How Augmented Reality is Quietly Revolutionizing the Entertainment Industry

The potential that augmented reality holds in revolutionizing how we consume entertainment cannot be understated. Although glimpses of the technology in action have been fleeting, powerful use cases are constantly emerging.

While the wildly popular Pokemon Go game from Niantic represented one of AR’s first commercial successes in the field of entertainment, there are plenty of capabilities for the technology that can make waves in film, TV, music, and many more forms of traditional entertainment.

Though we’re unlikely to be capable of immersing ourselves in our favorite TV shows just yet, augmented reality can help us to change the way we experience entertainment, and to empower us to enjoy our downtime in a more engaging way.

With this in mind, let’s take a deeper look into how AR is quietly changing how we consume entertainment:

Transforming how we Experience Music

The music industry has been one of the most successful examples of an artform adapting to modern innovations. In evolving alongside the rise of streaming services, more revenue streams were secured at a time when the industry was suffering from piracy and the phasing out of CDs.

Today, music is about far more than creating and distributing songs. Musicians can bond with their fans through immersive experiences and gamification. This has opened the door to augmented reality to build simulated worlds that can communicate directly with audiences.

The use of AR in music is nothing new. In 2020, we saw leading US artist Billie Eilish release a music video that incorporates augmented reality technology. In the song Therefore I Am, viewers could use their smartphones to scan objects in the video to make new 3D visual elements appear in their camera’s field of view.

These experiences can help artists and record labels to form stronger relationships with those who consume their music. With smartphones becoming more capable of consuming high volumes of data, such as the Apple iPhone 14 Pro Max which combines 5G connectivity with an A16 Bionic Chip, these interactive AR experiences can become more complex and engaging for millions of fans in the future.

Combining AR with Real World Attractions

One of the best things about augmented reality is that it can intelligently enhance the physical world with digital overlays. This means that real world attractions can be made more impactful through the use of reality technology.

There are plenty of ways in which reality technology can improve real world attractions, from interactive AR museum experiences like the REVIVRE exhibition from the Muséum national d’Histoire naturelle in Paris, which helped to bring long extinct creatures back to life with Microsoft’s Hololens.

Even amusement parks have utilized reality technology, with the Therme Erding water slide park in Germany adopting waterproof VR headsets to make one of their slide experiences more engaging.

Challenging Traditional Storytelling in TV and Film

Interactive storytelling is making its first steps in the world of TV and film, and this emphasis on more personalized experiences is likely to take its next evolutionary steps with the arrival of augmented reality entertainment.

An early example of personalized storytelling on TV came in the form of Netflix’s Black Mirror: Bandersnatch, which allowed viewers to choose different options to progress the story in a similar way to the ‘choose your own adventure’ story books for children.

Soon, augmented reality will have the ability to enable our movies and TV watching habits to become fully personalized. Standard hardware like AR glasses could deliver a level of control where storylines can change through unconscious factors like eye-movement.

AR technology could also deliver real-time subtitles for foreign language films and shows to help make even more content widely available to be consumed.

Riding the Wave of Change in Entertainment

There’s little doubt that the future of augmented reality in the world of entertainment is bright. The technology has the power to change how we interact with real world amusements and the way in which we consume TV, films, and music.

As AR becomes more sophisticated, we’re likely to see brand new experiences emerge that have the power to challenge traditional means of entertainment. These changes are set to influence the world of gaming first, and many of the interactive elements of video games are set to be brought to life through AR in other forms of entertainment over the coming years.

While the ways in which augmented reality can influence the world of visual entertainment, music, gaming, and real world attractions are still emerging, it’s worth keeping an eye on the new and creative ways that are being developed to help users to enjoy their downtime in a more engaging manner.

It’s through these immersive experiences that the AR industry can grow and disrupt many more industries. At a time when streaming services are making entertainment more personalized, augmented reality has the power to revolutionize how we enjoy our downtime.