At Layar we’re proud to help bring Augmented Reality to the masses by making it quick and easy to create a unique interactive experience, but we also know it’s important for brands to maintain their identity. That’s why we have the Layar SDK, which allows anyone to embed the awesome power of the Layar App into their own iOS and Android apps - and today, this tool got a big upgrade!

The newly updated Layar SDK is now even more powerful, and even more customizable with a bunch of new options to craft your own unique AR app experience. We’ve listened to loads of feedback from SDK users and those interested in using it to help us implement some of the most sought-after features from an AR app SDK. Here’s a rundown of what’s new.

Even More Custom Interface Options
Now you can completely disable the Layar UI and create your own interface that matches your style and goals. We’ve also made it possible to add new features like a Screenshot button, and you can choose to hide or show other features like loading indicators, the audio player bar and the replay button at the end of AR videos.

More Control of Pop Out Behavior
By far one of our most requested features, you now have much more control over how the Pop Out feature behaves. You can choose whether the Pop Out view is 2D or 3D, whether the reference image is shown or hidden and you can allow content to automatically reattach to the reference image when tracking resumes. Check out this video example to see what we’re talking about.

Infinitely Looping Video
Your AR videos don’t have to end with a replay button. Instead you now have the option to allow them to loop infinitely.

Enhanced Workflow Plugins
We’ve created a plugin for the popular PhoneGap open source app development framework, making it easy to add the Layar SDK to your workflow. Check out our PhoneGap tutorial for help using the plugin. And for Android SDK users, we’ve also added support for Android Studio to make the SDK easier to use.

Interested in using the Layar SDK to make your very own Augmented Reality app? Learn more here and get your hands on the SDK for free right now!

Zalando, Europe’s leading online-only shoe, fashion and accessory retailer, has integrated Layar’s technology into its iOS app to provide an exclusive Augmented Reality experience with the holiday issue of Zalando magazine for users in Germany, Austria and Switzerland.

15 pages within the magazine have been made interactive, giving readers a unique print-to-digital shopping experience that connects items in the magazine with their digital counterparts on the Zalando website. A variety of Augmented Reality features wow readers as photography comes alive with behind-the-scenes videos, and 360-degree experiences give them new views of top products, and much more.

Using the Layar SDK, Zalando has incorporated Layar’s Augmented Reality and Interactive Print technology directly into its own existing app for iOS in Germany, Austria and Switzerland. By keeping users in the same app, the Layar SDK enables a more familiar interface for Zalando’s readers to experience the interactive AR elements of the magazine.

“This new feature is a great opportunity to offer our customers additional inspiration for gifts, festive outfits or even their own wish list,” said Arne Schepker, Vice President of Brand Marketing at Zalando (translated from the company’s German press release). “With videos, music and 3D views, we encourage interaction with our customers and make our brands and products even more vivid.”

Users can download the Zalando iOS app at http://www.zalando.de/zalando-apps/.

Net-a-Porter, one of the biggest names in online luxury shopping, has recently crossed over into print, launching its bi-monthly women’s magazine ”PORTER” complete with interactivity provided by Layar.

It’s a strategic and innovative step for the online fashion giant, and a logical one as fashion remains one of print’s most relevant and successful verticals. Net-a-Porter realized it made sense to get into the print industry as it found that many of its customers were already subscribed to between 4 and 5 fashion magazines.

The new PORTER magazine, launched on February 7th in over 60 countries, not only provides readers with the fashion insight and shopping they know from Net-a-Porter’s online presence – it also includes Interactive Print capabilities from Layar.

“PORTER will not only inspire and inform our reader with world class content but will also offer her the experience and service that she has come to expect, turning inspiration from the page into accessibility within seconds,” said editor-in-chief Lucy Yeomans in an interview with the Telegraph.

Nearly each page of the magazine (over 270 in total!) includes links to purchase products, watch videos, visit webpages and more. Readers need only scan the pages with the Net-a-Porter app, which uses the Layar SDK to provide interactive scanning in a friendly, familiar environment.

You can try it yourself as well by scanning PORTER magazine with the Layar App.

^{Before and after scanning PORTER with the Net-a-Porter app.}

^{Before and after scanning PORTER with the Net-a-Porter app.}