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Warby Parker's iPhone app lets you try on glasses in AR
Warby Parker has always let you try on glasses before you buy them, either in-store or shipped to your home. Now the eyeglasses brand has a new way to show you how you'll look in your new spectacles: augmented reality. The latest version of the Warby Parker app for iOS includes a new Virtual Try-On feature that shows you exactly how you'll look in any pair of glasses.
Warby Parker recommends glasses using your iPhone X's depth camera
The depth-sensing front camera on the iPhone X isn't just useful for unlocking your phone or making silly emoji clips. Eyewear maker Warby Parker has updated its Glasses app for iOS to include an iPhone X-only recommendation feature. Let the app scan your face and it'll recommend the frames that are most likely to fit your measurements. This isn't the same as modeling the frames on your face (wouldn't the iPhone X be ideal for that?), but it could save you a lot of hemming and hawing as you wonder which styles are a good match.
Warby Parker has an app that checks your eyes at home
Usually, completing a vision test for new glasses requires a trip to the optometrist and the glasses store. Newly announced technology could change that, however. Warby Parker, which started out as a try-before-you-buy mail-order eyeglasses company, is currently looking to use devices you already have in your home to help you get a new pair of glasses without having to drive to a doctor. If you have an expired vision prescription, you can use an iPhone, a computer and about 12 feet of space to find out if your vision has changed since your last exam.
Instagram sees shopping as the next step in its evolution
Gone are the days when Instagram's scope was clear-cut. For better or worse, the app is no longer just about sharing photos with other users or scrolling through a river of images with hundreds of digital likes. Since being acquired by Facebook in 2012, Instagram has left behind its roots as an unambiguous social network in favor of becoming a more robust platform. Whether to monetize or to enhance the experience for people, newly minted features like Stories have catapulted Instagram beyond being a simple photo-sharing app. And it's not finished yet.
Warby Parker wants you to use your phone for eye exams (update)
Warby Parker, the eyewear company that sends you frames to try on before you make a purchase, has some lofty goals for the near future. In addition to plans that'll almost double its current retail footprint, the start-up has tech in the works that will save you a trip to the optometrist for an eye exam. "We think that would increase access to eye exams," co-founder Dave Gilboa told The Wall Street Journal. "It's early in the process but we are excited about the potential." Of course, besides the convenience, it'll also provide an avenue for folks who really need their eyes looked at to get some help at home.
I got a makeover in a web browser
Outside of my wristwatch, I don't wear jewelry (makeup either), but thanks to FaceCake I was able to give myself a total makeover within Chrome. First off, yes the company's name is more than a bit ridiculous. But its tech is pretty neat! Without downloading anything -- no plug-ins, add-ons or extensions are necessary -- you can try on earrings and complement pieces simply using a webcam and "any" browser. Notice the stunning necklace and earrings on the handsome chap up above? They move with you, and if you want to share how they look to your social platform of choice, that's totally possible. The outfit hasn't announced any of its retail partners for virtual try-on just yet, but says that we should see those surfacing within two to three months. Hopefully those include places like Macy's, Gilt, JackThreads and maybe even Warby Parker. Until then you can watch me model some super-gaudy pieces in the GIF below.
Google's next task for Glass? Making it look like something you want to wear
Google's Glass augmented reality project opened itself to a few thousand more potential wearers with the #ifihadglass promotion, but according to the New York Times it's already addressing the question of if people want Glass. One major obstacle to introducing such a new type of product is making it look good, and the paper reports Google is negotiating with online glasses seller Warby Parker to help design better looking frames, citing unnamed sources. Of course, we ran to the counter, $1,500 in hand to get a taste of the future of wearable computing -- and take first person pics of that group skydiving we're always doing -- but we can imagine any efforts to take Glass mass market will need some refashioning first.
