We’re excited to announce that support for native augmented reality (AR) is available for all Premium customers, on both iOS and Android. This rounds out Sketchfab’s utility for eCommerce, marketing, education, entertainment, cultural heritage and other industries, delivering 3D online, in virtual reality (VR) and now AR.
The experience couldn’t be simpler: all you have to do is click the new ‘AR button’ on any enabled Sketchfab embed to jump straight into rock-solid AR on your device—no app install necessary. See how brands like Deckers and Galerie Lafayette are already leveraging this new feature by opening the models below in AR now – just start the embed and click the AR button in the bottom right:
Speedgoat 3 by Hoka
Ultimate Pure Steam Iron FV9845 by Groupe SEB
AR is a great asset for Groupe SEB products, especially for those that will have to sit on a kitchen counter, since it will help shoppers in appreciating their real size. That will reduce uncertainty and give shoppers more confidence when buying, thus increasing conversion and generating less return, which is key given the importance of logistical costs in eCommerce. – Pauline Junne, Groupe SEB
Is your device compatible? Native AR viewing is available on the following devices:
- iOS: iPhone 7 and newer or iPad 5 and newer, running iOS 12+
- Android: Devices with ARCore 1.9 support on Android 8+
For further information about AR viewing please see this Help Center article
If you’re reading this article on your desktop and clicked the AR button you’ve probably noticed that this brings up a handy QR that you can scan with your handset or tablet camera to automatically open a model in AR on your device. You can also right-click the QR code to download the image to use on a digital display, add it to an advertising campaign or print it out for location-based engagement.
Setting up existing 3D models for viewing in AR is easy. Once uploaded Sketchfab converts all major 3D file types to both the USDZ and glTF file formats – the required AR formats for iOS and Android devices respectively. You can then check and update a model’s scale using Sketchfab’s 3D Editor.
Anyone with a compatible device can view a model in native, app-free AR but, as mentioned earlier, enabling this feature is only available to Premium and Enterprise customers. For everyone else, publishing and viewing 3D models in AR is still available through the Sketchfab App.
Let us know what you think about this latest feature update in the comments and please feel free to @ us on social media with your videos and screengrabs of Sketchfab AR in action.
About the author
Thomas Flynn
Community & Cultural Heritage Lead at Sketchfab.
Expert in 3D scanning, photogrammetry, online publishing & dissemination.
