Next-generation Ikea augmented reality app lets you delete your existing furniture

A next-generation Ikea augmented reality app has been announced, further building on the Ikea Place app first launched back in 2017. This latest version lets you virtually delete your existing furniture …

Background

Apple told us back in the summer of 2017 that Ikea was to be one of its launch partners for the augmented reality (AR) features introduced as part of iOS 11. The official announcement of Ikea Place followed shortly afterwards, letting you use the LIDAR scanner in your iPhone to view AR versions of Ikea furniture in your home.

A major update in 2019 saw the Place app gain the ability to let you view more than one AR product at a time, as well as visualize an entire room.

New Ikea augmented reality app: Ikea Kreativ

Engadget reports that Ikea has now gone further, letting you virtually remove your existing furniture in order to start with a blank room – which you can then begin filling with Ikea furniture.

IKEA already lets you preview furniture in your home via AR, but its latest AI-powered iOS app offers a big leap in capability. Called IKEA Kreativ, it can scan your rooms using LiDAR and build a complete 3D replica of them, then let you delete your existing furniture. From there, you can try out new IKEA couches, tables, etc. and get a much better idea of how they’ll look in your home.

The scanning is done via something IKEA calls the Kreativ Scene Scanner, which uses LiDAR if it’s available on your iPhone. It also works on iPhones or iPads without LiDAR, though having it allows the app to “pull in additional spatial detail,” IKEA told Engadget.

You’ll need an iPhone with a LIDAR scanner to get the best from the app:

• iPhone 12 Pro
• iPhone 12 Pro Max
• iPhone 13 Pro
• iPhone 13 Pro Max

However, there is a clunkier way to use it on other iPhones or Mac.

To use it on the web or a mobile device without LiDAR, you simply have to input a series of photographs of a room. Those are then “automatically processed and assembled into a wide-angle, interactive replica of the space, with accurate dimensions and perspective,” IKEA said. From there, you can erase existing furniture and position new IKEA pieces, quickly try alternatives and fully design the room. All of our ideas can be saved for later or shared with others. Naturally, the app also lets you add preferred pieces to your shopping cart. 

If you’re looking for further inspiration, IKEA also unveiled 50 new 3D showrooms. Those let you browse the IKEA catalogue virtually and try out products in 3D settings, “quickly swapping, moving, rotating, stacking and hanging IKEA products,” the company said. 

More likely with RoomPlan API

We’re likely to see more such advanced AR features from Ikea and other companies thanks to a new RoomPlan API within iOS 16.

Apple has combined LiDAR with iPhone and iPad cameras in the new RoomPlan API to let users create 3D floor plans in seconds. According to Apple, the API can be useful for real estate, architecture, and interior design apps, since it is precise and easy to use.

“Help customers make more informed decisions by using RoomPlan to create a floor plan of a room directly in your apps, such as real estate, e-commerce, or hospitality apps. These scans can also be the first step in architecture and interior design workflows to help streamline conceptual exploration and planning.”