Instagram’s AR Filters Are More Dynamic Thanks To The Latest Update

ue to the latest update of Facebook’s Spark AR platform, AR filters on Instagram are becoming more engaging than ever

Consistent updates are regularly made to Spark AR but the latest one features different functionalities that AR developers can use to create more complex filters to entice the user with on Instagram. These filters visually respond to music and even apply filter effects to different media in their camera roll.  In addition to this, AR developers are now able to create customisable AR filters at a fast pace thanks to Facebook’s AR Sticker templates.

With the Media Library, the user is able to select an old photo or video and place a filter on it, with Gallery Picker, the user is able to transform a visual filter with media from their gallery.

By adding the gallery selection tool to Instagram filters, users are able to breathe new life into previously captured photos or videos, and transforms their old media, allowing for a degree of customisation which could promote more consistent use of filters. 

Another key feature of the recent update was the new AR Music feature, which allows developers to create filters that directly interact with music that has either been preselected by Instagram’s music section or songs that are uploaded directly from the user, or simply audio that’s playing in the background. Bringing equaliser style visual effects into filters is a logical step for Instagram, which indirectly pushes users to bring music and AR into their Stories simultaneously.

Facebook have talked at length about the future of augmented reality across all their platforms, however, over the past few years Facebook have struggled to make the camera meaningful in the Facebook app, leaving the majority of the development advances to Instagram, which has a significant reliance on both its in-app camera and visual filters. 

One of the biggest downfalls with AR effect filters aren’t dynamic enough to encourage reuse, but Facebook believes that this new interactive update will address one of the big underlying usability issues with AR filter effects, by incorporating audio effects and greater customisability. Facebook’s hopes are that this recent update will allow developers to build filters that will be instilled with new life over and over again based on user creativity.