Ikea has revealed a few new details about its augmented reality collaboration with Apple that lets customers test out virtual pieces of furniture in their homes before they buy them.
Tim Cook recently discussed the app briefly in an interview in which he said that, We’ve talked to Ikea, and they have 3D images of their furniture line. You’re talking about changing the whole experience of how you shop for, in this case, furniture and other objects that you can place around the home.”
“This will be the first augmented reality app that allows you to make reliable buying decisions,” said Michael Valdsgaard, digital transformation manager at Ikea, in a Swedish language interview for the website DiGital.
According to Valdsgaard, the app will launch this fall alongside the official release of iOS 11. At launch, the app will boast 500-600 products that customers will be able to try out in their homes. This ultra-precise technology will allow them to be positioned on real backdrops in 3D with millimeter-accurate positioning.
Going forward, he says that Ikea will aim to debut new products in the app before they arrive in store. He also said that Apple’s augmented reality platform was of interest to Ikea because of its guaranteed reach. “It will be the largest AR platform in the world overnight,” he said. “That’s super interesting to us.”
Ikea has previously experimented with AR tech, as the below video demonstrates. However, the firm is of the opinion that Apple’s technology is vastly superior to what it currently offers:
