Amazon announced in its Countdown to Black Friday press release today that along with its Black Friday deals store, access to Amazon Key, and tons of new ways to shop using Alexa, the company is rolling out a new feature within its app: an AR viewer so that you can virtually place (and get a 360° peek at) products in your home before buying them. You can select from thousands of items, so it isn't just furniture — you can see how everything from electronics to office products to toys would look in your (or a friend's!) living space, just in time for the holiday season. If you don't already have the Amazon app, you can get it here:

Here's how you use the new AR feature:

  1. Launch the Amazon app.

  2. Log in using your Amazon account if you haven't already.

  3. Tap the small camera icon in the top righthand corner.
  4. Allow the Amazon app to have Camera access if you haven't done so (the app will prompt you).

  5. Select AR view from the menu of camera-centric options.

  6. Select the furniture or object you'd like to "place" in your room.
  7. Point your phone's camera at a flat surface.
  8. Tap the screen to place the furniture or object.
  9. Now you can adjust the item's position using one finger, and rotate the object using two fingers.

With this update, Amazon is joining the ranks of businesses like IKEA and Target who have added ARKit compatibility to their shopping apps and mobile sites.

Thoughts? Questions?

Are you going to give Amazon's new AR option a try? If you already have, which do you think is better: Amazon's AR View or IKEA's Place? Let us know in the comments!

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