Snapchat recently introduced new "3D lenses" that you can overlay on top of the real world.
It's very much augmented reality, allowing you to place something like a rainbow right on your desk. It works a bit like the face filters, with impressive rendering and even realistic effects like shadows, but takes advantage of the rear camera instead of your front-facing selfie camera.
It's Snapchat's latest attempt to keep its users addicted, and it's pretty fun to mess around with. Want to see what it's all about? Let's take a tour.
First open Snapchat. You’ll see nothing but the regular viewfinder.
Tap the screen. You should see a little animation that suggests Snapchat is scanning the environment.
Next, scroll through the icons at the bottom of the display. These are the lenses that you can apply to the real world. Why is there a mushroom on my desk?
Gross! It’s dripping.
I wish I had a coffee this big, I'm sleepy
I can plant some flowers to spruce up the place.
Some prankster put a bunch of bushes all over my computer!
This is just a taste of what augmented reality can do, and it's about to become more popular. Facebook, Google, Microsoft and Apple are all working on either augmented, mixed or virtual reality initiatives, and our devices are going to be the keys to accessing these new worlds. Snapchat's features may seem a bit silly, but they're very much a taste of the future.