WayfairView allows shoppers to virtually preview items in any room through the Lenovo Phab 2 Pro smartphone.

Lowe’s and Wayfair now offer augmented reality apps through the Lenovo Phab 2 Pro smartphone.

The phone is the first such device to use Google’s Project Tango augmented reality technology, which includes three-dimensional sensors to enable motion tracking, depth sensing and the ability to measure spaces. The Lowe’s app, called Lowe’s Vision, includes functions such as Power Measure, which captures room dimensions and other interior space and surface measurements; 3D Designer, which allows the user to select any item from Lowe’s virtual library and place it in the home in real-time to style and preview indoor spaces; Save, Snap & Share, enabling the user to save the project and share photos with friends or a professional contractor; and Shopping Lists and Reviews, which creates a shareable shopping list, saves it to a myLowe’s account and finds additional product information such as reviews, related items and promotions.

“Lowe’s Vision and Tango bring our customers one step closer toward eliminating the challenge of visualizing a completed home improvement project,” said Kyle Nel, executive director of Lowe’s Innovation Labs, the company’s innovation hub. “Tango transforms the smartphone into a digital power tool that helps customers measure and style spaces in their home with confidence.”

Using the Wayfair app, called WayfairView, shoppers can select Wayfair products from a 3-D catalog and virtually preview items in any room through the lens of the Lenovo Phab 2 Pro. Users can move and rotate products for an accurate rendering of an item’s size and aesthetic, enabling shoppers to better determine how an item will look inside their home before they buy, according to a Wayfair statement.

“At Wayfair, we strive to elevate and improve the way consumers shop for their home by creating a shopping experience that’s second to none. With forward-thinking technologies like WayfairView, we are closer to that goal than ever before,” said Steve Conine, the retailer’s co-founder and co-chairman. “We are delighted to announce that shoppers can now download our first-party augmented reality application on their own Lenovo smartphones to design and visualize a room virtually.”

(Source: hfndigital.com  Author: David Gill)