Billions can now escape Zoom fatigue by beaming holographic teammates right into their living room with a single tap
NEW YORK–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Spatial, the award-winning VR/AR collaboration platform that turns any room into a 3D workspace, today announced its free native AR app for iOS and Android, breaking down the barrier to entry by offering Spatial on a device people already own. Following unprecedented interest and growth over the last year, Spatial was re-designed from the ground up to be mobile first and leverage ARKit or ARCore to allow users to participate in a holographic AR experience right from their smartphone.
During COVID, Spatial has exploded as an appealing tool far beyond the enterprise, with usage up more than 130X and over half a million meeting joins since the start of the year. With hundreds of hours spent in Spatial each day, this trend is being accelerated by remote working and the loneliness being felt by so many – but access to VR/AR headsets remains a barrier for so many. With billions of AR enabled smartphones on the market today – including Apple’s new iPhone 12 with LiDAR – this marks a turning point in accessibility to interactive, 3D spaces and will change the way we connect with loved ones or collaborate with teammates for years to come.
“This is a huge step for spatial computing and for us in solidifying our leadership as the leading AR/VR collaboration tool on the market today,” said Anand Agarawala, Co-founder and CEO of Spatial. “Previously only people with a headset could experience the true magic of Spatial but we wanted anyone to be able to take advantage of it. Now, you simply hold up your phone and for the first time ever can become an active part of any virtual meeting and see life-like avatars of coworkers or friends right in your living room.”
In addition to capturing the magic of the immersive AR/VR versions, Spatial has added key features to make it sing on mobile. These include automatic camera switching to allow mobile users to easily see who is talking on a smaller screen. A full set of intuitive mobile centric UI allows your avatar to move and interact with models, documents or videos in 3D, transforming how we mix our virtual and real worlds from our mobile devices.
“Our mobile and web apps offer the perfect gateway experience for those that want to try out the benefits of connecting more deeply with remote friends, family or colleagues but without the upfront financial commitment of a headset,” continued Jinha Lee, Co-founder and CPO of Spatial. “The Quest 2 is projected to sell up to 6 million devices in its first year but we can bring Spatial for free to billions of users on mobile. The phone is where AR will thrive first and we’re capitalizing on this trend today. We expect that some users will go on to a fully immersive headset experience as hardware continues to become more affordable for the mass market.”
“People living in left-behind territories have traditionally inherited obsolete technology or nothing at all,” said Alejandro Pacheco, Deputy Resident Representative, UNDP Colombia. “COVID has shown to what extent technology and connectivity can be an accelerator while its absence can represent one of the most significant inequality generators. Mixed reality can be faster, more efficient and powerful than traditional infrastructures. Leaving no one behind means making these most advanced tools available and usable to those who would otherwise lag even further behind. This is why accessing Spatial’s platform on mobile will be so transformative for UNDP.”
Spatial customers cross a broad section of use cases – anything from planning or review sessions, to popstars hi fiving their fans in virtual space, church groups, virtual plays, college students collaborating on projects, Christmas parties, COVID response teams and much more!
Download Spatial today on iOS and Android. For more info visit: spatial.io.
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About Spatial
Spatial enables an entirely new way of working together and eliminates the need for video conferencing and work travel. Spatial is headquartered in New York City, with offices in San Francisco and Kansas City. With Spatial, users can connect from all over the world and share ideas seamlessly using life-like avatars and knowledge work tools, unlocking a new level of productivity not confined by space.
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PR Contact
Beth Handoll
beth@spatial.is
415-535-8658