【Watch Erotica Manila Episode 4】

Snap is Watch Erotica Manila Episode 4opening up to more creators. The self-proclaimed camera company released Lens Studio on Thursday as a way for developers to build augmented-reality experiences for Snapchat.

The tool, available as a desktop app on Mac and Windows, is similar to Facebook's AR studio, released earlier this week. Google offers ARCore, and Apple has ARKit. Snapchat is betting designers will want to use its system to build for its community of 173 million daily active users. Snapchat users are quite familiar with AR and have been using it since the app released lenses (or face filters) in 2015.

SEE ALSO: Snapchat just completely redesigned its app. Here's why.

"We’ve been doing this more than 2.5 years," said Eitan Pilipski, VP of camera platform at Snap. "We've gained the knowledge of making more than 3,000 lenses, and we really tried to make it simple."

Snapchat's tool is quite easy to use. Pilipski said the company's hoping to appeal not only to experienced developers but also to illustrators and 2D designers. Snapchat worked with artists and students to test and refine the system when Lens Studio was in beta over the last year.

Original image has been replaced. Credit: Mashable

The hope for Snap is that people creating more AR experiences exclusively for Snapchat inspires users to spend more time with the app.

Snap already touts that one-third of its daily users, about 58 million people, use AR in Snapchat about 3 minutes per day. The dancing hot dog lens received 1.5 billion views in about a month.

With Lens Studio, developers have a chance to build their own dancing hot dogs, or any other animated objects. That doesn't mean they'll receive prime placement within the Snapchat app like the dancing hot dog did. Snap charges people for that as one of its several revenue streams. However, Snap has worked with some artists like Jeff Koons to activate AR experiences in the app based on location -- not unlike stagnant geofilters.

Mashable Light Speed Want more out-of-this world tech, space and science stories? Sign up for Mashable's weekly Light Speed newsletter. By clicking Sign Me Up, you confirm you are 16+ and agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Thanks for signing up!

Developers can create Snapcodes for distributing AR creations. By scanning a Snapcode, a Snapchat user has access to the lens for 24 hours. The codes themselves last for one year.

Original image has been replaced. Credit: Mashable

For developers, Lens Studio is one of several options to create AR experiences. In the last year, Google, Facebook, and Apple have released and promoted their own systems. Even Snapchat teamed up with Apple and used their ARKit to create improved face filters for the iPhone X. Snap also used ARKit for the Stranger Thingssponsored lens.

Each tool is a bit different, of course. There's no cross-distribution, as in developers must use Lens Studio to build for Snapchat. Snapchat's Lens Studio only offers templates and tools for building world lenses, experiences for the back camera and not front-facing selfie filters.

Most AR experiences in Snapchat have been for fun and entertainment, like 3D bitmojis. That could change by allowing people not just within Snapchat's offices to build for the app.

"In AR there’s a lot of emphasis on the technology and the complexity of technology. We’ve tried to stick to the design and create experiences that will engage our community," Pilipski said.

Indeed, Snapchat users loved the dancing hot dog. Snapchat also created a unicorn that vomits rainbows:

According to Pilipski, Lens Studio and AR will be a big focus for Snap in the next year.

"I think it will be fascinating to see how the community will use it and what type of features they want us to let into the roadmap," Pilipski said.

---

Featured Video For You

---

Unlock Jeff Koons' art installations around the world with Snapchat's new AR feature

---

Topics Augmented Reality Facebook Snapchat Social Media Innovations

• Shopping
• Social Good
• Tech
• Digital Culture
• Life
• Games
• Science
• Deals

• The State of PC Gaming in 2016
• #ReadEverywhere, Even in the Clouds
• Wildlife Photography Awards reveal People's Choice
• The Guilt of Unsubscribing from Newsletters
• Outdoor speaker deal: Save $20 on the Soundcore Boom 2
• Why "taking yourself too seriously" is a joke, on dating apps and beyond
• Tinder adds Blind Date feature
• A Newspaper’s Front
• Big-League Bluster
• Flower Voyeur: A Comic by Lauren R. Weinstein

• This 1979 short story could hint at the ending of 'Game of Thrones'
• Amazon just revealed its plan for total smart home domination
• Little Miss Flint's 5 awesome tips for becoming a young activist
• Telltale Games closing, 'Stranger Things' game canceled
• Amazon founder Jeff Bezos tops Warren Buffett, becomes the third richest person in the world
• Smart Replies constitute ten percent of all emails sent on Gmail
• Disaster relief is about more than physical. It's emotional too.
• Pixel 3 is supposedly available for pre
• Rudy Giuliani just wants to see the damn balloons, Trump
• College student uses Twitter to return Ivanka Trump's lost earring

• Apple iPhone 17 Pro leaks highlight major new design change
• In Which Hayden Carruth Complains About a Holiday Inn
• Wildlife Photography Awards reveal People's Choice
• California Street: Learning to Surf in the Sixties
• The 10 Most Anticipated PC Games of 2016
• Hunter S. Thompson Rides with the Hells Angels
• Best robot vacuum deal: Shark AV993 IQ on sale for $199.99
• ChatGPT internet browsing is back after being disabled for months
• U.N. confirms the ocean is screwed
• Is It Possible to Be a Conscientious Travel Writer?

• 10 Tech Predictions for 2017
• Daters, don't forget the Strava running app shows your location
• We're watching the return of the tears of joy emoji
• When Paperback Covers Get It Wrong—Very Wrong
• Skype is finally shutting down
• 2022 Winter Olympics: 10 Olympians to follow on TikTok
• Murakami’s “Kafka on the Shore” Comes to the Stage
• Kate Joyce's Photographs of Jonny Greenwood and the Big Ears Music Festival
• Japan orders Google to stop alleged antitrust violations
• Did Herman Melville’s Mother Make Him Watch Her Sleep?