Skip to main content

Etsy’s iOS app now lets you preview art on your wall through augmented reality

Etsy’s iOS app now lets you preview art on your wall through augmented reality

/

A long time coming

Share this story

If you buy something from a Verge link, Vox Media may earn a commission. See our ethics statement.

Etsy

Etsy is giving iOS users the ability to see what art will look like on their wall before they buy it. People can pull up any painting, photograph, or print that’s available on Etsy and project it wherever they want through augmented reality. If an item is available in different sizes, those can be selected and previewed, too. This works on both iPhone and iPad, and the company says it hopes to make the feature available to Android users “as soon as possible.”

Virtual decor or furniture has been a promising area for AR, and other companies have already launched features that take advantage of the technology. Ikea first debuted its AR functionality in 2017 with its app Ikea Place. Target also launched its own feature on its mobile website, as did home decor provider Houzz with its mobile app. These applications all came out around the same time thanks to iOS 11’s ARKit feature.

While many of these apps have existed for iOS for years, some of the first AR furniture apps popped up for Google Tango devices with Wayfair and Lowe’s Home Improvement creating apps for Tango phones in 2017. Google has since focused on its ARCore feature that’s available on all recent Android phones. The technology, which was updated last year, allows for virtual furniture placement as well as other AR experiences.

All of this is to say that Etsy’s AR feature has been a long time coming, and it’s disappointing the company can’t make it immediately available to Android users. It’ll likely be a useful feature for anyone who has access and will make use of one of the most practical applications for AR.