This is interesting – as part of its latest product showcase, Google has previewed a coming ‘Quick Tap to Snap’ functionality for its Pixel 6 and Pixel 6 Pro devices, which will enable users to take a photo or video in Snapchat direct from their lock screen.
We teamed up with Google Pixel to make Pixel 6 the fastest phone to make a Snap.
With Quick Tap to Snap, you'll be able to open the Snapchat camera right from the lock screen!
Look out for the feature and more #Pixel6 announcements coming soon. pic.twitter.com/s6hYV5N6b1
— Snapchat (@Snapchat)
As you can see in this example, using the double-tap function on the back of the Pixel, you’ll then be able to open up direct to the Snapchat camera, if you have the app installed.
As explained by Snap:
“For the first time ever, we’re making the Snapchat Camera accessible directly from a phone lock screen. By tapping the back of your phone, you can create Snaps and play with Lenses directly from the lock screen, without having to unlock your phone. Once a Snap is ready to share, log in to your phone’s lock screen to directly unlock the full app experience.”
So you will still have to log into your device to send your Snap, but still, that’s a fairly significant acknowledgment of the value of Snap, with the function being built into the phone direct, streamlining content creation.
Or Google’s looking to use the street cred of Snap to sell more Pixel phones – but either way, it’s another valuable partnership for Snap to make, with the company also forming strong bonds with Apple on the latest AR tools and processes.
Which it’ll also be working with Google on as well:
“We’re also teaming up with Google to launch exclusive augmented reality Lenses, as well as support for some of Google’s Pixel features, like Ultra Wide Angle and live translation, within Snapchat’s camera and chat on Pixel 6 and 6 Pro. You can take wide angle Snaps and also talk to your friends in more than 10 languages, and translate conversations in real-time.”
The new partnership underlines Snap’s growing presence as a key AR provider, now with direct links to the two biggest mobile OS developers on the planet. That could eventually help Snap better facilitate the next stage of AR connection, with AR glasses likely requiring connection to a mobile device to facilitate full functionality.
Apple has indicated as much with its own AR glasses experiment, with The Information reporting last month that Apple’s AR wearables will be ‘wirelessly tethered to a phone or a similar device for the most advanced features’. That could eventually become an impediment for Facebook’s own AR device, as people aren’t already carrying a supplementary Facebook processor to handle this element, which will mean Facebook either needs to create bulkier glasses or release a Facebook phone (which it has tried in the past) or similar.
Apple and Google, meanwhile, will be able to rely on iOS and Android devices, already ubiquitous, to power their own AR glasses, and if Snapchat can solidify its connection with both companies, that could pave the way for a more advanced version of its Spectacles sometime in the near future.
Which could be a big step, and with both Apple and Google also keen to lean into the cool factor of Snap, these partnerships could end up being a key step for the future development of Snap’s tools.
It can’t hurt, anyway, and with deeper connection built into Pixel devices, that could also be a strong lure to help Snap expand its user base.
Various interesting elements to note as we look forward to the next stage in AR development.
