More Users Will Be Able To Use Meta's Simplified AR Creation Tools

Meta is hoping to attract more artists to the AR ecosystem by releasing a closed beta version of its Spark AR Go app, which allows anybody to create their AR effects for Instagram using a simple app flow.

Spark AR Go is an iOS app that allows creators that use photography, memes, art, or video as their first media to communicate themselves and their perspectives through augmented reality. Creators will be able to reach out to followers in new ways, such as with personalized AR quizzes, customized background replacement, or a one-of-a-kind makeup appearance. The app was first announced by Meta at their Connect 2021 Conference, and it has subsequently been rebranded to better coincide with the company's larger AR development.

To promote the expanded beta access, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg used his AR effect. Built-in templates, switch-and-slide tools, and other options in Spark AR Go make it easier to create in AR, giving artists, and even non-artists, additional opportunities to come up with their own AR ideas. A creator's effects will appear on their Instagram profile once they've published.

Meta is anticipating that, similar to Snapchat's Lens Studio, providing a more simplified, streamlined AR creation flow will pique people's interest in the option, which might lead to it hosting the next big AR trends and tools in its applications rather than directing users to Snap or TikTok. Which is a wise decision to make. Despite having all of the technical resources and tools at its disposal, Meta has been largely reliant on the innovation of other apps for its product development in recent years, with Meta constantly playing catch-up by replicating features wherever it can, rather than creating its movements and shifts and maintaining its lead in the social app race.

This is significant, especially given Meta's declared goal to reconnect with younger viewers. Younger users will gravitate toward the platform that takes the lead, and neither Facebook nor Instagram is in that position right now. Is Meta able to reclaim that position and re-establish its relationship with the youth?

It has all of the capabilities at its disposal, as well as the most extensive reach of any social app. And by making its tools more accessible to more developers, Meta has a good chance of discovering the next hot AR tool, which might lead to the next stage of its AR glasses, reviving Facebook and Instagram as cool places to be once more. Another tiny step in this process is the extension of Spark AR Go.