Snap Inc. revealed an array of new Snapchat features at its annual Snap Partner Summit, as well as showcasing how the AR experiences it has produced with its partners seamlessly weave into our daily lives, enhancing the way we live, learn, communicate, and even shop.

Along with the new capabilities, Snap stated that Snapchat now has over 600 million monthly active users and over 332 million daily active users worldwide. Snap also now collaborates with over 500,000 partners, producers, and developers to bring innovative goods and services to its community.

Over the last year, Snapchatters have shared content from partner applications, such as tunes from Spotify or tweets from Twitter, over 6 billion times on Snapchat. Finally, when compared to other apps, Snapchat is the happiest platform.

Snapchat new camera features

Snap’s AR community is using Snap’s technology to establish real enterprises. These developers represent nearly every country on the planet and have created over 2.5 million Lenses that have been viewed over 5 trillion times. Snap recently released Lens Cloud as a feature to assist enable future AR innovation.

Lens Cloud is a freely available suite of backend services that dramatically expands what developers may build in AR. Storage Services, Location Services, and Multi-User Services will enable more dynamic, usable, and interactive AR. The following features are included:

  • Storage Services: This allows for the creation of complex and interactive Lenses by storing materials in Snap’s cloud and calling on them as needed. Furthermore, because storage is persistent, Snapchatters can resume sessions where they left off the previous time.
  • Location Services: This enables developers to anchor their Lenses in specific locations throughout the world They can also make use of Snap’s city templates. The first city is London, which is currently available in Lens Studio. More will be available in the future year.
  • Multi-User Services: Shared AR across multiple users is possible within the same Lens.

Snapchat new AR Shopping features

More than 250 million Snapchatters have used AR shopping Lenses over 5 billion times since January of last year. They also rank Snapchat as the best medium for sharing shopping moments.

Snapchatters enjoy using AR for try-ons. Snapchatters have tested Zenni Optical’s AR Lenses more than 60 million times. True-size lenses generated a 42% higher return on ad investment than non-true-size lenses.

Snap will introduce numerous new technologies to increase the way marketers may present things to their customers using AR:

  • Introducing Snap 3D Asset Manager: Brands may now request, manage, and optimise 3D models for any of their products in their catalogue. Shopping Lenses may now be built in seconds and at no extra cost. This will enhance conversions while decreasing returns – marketers will be able to design highly converting try-on experiences while minimising returns.
  • Introducing a new type of shopping Lens that allows you to try on outfits without ever changing your clothes, powered by our AR Image Processing Technology.
  • Introducing Dress Up: A new Snapchat destination that combines the finest of AR fashion and try-on from makers, merchants, and fashion brands into one spot. Dress Up encourages users to browse, discover, and share new looks from across the world. It’s available in Lens Explorer and will soon be one tap away from the Snap Camera in AR Bar. Snapchatters can also quickly return to their favourite products because Snap has enabled the opportunity to adjust user purchasing preferences in Profile settings. This will be Snapchat’s first dedicated fashion experience surface.
  • Introducing Camera Kit for AR Shopping: With Camera Kit for AR Shopping, Snap is giving its commerce partners a new way to incorporate the finest of Snap’s camera for AR try-on straight into their own applications and sites. Camera Kit for AR Purchasing is an AR SDK that integrates Snap’s try-on Lenses into retailer and brand product detail pages to improve customers’ digital shopping experiences. Camera Kit for AR Shopping is available for Android and iOS, and will soon be available on websites as well.

Apart from the new features, Snap also announced several new features specifically for creators and partners. These include the Minis Private Components System via their Minis platform as well as Dual Mode editing tools. 

Finally, Snap announced a multi-year partnership with Live Nation that will take performances beyond the stage, creating a stronger connection between artists and fans, through custom-built, immersive AR — only available on Snapchat.

For more news like this, stay tuned to us at The Adventures of Vesper.