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Facebook Shares Major Spark AR Studio Update

April 30, 2019ByMichael Slater

In 2017, we introduced the world to a powerful AR software suite called AR Studio. Since then, we've worked with a tremendous, global community of creators and developers to help shape and define the Spark AR platform. In fact, since last year's F8, over one billion people have used AR experiences powered by Spark AR. Hundreds of millions of people use these experiences monthly across Facebook, Messenger, Instagram, and Portal. And all of these experiences have one thing in common: they are built with Spark AR Studio.

Today at F8, we’re announcing a major update to Spark AR Studio which now includes support for Windows, as well as new features that bring more efficiency, interactivity and control to the AR creation process:

Create Effects More Efficiently with Blocks

We’re introducing a new feature that allows you to break a project down into small reusable chunks called “Blocks.” You can use Blocks to better organize your project, or you can create Blocks to help jumpstart your next project. We often see people in our Spark AR creator community sharing tips and code to help others with their AR projects, now they can share their Blocks too.

Updated Patch Editor Enables More Complex Interactions

A popular feature within Spark AR Studio is Patch Editor which makes it easy to add complex interactions to your AR effects. In the latest version of Spark AR Studio, we've rewritten Patch Editor from the ground up with a new UI and a foundation that will allow us to make it even more powerful with features such as Blocks and control over audio effects.

Easily Test Effects Across Facebook or Instagram

The Spark AR Player remains the trusted go-to app for creators and developers who want to quickly preview and iterate on their effects. However, we often hear that it would be helpful to test AR effects directly in a specific, targeted app. With this in mind, we added in-product testing to Spark AR Studio which helps you to quickly test your experience in either Facebook or Instagram.

Use Powerful New Audio Controls

We’ve added new features to the Patch Editor which make it possible to manipulate audio in a variety of ways, from shifting the pitch of a voice to making AR effects respond to sounds or the rhythm of music.

These are just a few of the new features in Spark AR Studio, in the near future you will see many more improvements. In fact, this video previews some of what’s coming soon:

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We owe our thanks to the countless members of our creator community who inspire our team every day with their creativity, insights and talent. And we’re excited to share more of what’s new inside Spark AR Studio with today’s update. Give it a try and let us know what you think!