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Augmented reality has evolved tremendously in recent years, transforming the way we interact with the digital world. What was once an emerging technology limited to innovative experiments is now shaping up to be the next major platform for accessing information and entertainment. From pioneering advertising campaigns to applications that integrate artificial intelligence and geolocation, augmented reality is redefining how we consume content, explore products, and connect with our surroundings. With this blog at Press Start Evolution, we want to share the evolution of this technology, our experience implementing it, its most impactful applications, and the role it will play in the near future.

I first encountered augmented reality in 2009 while working at an advertising agency called Grupouno in Miami, which had Porsche as a client. At the time, they were promoting the launch of the Porsche Panamera in Mexico, the United States, and Brazil, and they were developing an innovative and exclusive advertising piece. It was the first campaign in the automotive industry to use augmented reality.

The experience consisted of a card with an image that activated an augmented reality simulation. By accessing a website and pointing the computer’s camera at the card, users could see the Porsche Panamera in 3D and interact with it by rotating the card. I remember being amazed by this technology and the tremendous effort it required to develop. It took months of work for the person responsible for creating it, and it wasn’t even designed for mobile phones since, at that time, smartphones lacked the necessary technological capability to run augmented reality experiences. Additionally, in 2009, smartphone adoption was far from what it is today. If you want to learn more about this experience, you can visit this link: AR Porsche Panamera.

Sixteen years later, it is now possible to create experiences like this in a fraction of the time and make them accessible to billions of users through their mobile devices.

From that moment to today, in 2025, both hardware and software—along with advances in artificial intelligence—have evolved exponentially. Augmented reality and its variations, such as mixed reality, are on the verge of becoming the default platform and gateway to digital content, much like websites were in their time, followed by mobile applications.

Today, tech giants and many startups are actively working on developing augmented reality glasses and virtual reality devices capable of interacting with the real world through VR passthrough, as it is known in the industry. This new generation of hardware will completely transform how we access digital information and interact with our surroundings.

A New Layer of Information in Everyday Life

One of the most useful changes that is already starting to happen—and will become the norm in the medium term—is the incorporation of additional information into all images, accessible exclusively through augmented reality. This gives us an incredible level of freedom in how we communicate messages through visual content. This technology is powered by the cloud and artificial intelligence.

In practical terms, this translates into real-world applications, such as displaying product information in supermarkets. Through augmented reality, consumers can—or, in some cases, already can—open an app or webpage, point their phone’s camera at the product label, and activate an interactive experience. This information will not only be useful to the consumer but will also serve as a bridge to social media, brand websites, and other relevant links.

Thanks to artificial intelligence, users will be able to ask about the composition and safety of ingredients in the products they are considering purchasing, as well as get detailed explanations of nutritional labels—something that, while already present on packaging, is often hard to read and even harder to interpret. Additionally, with cloud integration, we will be able to update, expand, or modify both the available information and the number of labels that our application can recognize.

At Press Start, we have already developed this technology with AR Brew, the only application on the market that combines augmented reality, social media, and gamification in the beer industry. Available for Android and iOS, AR Brew allows users to scan up to 350 beer labels, access detailed information about each one, connect with breweries’ social media and websites, and take photos to fill a digital album of the beers they have tried. There is no other app offering this level of integrated experience, making it a unique tool for both consumers and beer brands looking for new ways to engage with their audience.

Download AR Brew:

• App Store – AR Brew iOS 
• Google Play –  AR Brew Android. 
• More Information – AR Brew

The Next Shift in How We Access Digital Experiences

Our language and terminology will also evolve as we refer to this new way of experiencing digital content. At the beginning of the digital era, we spoke about websites; later, about mobile applications; and now, as we are moving toward augmented reality, we will have lenses as the next major platform for digital access.

Each AR lens will provide specific augmented reality experiences, which can be activated using the same image or AR marker across various platforms, such as mobile web applications, native apps, VR devices, or AR glasses.

The biggest challenge for the mass adoption of this technology is the development of applications that change user habits and successfully integrate AR into everyday life. When augmented reality stops being just a novelty or an artistic experiment and becomes an indispensable tool, that is when we will truly see its impact in daily life.

Different Ways to Activate AR Experiences

There are various ways to activate augmented reality experiences using different types of markers, offering new opportunities to create value for users. The most notable include:

• Augmented Reality via Geolocation: In this case, the experience is activated by using the camera and GPS at a specific geographic location. This type of activation is ideal for providing useful information about a location, as well as for marketing campaigns that encourage users to visit specific places. It is also a powerful tool for video games where players interact with the real world and their location.
• Spatial Augmented Reality Activation: This method works through visual recognition of the environment using the device’s camera. The experience understands what it sees, distinguishing elements such as tables, floors, and chairs, allowing digital content to be anchored to the real world. With this technology, we can create a virtual layer over our home or office, or even develop video games where the game world is the player’s actual living room, making the experience incredibly immersive.
• 3D Object Recognition Augmented Reality: Similar to image recognition, but in this case, the activation occurs by identifying a three-dimensional object. This technology enables the creation of toys with an extended digital layer, adding new interaction possibilities. It can also be applied to educational or industrial experiences, triggering informative content on objects such as cars, anatomical models of the human body, heavy machinery, and many more.

Augmented Reality: A Present-Day Revolution

As you can see, augmented reality is taking us to a new level of integration between the real and digital worlds. At Press Start, we are convinced that this is the future—if it hasn’t already arrived—and that is why, for the past seven years, we have specialized in augmented reality and complementary technologies such as motion capture.

We have developed mobile applications that use AR for various purposes, including consumer products, business cards, and interactive events where users can discover and collect animated 3D animals. We have also applied augmented reality in entertainment video games featuring globally recognized intellectual properties, as well as in other innovative solutions.

We implement advanced technologies such as motion and object recognition, facial and body tracking, color detection, and AI model training. Additionally, we integrate our AR applications with web content management systems, enabling real-time updates of assets and objectives used in AR activations.If you have any questions or want to learn more about augmented reality and how it can help you achieve your business goals, feel free to contact us Here.