How much does it cost to build an augmented reality app like Amazon AR view?

Posted by Jasoren on March 13th, 2018

In short, the AR View allows placing the item from the shopping catalog to your actual environment.

Do you want to know if the cupboard fits into your existing furniture set?

Just tap the AR View icon and point the smartphone camera where you wish to set the cupboard. It will appear there as if by magic.

Or, if you are not sure whether the vase you set your sights on will match the color scheme of your living room, try placing the vase virtually before going ahead and purchasing it.

You can zoom and rotate looking at the item from all sides and sizing it up. Such virtual experience is a useful addition to the shopping app, as it not only provides entertainment but has a practical value.

No wonder many e-commerce platforms are now working on developing an app like Amazon AR View to add a new dimension to their shopping experience.

In our article, we will look into the anatomy of AR apps and see how much it may cost to create an augmented reality app.

From our experience of building AR-based applications, we can put together the set of components, which are needed to build an app similar to Amazon AR View and estimate the time and cost that the development of such application may take.

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In fact, the development of an AR-enhanced application goes along the same road as the development of any other app.

However, the difference is that, with AR being a new and very advanced technology, to get a truly working feature-rich AR app, you need to find skilled professional developers who know how to create augmented reality applications or assign this task to a reputed development company.

In any case, the project will involve the usual primary stages: design, development, and testing.

Let’s look at the specifics of each stage in the context of augmented reality app development.

At the design stage, the project team defines the development scope, creates wireframes and prototypes, puts together the technology stack and plans the development by iterations.

Besides, since the AR applications are developed for mobile devices, the team should make a decision whether they would create an app for iOS, Android, or both.

Certainly, the most reasonable way is to make an app that could run on both iOS and Android. Nevertheless, this is going to increase the app development cost and time.

Since AR-based applications heavily rely on the graphics functionality, it is going to be the core of the whole app.

On the whole, the augmented reality app development includes the following functional components:

• E-commerce platform, including the catalog, the search engine, and the checkout;
• Augmented reality component, including object and environment recognition, UI gesture control, object placing;
• Snapshot and video recording functionality;
• Cloud storage.

Optionally, the application development scope may as well include other functions, such as social network integration for sharing.

Once the application scope if defined, the UX designer creates wireframes to finalize the user experience and to lay the foundation for UI development. Upon the scope and wireframe design approval, the development team can start working.