Augmented reality has reported massive growth over the last few years. It has become a great source of transformative use cases & competitive advantages for different business domains – be it e-commerce sectors or online gaming industries. Considering the huge success in the worldwide business ecosystem, today’s startups & entrepreneurs are showing interest in investing in AR app development.
Leveraging this technology, a reliable augmented reality app development company always helps businesses boost productivity and reach more audiences. According to the statistics, the AR market size is expected to reach approx 88.4 billion USD worldwide by 2026. In this blog, we will discuss key aspects of augmented reality app development & how it helps to transform today’s business landscape.
Shortcuts
- What is an AR app?
- AR apps vs VR apps – Key differences
- How to create augmented reality?
- Benefits of making augmented reality applications for businesses
- Cost of developing an augmented reality app
- Final words
- FAQs
What Is An AR App?
An AR app is a software application that integrates visual content into a real-world environment to create an immersive user experience. AR apps usually incorporate three important features – 3D identification of real & virtual objects, an accurate combination of physical & digital worlds, and real-time interaction. The massive adoption of AR technology is mostly found in the below industries:
- Healthcare: Enhancing patient experience during counseling sessions and therapies
- Tourism: Interpretation & translation of signboards in remote areas
- Real Estate: AR home buying & makeover experience
- Education: AR-enabled apps for development & medical training programs
- Gaming: Interaction between virtual & real world environments through simulations
- E–commerce: Enhanced shopping experience & virtual try-on
- Automotive: Digital showrooms for sales representation & vehicle display
- Architecture & design modeling: Automated real-time changes to engineering designs & floor plans
AR Apps Vs VR Apps – Key Differences
AR & VR both are popular for their enriched user experience & play a significant role in transforming eCommerce, education & marketing fields, gaming. Although they combine real & virtual worlds together with impressive 3-D visuals, they have some key differences.
Augmented reality applications augment the using surroundings by integrating digital content into a real world environment. On the other hand, virtual reality apps bring a more immersive experience than AR apps by allowing users to explore a three-dimensional world.
AR app development usually takes different forms based on the business objective you’re using with the app. Whereas, during the virtual reality apps development process, developers use VR technology to build a 3D digital environment for smooth user interaction. Other differences between AR & VR app development include:
| AR apps | VR apps |
| Integration of virtual 3D content into a real-world environment | Fully three dimensional virtual world development |
| AR apps are accessed with through smartphone devices | VR apps require VR headsets & other equipment like body tracking sensors, hand controllers, etc |
| AR apps enhance both the real & virtual world | VR applications only improve the fictional reality |
| High bandwidth for good quality experience | Low bandwidth requirement (At least 25 mbps) |
How to Create Augmented Reality?
Developing a fully featured augmented reality application sounds very lucrative. However, it requires planning, strong market research, decision-making, and tools to make the app development process successful. Major steps of creating an augmented reality mobile application:
- Select The Type Of AR App You Want To Build
Technically, choosing the type of AR application entirely relies on the overall business requirements. If you have a startup, you need to launch something unique that makes you stand out of the crowd. So, you can find any market gap first and try to fill it with AR technology or you can also support a business that lacked augmented reality integrations previously.
On the other hand, if you have already built a position in the market, you can utilize AR solutions in marketing strategies to enhance customer engagement. Moreover, you can also add AR-powered features to your business app to enhance customer experience.
- Focus on The App Features
Next, you need to pay attention to the key features and functionalities that you would like to add to your app. Here are 5 important features that you can consider for your augmented reality application.
- GPS & map integration
- Built-in camera to capture & scan from real environments
- Marker recognition to detect icons, images, QR codes, etc.
- Three-dimensional visuals & text element libraries
- Social media sharing & Guest sign up
- Select a Tech Stack
Once you’ve noted down all the key features of your app, you need to focus on choosing the proper technologies and tools. Keep in mind that different app features always need different coding & support levels. Here are 4 crucial factors you can consider when finding a tech stack:
- AR app size & target audience
- App features & functionalities
- Plan to scale your business or product in future
- The estimated cost of developing augmented reality apps
According to an augmented reality app development company, AR-based apps require a fully robust & powerful programming architecture that can allow the app to recognize real world environments & place a virtual object prominently. This helps to create a bridge between real & virtual landscapes. Apart from that, AR app development also needs a proper framework & software toolkit.
- Hire a Reliable App Development Company
An AR development team consists of different professionals such as UI/UX designers, front-end & back-end developers, project managers, business analysts, and more. The team helps you at every stage of the development process.
However, it’s important to select the development team wisely to avoid hidden costs and unwanted expenses. To optimize the augmented reality app development cost better, you can focus on the below tips that might be helpful to you.
- Check portfolios and expertise before your hire an app development firm
- Hire developers on an hourly basis like staff augmentation that offers good flexibility
- Outsource your entire project & track it remotely with ease
- Test The App And Launch
Testing is the final stage that you have to consider before launching the final product. Technically, augmented reality app developers follow 3 important standards for accurate testing & assessing the application quality:
- Technical performance: QA experts assess the potential front-end & back-end infrastructure of the AR app. They assure that the app is free from bugs and it will not crash while running on several platforms.
- Navigation & user experience: Testers check the user experience and ensure that the app is ready for different user types. Sign-up features, the app’s loading time, graphic stability & end-user features are the crucial parts of this stage.
- Data accuracy & security: In this stage, testers assure that the app is safe from data breaches & it will never leak any kind of sensitive data and user info. Moreover, they also ensure that the app has the ability to return prompt responses.
Benefits of Making Augmented Reality Applications For Businesses
From gaming & e-commerce to entertainment, Augmented Reality is rapidly transforming several industrial domains. According to statistics, the mobile AR app market size is expected to reach 29.5 billion USD by 2025. No doubt, developing an augmented reality application will help you gain several benefits for your business. The top 5 advantages of AR mobile apps are:
- Enhances User Engagement
One of the significant benefits of AR applications is that it effectively enhances user engagement. There are too many ways that companies use to improve user engagement with AR technology such as scannable QR codes, creative store signage, interactive advertisements, impressive interactive advertisements, and more. Usually, user engagement is a crucial factor for business owners as it helps to increase the rate of conversion & sales.
- Boosts User Experience
AR-powered applications offer a unique and immersive digital experience to customers. These apps enable them to connect real & virtual space into one place. The combination of the digital & physical world results in an unforgettable customer experience.
- Helps to Stay On Top Of The Competition
When it comes to attracting more customers & increasing sales, the competition is tough. Fortunately, AR-powered apps can refuel your business strategies and help you stay ahead of your competitors with immersive user engagement & experience.
Many companies are focusing on creating their own AR mobile apps because of their accessibility and affordable rate. So, if you would like to stay on top of the market race with your business, this is the perfect time to invest in augmented reality mobile app development services.
- Eliminates Language Barriers
To generate more revenues and expand your business, it’s important to reach global audiences significantly. So, there should not be any issue with the language barrier. AI technology with Augmented Reality helps your business eliminate all kinds of language barriers for your customers and users.
By using smartphones, users can easily use your AR-based mobile app to translate menus, digital information, sign & other things. Translation effectively expands access that helps to increase your business potential.
- Improves Brand Awareness
AR technology makes your customers aware of your latest products or services. Today’s organizations use augmented reality in their marketing strategies to grab customers’ attention & increase brand awareness. For instance, virtual try-on is a very common and popular feature of AR-based apps that allow customers to try any product before they purchase.
Apart from that, augmented reality marketing campaigns also enable customers to try products personally by evoking positive emotions. This brings more click-through rates & lower cost of customer acquisition.
Cost of developing an augmented reality app
The average cost of making an augmented reality app usually ranges from $10,000 to $200,000. However, it’s not easy to figure out the exact cost of app development as it depends on several factors such as complexity, timeline, mobile app, etc. Apart from that, if you would like to build a feature-rich AR app with a custom API & algorithm, the cost of development will increase. Take a closer look at some key factors that effectively influence the cost to develop augmented reality apps.
- Complexity-wise App Cost
According to augmented reality app developers, an AR app with basic features and a simple UI may cost around $10,000 to $50,000. If you add more features and need a complex design, you need to pay more for it. Based on the complexity level, we have divided the cost of AR apps into three categories.
| App complexity level | Estimated cost (USD) |
| Simple AR app | $10,000 – $50,000 |
| AR app with medium complexity | $50,000 – $200,000 |
| Highly complex AR apps | $250,000 – $800,000 |
- Region-wise App Cost
When it comes to determining the cost of AR app development, the developer’s region or location plays a significant role. Moreover, in some cases, the hourly rate of app developers also determines the overall cost. So, it’s important to be aware of the region-wise hourly rate of AR app developers. For your convenience, we have shared a complete list below.
| Region | Hourly rate (USD) |
| North America | $60 to $275 |
| UK | $35 to $170 |
| South America | $45 to $150 |
| Australia | $55 to $150 |
| Central Europe | $22 to $160 |
| India | $10 to $120 |
- App Features and Functionalities
The features and functionalities of an augmented reality app also decide its overall development cost. So, it’s recommended to focus on the core features only in the first version of your mobile app. It helps to get a high customer experience at a reasonable price. Moreover, app categories also determine the cost of development as different AR applications have different functionalities, security criteria, and demographics.
Final Words:
If you would like to enhance customer experience and expand your brand awareness in a unique way, investing in augmented reality app development in 2023 is definitely a perfect decision.
From enhanced engagement rates to higher conversions & reduced cognitive overload, the benefits of AR technology for businesses reach far. So, what are you waiting for? Unwrap the potential of augmented reality mobile app development services for your brand today. For more info, stay in touch with our professionals.
FAQ
Faq 1: What is augmented reality app development?
An augmented reality app is an application that effectively integrates virtual visual content into the real-world environment. The process of AR app development involves several steps including market research, planning, design & development, testing, etc. This development process is used for several industries such as gaming, e-commerce, marketing, healthcare, and more.
Faq 2: How do you develop an AR app?
The 5 steps required for augmented reality application development include:
- Select the type of AR app you want to build
- Focus on the app features
- Select a tech stack
- Hire a reliable app development company
- Test the app and launch
Faq 3: What is the average cost of an AR app?
The average cost of making an AR app usually ranges from $10,000 to $200,000. However, it completely depends on the app’s complexity level, features & functionalities, developers’ hourly rate, etc. Apart from that, if you would like to create an augmented reality application with APIs and custom algorithms, the overall development cost will be more.
