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

Facebook Brings Back Local Job Listings: How to Apply

One of Facebook’s most practical features from 2022 is being revived by Meta.

On the hunt for work? A Local Jobs search is being rolled out by Meta to make it easier for people in the US to discover and apply for nearby work directly on Facebook. The feature is inside Facebook Marketplace, Groups and Pages, Meta said last week, letting employers post openings and job seekers filter roles by distance, category or employment type.

You can apply or message employers directly through Facebook Messenger, while employers can publish job listings with just a few taps — similar to how you would post items for sale on Marketplace.

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Facebook offered a Jobs feature before discontinuing it in 2022, pushing business hiring toward its other platforms. Its return suggests Meta is attempting to expand Facebook’s usefulness beyond social networking and to position it once again as a hub for community-driven opportunities.

«We’ve always been about connecting with people, whether through shared interests or key life events,» the press release states. «Now, if you’re looking for entry-level, trade and service industry employment in your community, Facebook can help you connect with local people and small businesses who are hiring.»

How to get started with Local Jobs on Facebook

According to Meta, Local Jobs will appear as a dedicated section in Facebook Marketplace starting this week. If you’re 18 or older, you can:

Tap the Marketplace tab on the Facebook app or website.
Select Jobs to browse available positions nearby.
Use filters for job type, category and distance.
Tap Apply or message the employer directly via Messenger.

Businesses and page admins can post jobs by creating a new listing in Marketplace or from their Facebook Page. Listings can include job details, pay range, and scheduling information and will appear in local searches automatically.

The Local Jobs feature is rolling out across the US now, with Meta saying it plans to expand it in the months ahead.

Technologies

Tesla Has a New Range of Affordable Electric Cars: How Much They Cost

The new, stripped-back versions of the Model Y and Model 3 have a more affordable starting price.

Technologies

Today’s NYT Strands Hints, Answers and Help for Oct. 22 #598

Here are hints and answers for the NYT Strands puzzle for Oct. 22, No. 598.

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

Today’s NYT Strands puzzle is a fun one — I definitely have at least two of these in my house. Some of the answers are a bit tough to unscramble, so if you need hints and answers, read on.

I go into depth about the rules for Strands in this story.

If you’re looking for today’s Wordle, Connections and Mini Crossword answers, you can visit CNET’s NYT puzzle hints page.

Read more: NYT Connections Turns 1: These Are the 5 Toughest Puzzles So Far

Hint for today’s Strands puzzle

Today’s Strands theme is: Catch all.

If that doesn’t help you, here’s a clue: A mess of items.

Clue words to unlock in-game hints

Your goal is to find hidden words that fit the puzzle’s theme. If you’re stuck, find any words you can. Every time you find three words of four letters or more, Strands will reveal one of the theme words. These are the words I used to get those hints but any words of four or more letters that you find will work:

BATE, LICE, SLUM, CAPE, HOLE, CARE, BARE, THEN, SLAM, SAMBA, BACK

Answers for today’s Strands puzzle

These are the answers that tie into the theme. The goal of the puzzle is to find them all, including the spangram, a theme word that reaches from one side of the puzzle to the other. When you have all of them (I originally thought there were always eight but learned that the number can vary), every letter on the board will be used. Here are the nonspangram answers:

TAPE, COIN, PENCIL, BATTERY, SHOELACE, THUMBTACK

Today’s Strands spangram

Today’s Strands spangram is JUNKDRAWER. To find it, look for the J that’s five letters down on the far-left row, and wind down, over and then up.

Quick tips for Strands

#1: To get more clue words, see if you can tweak the words you’ve already found, by adding an «S» or other variants. And if you find a word like WILL, see if other letters are close enough to help you make SILL, or BILL.

#2: Once you get one theme word, look at the puzzle to see if you can spot other related words.

#3: If you’ve been given the letters for a theme word, but can’t figure it out, guess three more clue words, and the puzzle will light up each letter in order, revealing the word.