Snapchat’s got a new kind of AR Try On experience, with the latest campaign from Cartier being used to showcase Snap’s new ring try on, enabling users to see how the latest Cartier “Trinity” ring looks on their own finger.
As you can see in this example, Snap’s Ring Try on will enable you to see how a ring looks on your own hand, and on any finger you choose.
As explained by Snap:
“With a few simple taps, the Cartier Trinity Ring Lens lets you discover the collection, try on the Classic Trinity Ring, and shop wherever, whenever. Our new ring try-on technology, coupled with Ray Tracing and Hand Tracking, makes it more precise and life-like than ever before. When your hand moves, the ring follows, and Cartier’s Classic Trinity Ring sparkles in a way that’s true-to-life.”
Snap says that it developed the new experience in exclusively with Cartier, with a focus on the quality and reflection of metals and diamonds, as well as the accuracy of the fit.
“It uses machine learning to predict the 3D hand surface, which helps it better understand the shape of each individual hand.”
It’s another way for Snap to enhance the shopping experience, giving users an opportunity to try out new looks in the app, which could be a big step for online commerce.
The feature adds to Snap’s existing AR Try On options, which also include:
Snapchat’s also developing more advanced tools to enable more types of clothing Try On experiences, using AR “Occluders” to ensure more accurate representation of the real world item in the digital environment.
Eventually, users will be able to try on anything in AR, with increasingly accurate depictions of how they actually look in real life. That won’t replace the in-store experience completely, but it will help to better augment the process, and guide users’ purchase decisions in-stream.
Which could be a big help for Snap’s broader ads business, and could also see Snap play a significant role in the expansion of AR, whether Snap’s able to develop its own AR glasses or not.
That had always been the presumed path for the company, given that it launched its first Snap Spectacles back in 2016. But more recent cost pressures may have seemingly impeded the development of a fully AR-enabled version of the device, though Snap CEO Evan Spiegel has maintained that its AR work remains a key focus.
Snap does have an AR-enabled version of Spectacles in testing, and has been experimenting with them since 2021. So Snap could still be pushing to challenge Meta and Apple on consumer AR tech, but again, more recent cost-cutting, and the high development costs of going up against these giants, may force Snap to seek other avenues for its AR development.
As such, new applications like this are important, because demand for AR applications is only going to increase, which could provide a new revenue pathway for Snap, by licensing its tech to other providers.
Or, as I’ve speculated in the past, it could also be acquired by one of the bigger players. Snap has had a long running partnership with Apple on AR development, and with its advanced production pipeline for consumer products, it would seemingly be a significant benefit for Apple to buy up Snap to boost the production of its own AR glasses.
I still think that could happen, especially as Snap’s likely asking price decreases, due to its ongoing revenue challenges. But either way, more advanced try on tools will be of benefit for Snap in developing for the next stage of digital connection.
