Nike uses AR to tease its biggest Jordan launch of the year
You can see the Air Jordan 11 Concord in a real space before you commit.
If it wasn't already clear that Nike sees augmented reality as a big deal for footwear, it is now. The company is using AR inside its SNKRS app to offer a peek at its biggest shoe release of the year, the Air Jordan 11 Concord, days before you can buy it on December 8th. The immersive feature is no longer there just to help in "the hunt" or serve as an "unlock trigger," a spokesperson tells Engadget. Rather, it's there to "enhance the shopping experience" in your feed.
If you want to have a look, you only have to find the shoes, tap a camera button and then tap on a flat surface to 'pin' the sneakers and walk around them. This isn't the same as putting them on your feet, of course, but it's much better than staring at photos and wondering whether you'll like the style in real life. The option is available to hypebeasts using an iPhone 6s or newer (we're checking on Android).
While this won't guarantee that you'll be the first on your block to own the latest Air Jordans, it does illustrate how Nike is helping to take AR shopping mainstream. Not that the company could rest easy as it is -- competitors like Adidas are breathing down its neck with their own AR shoe-shopping experiences.
