Skip to main content

Houzz iPad and iPhone app adds View in My Room 3D AR functionality

Houzz View in My Room 3D
Houzz, an online platform dedicated to interior design and home decor, added some new augmented reality functionality to its iPad and iPhone app. View in My Room 3D allows users to preview up to 300,000 different pieces of furniture and other decor products in their home before they make a purchase.

A 2D version of this functionality was introduced in 2016 and was used by 50 percent of people who shopped via the Houzz app. The new iteration transplants 3D models into the user’s home, accurately representing materials and textures to offer a realistic visualization of how the physical item will look.

Recommended Videos

View in My Room 3D can be accessed via individual product pages for compatible items within the Houzz app. This launches the camera, with the desired object overlaid — users can rotate and re-position the item to their specifications to get a good idea of how it might be placed in practice.

More than one object can be added to the same view, for shoppers who are keen to completely refurnish a particular room. They can then capture what is on screen as a Sketch, which is added to their Houzz ideabook, and later shared with others. Alternatively, they can purchase the item immediately, directly from the app.

“At Houzz, we’re focused on building technologies that can be used today, by the broadest number of people, to make the home improvement and home design experience more fun and productive,” said Alon Cohen, the company’s co-founder and president. View in My Room 3D was created by an internal team known as Houzz Labs.

The Houzz app is available now for iPad and iPhone via the App Store — users who have already installed the app on their device may have to update to the latest version to access View in My Room 3D functionality.

Brad Jones
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Brad is an English-born writer currently splitting his time between Edinburgh and Pennsylvania. You can find him on Twitter…
YouTube TV just got even better on iPhones and iPads
Multiview on YouTube TV on an iPad.

If you use the most popular live-streaming service on an iPhone or iPad, things just got even better. YouTube TV — which boasts more than 8 million subscribers — just pushed multiview live on Apple's mobile devices, as previously promised.

It works basically the same way it does on a television. YouTube TV picks the programs available in multiview, and you get them all at once, with audio coming from one of the shows. Tap another, and the audio switches. And just as before, you can get multiview for sports, news, business, or weather. (Though we definitely don't recommend watching four news channels at once in an election year.) It's just in time for March Madness, which is great, though we hope you'll be able to pick your own games instead of just sticking with the multiple viewing options YouTube TV gives. This will be great come fall, though, when the new season of NFL Sunday Ticket takes hold.

Read more
3 months later, this is still my favorite iPhone 15 Pro feature
iPhone 15 Pro in Blue Titanium showing side view of Action and volume buttons in front of a Christmas tree.

When Apple launched the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max, Apple decided to get rid of a hardware feature that has been around since the original iPhone in 2007. The change that I’m referring to is the replacement of the silent/ring toggle in favor of the new Action button, similar to the one on the Apple Watch Ultra.

It seems that the Action button is pretty divisive, as you either love it or hate it. When I got my iPhone 15 Pro, the Action button was one of the main reasons why I upgraded from my iPhone 14 Pro.

Read more
These developers are doing something amazing with iPhone and iPad apps
Apple App Store Awards 2023 logo.

Every year, Apple announces the winners of its App Store Awards. In 2023, it recognized 14 titles across five platforms: iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple Watch, and Apple TV. These titles are not only considered the "best" from a design standpoint, but they have also positively contributed to the world in some way.

Recently, I had the privilege of meeting with the teams behind three of these award-winning apps. At first glance, AllTrails, Prêt-à-Makeup, and Pok Pok may seem vastly different, but as I discovered, they all have at least one thing in common: inclusivity. Each also looks pretty sweet on an iPhone 15, iPad Air, and other Apple devices.

Read more