How furniture AR try-on works on a smartphone
The shopper points their phone at the room and the sofa “stands” on the floor at real size. Here is what that actually requires: no app, no Unity, no separate 3D rendering site.
One model file — three ways to show it
Everything starts from a glTF model (.glb) — the open web-3D format that weighs 1–5 MB instead of tens of megabytes of native formats. From a single .glb our pipeline produces everything needed for try-on on every platform:
| Platform | Technology | What the shopper does |
|---|---|---|
| iPhone / iPad | AR Quick Look (Apple) | Taps “View in your room” — the system camera view opens with the furniture placed in the room |
| Android | Scene Viewer (Google) | Same: an ar-tagged HTTPS link launches the built-in camera viewer |
| Desktop | WebGL / model-viewer | Rotates the model with the mouse right on the page, including a fullscreen mode |
Quick Look consumes Apple's USDZ, Scene Viewer takes GLB or VRM. USDZ is generated from the GLB automatically — nobody manages extra files by hand.
What happens under the hood in two seconds
- Load. The product page fetches the model (1–5 MB — smaller than one high-res photo) and shows a poster while it caches.
- Surface detection. The camera finds the floor plane via the OS's built-in SLAM. There are no printed markers to scan.
- 1:1 scale lock. The model carries real metric dimensions: a 1807 mm sofa is 1807 mm in the room. The “we eyeballed it and it didn't fit” failure mode disappears.
- Environment. The contact shadow and lighting estimate are produced locally by the OS — not by a server-side pretty render.
- Interaction. The shopper walks around the piece, changes size or fabric right in AR, and screenshots it for whoever co-decides the purchase.
Why no app is required
Early “try-on” products were standalone APKs/IPAs that nobody installed. Apple and Google have since built the viewers into the operating systems: one HTTPS link is enough. A side effect for sales: managers can send a product link in WhatsApp or Telegram and the customer tries the sofa at home without installing anything.
When 3D is shown instead of AR
Common reasons AR won't launch: private-browsing mode blocks the camera, the page isn't served over HTTPS, or the iOS version predates Quick Look (iOS 12+). All of them are covered by the 3D fallback.
What your website has to do
- Nothing — if you use our hosted AR product pages: they live on our infrastructure and you just link them from your catalog or print a QR for the price tag.
- One tag line — if we embed the widget into existing cards (Shopify, WooCommerce, custom).
- Nothing — on marketplaces: the same GLB is the source for 360° videos in product listings.
Try it with your own pieces
Send sketches or photos — we'll build a free pilot of up to 5 products with AR pages in 5–7 working days.