Snapchat is getting some sort of camera search feature and it’s partnering with Amazon to build it, according to a leak which suggests code for a feature that’s meant to identify objects within the camera’s view, and pull up facts about them, as well as eCommerce information and listings from Amazon. The new feature is currently understood to be referred to internally as “eagle” and the information has come through based on details and references found inside the latest publicly available APK file from the Google Play Store.
According to the information, the APK file contained multiple sizes and versions of the Amazon logo as picture files, as well as a number of files mentioning “Eagle” in some form, all seemingly related to this feature. Officially, it seems likely the feature will be branded as either “Visual Search” or “Camera Search” when it arrives. The data regarding the feature presents a tutorial and a few details of how it works. For example, users will point their camera at a barcode, object, or source of music, then long-press the camera button. From there, a number of different partners, such as Amazon and Shazam, leap into action, identifying the sent content from the photo and surfacing relevant content, such as reviews and listings for products, or the Shazam listing for a piece of music.
Although it seems Snapchat’s Eagle Eye project has been in development for some time now, with this leak being the first to mention specific partners, it’s hard to say how far along the feature is, its possible scale and scope, or when we might see it arrive, although it seems to be quite close to being ready for prime-time according to the information. The ability to use Shazam from within Snapchat is already a part of the app, which means that integrating other partner functions in a similar fashion is not exactly a stretch. The way that the feature will work is mostly cut and dry at this point unless any major changes are made, although given how closely its function mimics the current Shazam functionality, that would seem unlikely.
