A challenge for users is to discover popular Augmented Reality content which is located around them. The latest iPhone release of the Layar Reality Browser solves this. From now on the Layar app starts with a list of nearby popular augmented spots. From this list users can select a spot they like and play the associated layer in Augmented Reality.

Other changes are a new navigation tab bar. The tab bar is used to quickly switch between Nearby, Layers, Search and Yours. Also we updated the search functionality. It now searches both spots and layers.

This latest version of the Layar Reality Browser is available now for download in the App store.

More Relevance
In the previous version users first needed to choose a specific layer, either from the featured or the popular list, before they could see content. This worked well with a limited amount of layers. The amount of layers has now grown to over 1.200, many of which are great local layers. In this new version users don’t need to choose a layer to see relevant and available AR content, the app right away opens with it.

Android users have had the nearby augmented reality search ability since June. The Android release has shown that users discover more local content and are no longer confronted with layers that don’t contain content around their location. Layer owners like brands, publishers and agencies now can be sure that their content will be shown when it is relevant: when the user is nearby.

How the new nearby screen works
On top is the “compass” with all spots plotted in a 360 degree view. This shows you exactly where all spots are located.

Each spot in the list has a category icon like Games, Fun or Food & Drink. Next to that, the title of the listed spot is shown as well as the layer title. Also the distance to the spot is displayed. On the right-side of each list item there is a “play” icon which opens the layer with the spot in focus. When a list item is tapped more information of the specific spot is shown.

Slide a spot to the left or to the right to see other options. A spot can be seen on the map, saved or you can select to hide content from this layer from your nearby view. This hide option comes in handy when for example during a concert you want to hide all tweets which most likely will fill up the list at that specific moment.

You can find your hidden layers in the your filter settings (top left corner). Other filters are amongst others a custom search range which can be enlarged when in a rural area.

The list is refreshed by pulling the complte list down. The list starts with 10 spots. More popular spots can be loaded by taping “load more items” at the bottom of the list.