Overview
Snapchat is a face filter application for desktop iOS and PC. Its a extension app from the well known social media app SnapChat. Reduced down to the sum of its parts, its a camera extension to apply augmented face filters on yourself while filming on your desktop.
Mainly how I see it used, and how I myself have used this app is as more or less a conduit for third party platforms like Zoom. You can apply the filters to your zoom meetings, or Skype meetings as long as you have the app open and switch some minor settings to the camera on the app you want it applied.
Usability
Using this application is pretty straight forward. Turn it on, search through the literal thousands of filters the app has stored up, throw one on and get to the shenanigans. I have found learning and using the app in general pretty easy or any varying degree of computer literacy out there among people. Its a pretty fun and straight forward to use if you’re wanting to add a fun AR element to yourself in a meeting or streaming session.
Improvements
I think a lot of the filters are contributed by the community. I have found when searching or even browsing through filters there is a LOT of redundancy in them. A lot of identical filters populate but under different names. Also there is a grip of filters that are pretty half-baked when it comes to design and don’t work all that well.
One other minor thing that I feel could be improved is how the application is mainly used. The biggest reason people use this app is simply for the filters to be applied to OTHER apps like Zoom. Yet in order to use the filters in another application you have to keep the Snap Camera window open. So a lot of memory is used to keep both camera apps like this one, and zoom running at the same time. Would be cool if it acted more like an extension to plug into Zoom and other apps.