Snapchat enjoys a considerable amount of success in standing out from the sea of instant messaging applications today. It coasts through the competition with pioneering features such as the so-called World Lenses, which was launched for the Android and iOS platforms last Nov. 8.
Selfie Lenses vs. World Lenses
Snapchat users currently enjoy the Selfie Lenses, a feature that allows them to overlay their self-portraits and videos with animated graphics. The World Lenses expand this feature even further since the decoration can now be applied to other objects besides the user's faces.
For example, you can now add rainbow puke filter to clouds, effectively warping the reality of a video footage that included it. You can also add falling snowflakes to your bedroom or even floating hearts to things living and non-living, say a donut or a badger. There is also special filter to commemorate the day Americans head to the polls.
While applicable to the surroundings, you can also use World Lenses to animate your face. You only need to use the front-facing camera for it to work. Initial applications of the new lenses that have been made available online looked quite awesome.
"World Lenses will help Snapchatters decorate the world around them in even more fun and creative ways," Snapchat said in a TechCrunch interview.
Where To Find The New Lenses
After installing the latest update, the World Lenses can be accessed next to the Selfie Lenses. Users will only need to swipe through after tapping the activated rear camera interface.
The new Snapchat Lenses evoke the augmented reality experience where virtual objects are transported into the real world.
Some observers also feel that it will work best with Snapchat's Spectacles eyewear. Since its camera is outward-oriented, the slew of World Lenses should be right at home in its short video clips. To underscore this, the new update has added an option in the app's setting called Pair Spectacles. This could indicate that the World Lenses is primarily paving the way for the wearable's public release.
As the new lenses are poised to become a massive hit, users can expect paid variations as is the case in the other lenses and features that Snapchat has introduced.
On Photo And Video Filter Innovation
It will not be surprising if the World Lenses also pop up in rival messaging platforms. Some of Snapchat's innovations, which include the animated selfie lenses and location-based filters, have been poached by its rivals. No less than Instagram's CEO Kevin Systrom acknowledged that Instagram Stories feature was copied from Snapchat.
To be fair, Snapchat is also guilty of the same practice. In the World Lenses update, for instance, the app also introduced the ability to rewind Stories, which was first seen in Instagram.
