The trend of augmented reality technology (AR) continues to expand across industries. Several businesses use AR to create engaging web and mobile experiences for their consumers. Because of its popularity, many companies are searching for innovative ways to implement AR into their ecosystem.
Whether automotive, consumer products, healthcare, or education, most industries implement AR for an improved customer experience. AR helps businesses create immersive experiences for their customers by layering virtual enhancements on top of reality. A perfect example is the ability to see what a new sofa will look like in your living room before purchasing it.
When we technically look into augmented reality, there are two types of implementations — app-based AR and Web-based AR. Here, companies often get overwhelmed when picking one for their business. However, if you are new to this advancement, fret not; we’ve got you covered. We will have a detailed look into both these advancements.
What is Mobile AR?
Mobile AR refers to the addition of digital elements to natural objects. These digital elements can be both 2D and 3D that are positionally tracked in real-time over the device’s camera feed. With mobile AR, you can create an engaging experience purely with your smartphone.
When Is Mobile-Based AR Ideal to Use?
Mobile-based AR is ideal when trying to create an engaging and interactive experience. Mobile AR is perfect if you want your customers to personalise the digital projections. Mobile AR is an ideal option for E-Commerce businesses such as furniture stores or clothing businesses. In such scenarios, companies can present their products with an immersive experience where they have complete control over what they want to view and customise. Some of the key benefits when you opt for AR mobile app development:
Interactive Experience:
You can add digital elements to real-world objects and combine the two for an engaging consumer experience. It includes adding animated characters, menus, text, etc.
Accessibility:
The accessibility of your business increases with augmented reality apps. Since the apps run on the smartphone device, which you carry everywhere, it makes sense to keep your business accessible at all times, day or night.
Appeal factor:
With mobile AR solutions, you not only stand out from your competitors but also create a long-term appeal factor for customers who will want to come back again and again!
What Is Web-Based AR?
As the name suggests, Web-based AR refers to adding digital elements into tangible objects. The difference between mobile AR and web-based AR is that developers take advantage of WebGL with web-based AR. In addition, the device which accesses these apps does not have to be a smartphone but can also be a tablet or computer desktop.
Web-based AR works well when trying to create an interactive experience for your users without having them download your app. You can easily customize how the augmented reality solution looks on your site; this includes changing text size/color/fonts, background colors, and more apart from what’s possible within the native app itself.
For example, if you run an educational institute or firm, then an interactive curriculum map can be displayed on your website instead of building a dedicated mobile app. AR is the best way to explore 3D data in the real world, and web-based solutions are perfect for this purpose.
When Is Web-Based AR Ideal to Use?
Web-based solutions are ideal for an engaging experience but don’t need advanced features like user customisation. Therefore, they are perfect for the education sector and e-commerce businesses. In some scenarios, web-based AR solutions also work as a good marketing tool to showcase their products online and drive customers to purchase them. Here are some of the key benefits of using web-based AR:
Easy Integration:
Web-based applications only require website development expertise which is easy to come by. However, building an app from scratch requires more time and resources than making a quick, easy and accessible site on your existing platform.
Cost-Effective:
There’s no need to develop your bespoke app with web-based solutions, which is expensive and time-consuming. Instead, you can design your augmented reality experience using any HTML5 editor or WebGL SDKs like A-Frame for fast development that costs less than building an app from scratch.
Frictionless Access to AR Content:
With web-based AR solutions, you can easily and quickly allow your users to access the augmented reality content on their browser. Moreover, they don’t need to download anything, which is excellent for business as it provides a frictionless way of accessing the experience!
Web AR and Mobile AR — Which Is Right for Your Business?
Mobile-based AR is ideal if you want to deliver a full-fledged immersive experience to your users to alter the digital projection. On the other hand, if you wish your users to enjoy the AR content without giving them the full-fledged ability to change it, then Web-AR is ideal. Moreover, if you need to establish a frictionless experience where users don’t need to download an app, the web-based AR solution is an excellent choice.
Wrapping Up!
AR is the future of technology, and both implementations deliver an excellent experience to your customers. Based on your requirements, pick a suitable option for your business. You will easily find professional companies that offer both augmented reality apps development and web-based AR services. It’s the right time to get ahead of the curve and drive more traction through AR.
