Flipping through a magazine or a newspaper, one could wonder how the simplicity of print could ever keep up with the complexity and excitement of digital. The print world scrambles to make flashy websites and apps to keep up, some cancelling their tangible papers to invest entirely in the online world. But, what if the two did not need to be separate? Layar introduces the two.

With an average increase of one million users each month, Layar is the world’s most downloaded Augmented Reality app. The app allows you to scan a magazine or newspaper page and reveals additional layers. The app can be used on any page with their logo, any QR scanning code, and movie posters. Their website has a few testers you can scan, like a page from Elle magazine and a Crystal light advertisement. Scanning the Elle page, a video make-up tutorial appears. The Crystal light add fills with colour and allows you to decide which flavour to look at. Layar provides the happy medium for those who love the digital world but aren’t ready to stop buying newspapers or magazines. The app may ease some people stuck in their ways to try something new, as it is a blend of technology and print.

I think this app could help keep newspapers, print, alive. It helps keep them interesting, without having to actually go online to view video clips or more pictures. The app’s popularity demonstrates an unwillingness to give up on print, there is demand for a combination of the two.

The future seems to be striding towards an entirely digital reality, where augmented reality is a part of daily life. This future is both frightening and enticing. I’m not sure if I’m ready to give up on a good ol’ fashion hike or an ordinary book. Augmented reality seemingly dismisses the natural beauty, excitement of the real world. AR implies our daily lives, the natural world before us, should be enhanced and should be better. Sure, it’s intriguing, but I don’t want to forget about non-augmented reality.