In this cutthroat competitive environment, everyone wants to play securely. Maybe this is one of the reasons, every tech company is launching a product that’s quite similar to the already successful concept in the market.
To make it a bit different, either they launch the concept with new features or give the app a new name altogether.
There are a lot of examples of duplicating social media apps (already in the market) that you will find quite identical. We aren’t stating that each and every company follows these patterns, but let’s be honest, some do. And that’s not illegal also, till the time you aren’t violating any terms or good-business-policies.
Similarly, we found out about an app called Octi that has been launched on the app store. As soon as the news started spreading across the world, people started calling it a rival to Snapchat. So in my understanding, to call someone a rival, you either hold similar kinds of functionalities or you are capturing a market that’s been covered by the first launched app.
So, in order to understand this, let’s first find out what Octi is all about:
What is Octi?
A social media platform, that’s been “Made with ❤️ in L. A”. Like other social media or as I call it “virtual-definition-of-people-relationship” apps, Octi visions to” bringing people together through technology”.
As claimed by the company, Octi is the first people-powered social AR platform that gives you full control of your digital profile. Anyone would agree on AR (augmented reality) being the current as well as the next big thing since everyone loves to interact. And Octi is making sure to give its users a platform that is going to give them a taste of AR and boy, it’s awesome.
Octi also is making sure to value the privacy and data of its users that has been quite a haywire topic for each & every tech giant. Due to this security breach trend in the world, users have lost their faith to try and use a new platform, no matter how secure they claim it is.
How Octi Works?
Since the app is an AR-based platform, all you need to do is point the camera at your friends to see their AR profile. Post this, you can add songs, effects, images, and videos on them and have fun. Additionally, you can curate your own profile by adding content from your favorite services.
Since Octi is only compatible with iOS, it launched on the app store yesterday only. An absolute free to use platform, Octi lets you connect with people around you. The app is heavily relying on machine learning while detecting a person who is standing up in front of your iPhone’s camera. The awesome feature is that, if he/she has an Octi account, the result will be both of you becoming friends. And in case the other person doesn’t have an Octi account, you can send an invite to join the platform.
The AR used in Octi isn’t like in Snapchat, because that gets active only when you are filming a video. In Octi, it will be your constant companion.
What Justin Fuisz (CEO and Co-Founder of Octi) thinks of Octi?
Justin Fuisz is quite confident with the initial responses the app is receiving.
“We seeded a test version with 50 kids at a high school… by the end of the week, about 1,200 of 2,000 kids had it.”
“The special sauce is really that camera technology, that core interaction,”
From the features aspect of the app compared to the other existing ones in the market, he said: “What we’re going to do is flood the network with content,”. “I’m working lots of partnership angles right now for some cool [intellectual property] to do a game that will be coming over this next year.”
Talking about the AR use in the app, Justin says, “the belt while scanning your face follows the user.” “You’re almost like a QR code of your profile walking around.”
“When you think about AR, you want to think about utility, not just novelty,” Fuisz said. “AR really hasn’t had its breakout moment yet. We really harp on the idea of giving utility to the user.”
Plan of Action
With the perfect combination of user reviews and Justin’s dedication and ambitions, the company as planned to work harder to make it to the top. The top consideration will be keeping the user’s data secure and adding more features that can give the utmost fun.
Justin will be talking to some of the app developers who can add more value to the platform and make it look more amazing.
Wrapping Up
Octi, a quite short name but a big power bundle. Like Howard Wolowitz from the Big Bang Theory said while meeting Summer Glau, “I’m the small package good things come in.”
With the new and fresh interface, the app looks promising and interesting to use. Though I’m eagerly waiting for it to get launched on Play Store, I’m going to use it on my iPhone.
Do share your experiences after using the app in the comments below.
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