtaken with 200 million active users daily of Stories. According to Snap’s initial public offering documents filed in February, its Snapchat app has 158 million daily active users as of Dec. 31. (Image- Screenshot / Ars Technica)
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