Technologies

Pinterest’s new AR feature will let you ‘try on’ furniture, home decor

Buying a couch could be easier with the help of augmented reality.

Picking a new piece of furniture for your home can feel like solving a puzzle. Is that couch too big? Will a cow print bar stool clash with a granite countertop?

Retailers and tech companies are boosting their use of augmented reality to help customers decide what products to buy. AR lets people superimpose a virtual image onto a view of the real world through their phone’s camera, making it easier to visualize what an item will look like in a particular space.

On Monday, digital pinboard company Pinterest said it’s releasing a new feature called Try On for Home Decor. The tool will let you see how products from Crate & Barrel, CB2, Target, Walmart, West Elm, Wayfair and others look in your space before purchasing the items.

The feature is the latest example of tech companies and brands embracing AR, a development that comes as social networks explore the creation of new virtual worlds.

Brands such as CB2 and Target already have ways for their customers to shop using AR. Pinterest allows people to see products from various retailers in one place, said Jeremy King, senior vice president of engineering at Pinterest.

«Retailers are happy to work with us because they know people don’t typically buy their entire bedroom set from one company,» King said. «They want a chance to mix and match.»

Returning a big piece of furniture can be a pain, so it isn’t surprising that more brands have been experimenting with AR. Trying on items virtually can also entice people into clicking the buy button. In 2020, Pinterest rolled out an AR feature that lets people try on makeup. Pinterest found that users are five times more likely to buy makeup when they interact with this AR tool and King said the platform hopes to see the same behavior for home decor.

Even though the ability to visualize AR items in your space has been around for years, shopping with AR hasn’t become mainstream yet. About half of US adults have used or are at least somewhat interested in using AR or virtual reality while shopping, according to an October 2021 survey by Bizrate Insights.

«We’re seeing that interest rise slowly but steadily,» said Jasmine Enberg, a senior analyst for eMarketer. «It’s young people primarily who are leading the way for shopping with AR.»

On social media, teenagers are already using AR filters to communicate with one another. Incorporating the technology into shopping is a «natural next step» for these social networks. Snapchat, which also has AR tools to try on luxury clothing and purses, published a report with Foresight Factor last year that projected in 2025 the proportion of US Gen Z shoppers who use AR before buying a product will increase by 37%.

Using Pinterest’s new AR tool

Home decor and furniture items Pinterest users can virtually place in their space have a cube icon displayed on the upper left side of a «pin,» which are bookmarks used to save content on the platform.

When you click on the pin, there’s an option to «try in your space.» Users are then prompted to move their phone as the camera’s technology figures out how far objects are away from you. Depending on the camera angle, the object can appear bigger or smaller. When the item is in the right spot, you click a check button.

The AR home decor feature will be available in more than 80,000 shoppable Pins, which includes a link to the retailer’s website to buy the product.

Still, using AR to shop can «be rather clunky» and that will turn some consumers away from embracing the tool, Enberg said. «As the technology develops and the experiences improve, that’s probably going to bring more users into the fold,» she said.

Technologies

TMR vs. Hall Effect Controllers: Battle of the Magnetic Sensing Tech

The magic of magnets tucked into your joysticks can put an end to drift. But which technology is superior?

Competitive gamers look for every advantage they can get, and that drive has spawned some of the zaniest gaming peripherals under the sun. There are plenty of hardware components that actually offer meaningful edges when implemented properly. Hall effect and TMR (tunnel magnetoresistance or tunneling magnetoresistance) sensors are two such technologies. Hall effect sensors have found their way into a wide variety of devices, including keyboards and gaming controllers, including some of our favorites like the GameSir Super Nova.

More recently, TMR sensors have started to appear in these devices as well. Is it a better technology for gaming? With multiple options vying for your lunch money, it’s worth understanding the differences to decide which is more worthy of living inside your next game controller or keyboard.

How Hall effect joysticks work

We’ve previously broken down the difference between Hall effect tech and traditional potentiometers in controller joysticks, but here’s a quick rundown on how Hall effect sensors work. A Hall effect joystick moves a magnet over a sensor circuit, and the magnetic field affects the circuit’s voltage. The sensor in the circuit measures these voltage shifts and maps them to controller inputs. Element14 has a lovely visual explanation of this effect here.

The advantage this tech has over potentiometer-based joysticks used in controllers for decades is that the magnet and sensor don’t need to make physical contact. There’s no rubbing action to slowly wear away and degrade the sensor. So, in theory, Hall effect joysticks should remain accurate for the long haul.

How TMR joysticks work

While TMR works differently, it’s a similar concept to Hall effect devices. When you move a TMR joystick, it moves a magnet in the vicinity of the sensor. So far, it’s the same, right? Except with TMR, this shifting magnetic field changes the resistance in the sensor instead of the voltage.

There’s a useful demonstration of a sensor in action here. Just like Hall effect joysticks, TMR joysticks don’t rely on physical contact to register inputs and therefore won’t suffer the wear and drift that affects potentiometer-based joysticks.

Which is better, Hall effect or TMR?

There’s no hard and fast answer to which technology is better. After all, the actual implementation of the technology and the hardware it’s built into can be just as important, if not more so. Both technologies can provide accurate sensing, and neither requires physical contact with the sensing chip, so both can be used for precise controls that won’t encounter stick drift. That said, there are some potential advantages to TMR.

According to Coto Technology, who, in fairness, make TMR sensors, they can be more sensitive, allowing for either greater precision or the use of smaller magnets. Since the Hall effect is subtler, it relies on amplification and ultimately requires extra power. While power requirements vary from sensor to sensor, GameSir claims its TMR joysticks use about one-tenth the power of mainstream Hall effect joysticks. Cherry is another brand highlighting the lower power consumption of TMR sensors, albeit in the brand’s keyboard switches.

The greater precision is an opportunity for TMR joysticks to come out ahead, but that will depend more on the controller itself than the technology. Strange response curves, a big dead zone (which shouldn’t be needed), or low polling rates could prevent a perfectly good TMR sensor from beating a comparable Hall effect sensor in a better optimized controller.

The power savings will likely be the advantage most of us really feel. While it won’t matter for wired controllers, power savings can go a long way for wireless ones. Take the Razer Wolverine V3 Pro, for instance, a Hall effect controller offering 20 hours of battery life from a 4.5-watt-hour battery with support for a 1,000Hz polling rate on a wireless connection. Razer also offers the Wolverine V3 Pro 8K PC, a near-identical controller with the same battery offering TMR sensors. They claim the TMR version can go for 36 hours on a charge, though that’s presumably before cranking it up to an 8,000Hz polling rate — something Razer possibly left off the Hall effect model because of power usage.

The disadvantage of the TMR sensor would be its cost, but it appears that it’s negligible when factored into the entire price of a controller. Both versions of the aforementioned Razer controller are $199. Both 8BitDo and GameSir have managed to stick them into reasonably priced controllers like the 8BitDo Ultimate 2, GameSir G7 Pro and GameSir Cyclone 2.

So which wins?

It seems TMR joysticks have all the advantages of Hall effect joysticks and then some, bringing better power efficiency that can help in wireless applications. The one big downside might be price, but from what we’ve seen right now, that doesn’t seem to be much of an issue. You can even find both technologies in controllers that cost less than some potentiometer models, like the Xbox Elite Series 2 controller.

Caveats to consider

For all the hype, neither Hall effect nor TMR joysticks are perfect. One of their key selling points is that they won’t experience stick drift, but there are still elements of the joystick that can wear down. The ring around the joystick can lose its smoothness. The stick material can wear down (ever tried to use a controller with the rubber worn off its joystick? It’s not pleasant). The linkages that hold the joystick upright and the springs that keep it stiff can loosen, degrade and fill with dust. All of these can impact the continued use of the joystick, even if the Hall effect or TMR sensor itself is in perfect operating order.

So you might not get stick drift from a bad sensor, but you could get stick drift from a stick that simply doesn’t return to its original resting position. That’s when having a controller that’s serviceable or has swappable parts, like the PDP Victrix Pro BFG, could matter just as much as having one with Hall effect or TMR joysticks.

Technologies

Today’s NYT Connections: Sports Edition Hints and Answers for Feb. 18, #513

Here are hints and the answers for the NYT Connections: Sports Edition puzzle for Feb. 18, No. 513.

Looking for the most recent regular Connections answers? Click here for today’s Connections hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Mini Crossword, Wordle and Strands puzzles.

Today’s Connections: Sports Edition has a fun yellow category that might just start you singing. If you’re struggling with today’s puzzle but still want to solve it, read on for hints and the answers.

Connections: Sports Edition is published by The Athletic, the subscription-based sports journalism site owned by The Times. It doesn’t appear in the NYT Games app, but it does in The Athletic’s own app. Or you can play it for free online.

Read more: NYT Connections: Sports Edition Puzzle Comes Out of Beta

Hints for today’s Connections: Sports Edition groups

Here are four hints for the groupings in today’s Connections: Sports Edition puzzle, ranked from the easiest yellow group to the tough (and sometimes bizarre) purple group.

Yellow group hint: I don’t care if I never get back.

Green group hint: Get that gold medal.

Blue group hint: Hoops superstar.

Purple group hint: Not front, but…

Answers for today’s Connections: Sports Edition groups

Yellow group: Heard in «Take Me Out to the Ball Game.»

Green group: Olympic snowboarding events.

Blue group: Vince Carter, informally.

Purple group: ____ back.

Read more: Wordle Cheat Sheet: Here Are the Most Popular Letters Used in English Words

What are today’s Connections: Sports Edition answers?

The yellow words in today’s Connections

The theme is heard in «Take Me Out to the Ball Game.» The four answers are Cracker Jack, home team, old ball game and peanuts.

The green words in today’s Connections

The theme is Olympic snowboarding events. The four answers are big air, giant slalom, halfpipe and slopestyle.

The blue words in today’s Connections

The theme is Vince Carter, informally. The four answers are Air Canada, Half-Man, Half-Amazing, VC and Vinsanity.

The purple words in today’s Connections

The theme is ____ back. The four answers are diamond, drop, quarter and razor.

Technologies

Today’s NYT Mini Crossword Answers for Wednesday, Feb. 18

Here are the answers for The New York Times Mini Crossword for Feb. 18.

Looking for the most recent Mini Crossword answer? Click here for today’s Mini Crossword hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Wordle, Strands, Connections and Connections: Sports Edition puzzles.

Today’s Mini Crossword is a fun one, and it’s not terribly tough. It helps if you know a certain Olympian. Read on for all the answers. And if you could use some hints and guidance for daily solving, check out our Mini Crossword tips.

If you’re looking for today’s Wordle, Connections, Connections: Sports Edition and Strands answers, you can visit CNET’s NYT puzzle hints page.

Read more: Tips and Tricks for Solving The New York Times Mini Crossword

Let’s get to those Mini Crossword clues and answers.