Swedish furniture brand IKEA has an all-new iPhone app in the US that uses AI and AR to so you can replace your current furniture with something new from its catalog.
Previewing furniture using augmented reality isn’t anything new for the brand, but rather than just placing new items in the space, IKEA Kreativ allows you to delete your old furniture from the picture. What’s more, you can set up several items at once, letting you see what your home would look like with a complete makeover.
The effect is reminiscent of the Google Pixel 6's magic eraser tool.
Using LiDAR scanners found on Apple’s iPhone 12 Pro, iPhone 12 Pro Max, iPhone 13 Pro, iPhone 13 Pro Max, and iPad Pro 11 (2021), IKEA’s app can scan your room to create an accurate digital replica of it. IKEA Kreativ can also be used with non-LiDAR capable devices but you’ll be required to take a few pictures of your room first (and it might not be quite as accurate).
Once your pictures are snapped the app will process them to create a wide-angle view where you can place and delete furniture as you see fit – kinda like playing The Sims with your own home.
If you have LiDAR, the app can give you a pretty good idea if the couch will fit in your space (less so if you're using room photos). Still, it's worth pulling out the old measuring tape to double-check that everything will fit just so.
In either case, the app is good at letting you know if items suit your current style. Plus, even if you then don’t buy the item from IKEA, you’ll then know if a similar piece of furniture from somewhere cheaper would be a good fit for your home.
IKEA Kreativ is currently exclusive to the US, but IKEA plans to launch it in other regions in the future.
This app is just the latest from IKEA as it steadily expands its technology-based offerings. There are its surprisingly good furniture/speaker hybrids – like its Picture Frame and Lamp speakers – as well as its recently unveiled smart-home hub (that will be Matter compatible).
Recently, IKEA even joined a new collective of companies including Meta that want to promote metaverse standards. Doing so should help the early developers better collaborate and could be a hint that IKEA wants its furniture to one day fill our virtual homes.
