This could prove nifty.
IKEA has partnered with Apple and is working on an augmented reality app that shows what certain IKEA furniture will look like inside your home.
Executive Michael Valdsgaard offered the following:
When it launches, the app will let customers choose which IKEA product they want and then use an iPhone or iPad powered by ARKit to see how the IKEA furniture looks in their own home before it’s purchased. IKEA has been doing this for years now, including an early version which required users to scan pages of an IKEA catalogue to view AR furniture, but the company said that Apple’s platform will greatly increase the consistency and quality of the experience.
Valdsgaard said that the app will support between 500 and 600 IKEA products at launch with more being added afterwards. The augmented reality experience will even directly play into the development and launch of new products, as Valdsgaard explained that the company plans to first debut new pieces of furniture in the app to give customers a taste of what’s coming.
Valdsgaard also stated that in the future, whenever IKEA launches new products, they’ll go into the AR app’s database.
Selling furniture directly within the app is a possibility as well, but isn’t the company’s focus for the first iteration of the software. Valdsgaard said, “Ideally, you could put a sofa in your home with the help of the app, and then with one click add it in the shopping cart on the site. But we have a tight deadline.”
At present, an “innovation team” of 150 people in Älmhult, Sweden is developing the app alongside a twenty-person team specifically responsible for the 3D modeling of furniture. The ARKit-powered IKEA app is expected to launch this fall, following the iOS 11 update.
Stay tuned for additional details as they become available.
Via MacRumors and Digital.di