Apple and Ikea to launch an AR furniture app this fall

Tech Titan Apple and furniture purveyor Ikea are working together to produce an AR app. According to Michael Valdsgaard, Leader of Digital Transformation at Inter Ikea, "This will be the first augmented reality app that will enable you to make buying decisions." As such, it is a very important time in the development of AR as a tool. The app will allow users to try out virtual furniture at home, and possibly even make the purchase from inside the app.

The app is expected to launch this fall, and Valdsgaard says that it will debut with 500 to 600 products inside the app. After that, any new offerings will show up automatically in the AR app. Ikea is looking forward to working with Apple not only because of its tech-know how, but also because of the large number of iOS users that Apple brings to the table. Valdsgaard says that overnight, the Apple-Ikea app will instantly become the largest AR platform in the world.

Ikea is placing a lot more emphasis on tech than your average furniture company as it looks to use social media, mobile and third-party online retailers to enhance the operations of the nearly 400 stores it runs. Still, Valdsgaard notes that Ikea is a furniture store first, and expects its retail locations to remain the major source of its sales.

source: DiDigital (translated) via BusinessInsider