Social networking app Snapchat (NYSE: SNAP) has recently introduced a variety of new features to their platform, including a new augmented reality online shopping experience, new editings tools, and a flying selfie camera named Pixy.
Dress Up
Snapchat announced a new online shopping experience at its yearly Creator Summit on Thursday that works by letting users "try on" clothing items through the company's AR camera. Users can access the new feature through the app's camera kit. The new try-on feature, referred to as "Dress Up," could potentially turn into something similar to a shopping mall.
Dress Up is not meant to be just a try-on catalog of items to buy, with Carolina Navas, head of AR strategy and product marketing at Snap, said in an interview with The Verge that "it's not just a product-feed shopping tab," but also offers opportunities including "a huge area of fashion that's all about self-expression and asking friends for advice and having fun with friends."
Director Mode
Another feature that Snapchat will soon introduce to users is a set of editing tools known as "Director Mode." In a recent blog post, Snapchat wrote that this new mode is intended to enable users to make content that is a bit sharper and more "polished" than what is currently available through the Snapchat in-app camera.
Some of the specific tools in the Director Mode package include the following: a green screen feature that heavily depends on Snapchat's set of augmented reality lenses; new camera controls; and a "quick edit" feature that has the ability to edit multiple snaps at one time.
The Director Mode is intended for Snapchat's group of video creators, and it could potentially lead to the creation of new content for the app Spotlight, which is essentially a hub for shorter videos.
Pixy
Snapchat is also launching a drone named as "Pixy," to help users take better photos.
In their user manual, Snapchat described their drone as "a small smart drone with a camera and camera function." The drone, appearing as a yellow, rectangular object with orange propellers, comes with a removable battery on the bottom. It runs through 2.4 GHz and 5GHz frequencies, which is similar to the majority of other drones.
The user will be able to choose one of four current flight paths, and the drone can float, orbit and follow users. Snaps captures by Pixy can be wirelessly transferred to Snapchat Memories after flights.