December 15, 2020 – 8th Wall, the augmented reality (AR) platform that makes it easy to build frictionless AR content for the mobile web (WebAR), has recently announced that with the new iOS 14.3 update, WebAR experiences now work in all major iOS apps, including Instagram, Snapchat, Facebook, Messenger, LinkedIn, and Chrome.
According to the company, 8th Wall WebAR already has a reach of roughly 2.9 billion Android and iOS devices and offers the least amount of friction for users to engage with augmented reality experiences via their smartphone devices. While iPhone users were previously well-supported in Safari and in apps like Twitter and Slack, which use SFSafariViewController web views, the latest iOS update now lets brands meet iPhone audiences wherever users spend their screen time, in all of their favorite apps.
With iOS 14.3, applications that use WKWebView can now run 8th Wall WebAR experiences. This includes the most popular social media apps, but it also means that iPhone users can experience WebAR content within any iOS app or even in the browser of their choice. The update removes even more friction to access AR experiences, according to 8th Wall, allowing users to get directly to an AR experience from any app, with just the tap of a link.
As a result of this, 8th Wall states that companies can now boost the discoverability of WebAR content by including a link to it in page bios, or by promoting WebAR experiences with social media advertisements and sponsored content. For example, when posting a story on Instagram or Snapchat from a verified account, a “Swipe Up” link can be added that instantly launches a WebAR experience.
AR can be added to any existing native application, and can include World Effects, Face Effects and Image Targets. WebAR can be embedded inside of a mobile app as a link or iFrame, plus companies can also integrate external APIs (such as analytics) within their WebAR content.
With 8th Wall’s own release (15.2) it has added support for WKWebView on devices running iOS 14.3 and higher and updated its open-source library XRextras. 8th Wall’s XRExtras library provides modules that handle the most common WebAR application needs, including the load screen, error handling and social link-out flows which direct users to the right place, maximizing accessibility of WebAR projects from apps.
Additionally, with the release of 15.2, 8th Wall has updated XRextras with the necessary changes to its intelligent routing to deliver the right messages to users, including users who are running iOS 14.3 and accessing apps that make use of WKWebView.
For full documentation from 8th Wall regarding the updates, click here. For more information on 8th Wall and its WebAR platform, please visit the company’s website.
Image credit: 8th Wall / Medium
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Sam is the Founder and Managing Editor of Auganix. With a background in research and report writing, he has been covering XR industry news for the past seven years.