Now that the iPhone X is out and into the hands of customers, developers are eager to roll out new app updates, taking advantage of the handset’s new TrueDepth camera system.
One of the first is glasses manufacturer Warby Parker, which is already employing the Face ID facial mapping data feature to make suggestions about which glasses would suit people’s face shape.
Warby Parker’s app update notes that:
“O.K., now this is cool. We’re rolling out a brand-new feature for iPhone X only in which we measure your face to help you figure out which frames will fit you great.”
The app previously used a virtual try-on process to let users try different glasses Warby Parker had for sale. However, the update — which takes into account facial features and head shape — means that suggestions and recommendations are more accurate.
What is currently missing is the ability to actually use augmented reality-style technology to overlay the glasses over the user’s face. Instead, at present it simply gives you a list of recommendations.
With Apple currently heavily pushing its ARKit technology, though, it seems like it shouldn’t be too long before Warby Parker integrates similar functionality into its app.
You can download the Warby Parker “Glasses” app for free from the App Store. It certainly makes us excited to see what some of the next iPhone X-compatible apps are going to hold, particularly as this technology get more mature!
Luke Dormehl is a U.K.-based journalist and author, with a background working in documentary film for Channel 4 and the BBC. He is the author of The Apple Revolution and The Formula: How Algorithms Solve All Our Problems … and Create More, both published by Penguin/Random House. His tech writing has also appeared in Wired, Fast Company, Techmeme and other publications.
