Turn an image into a USDZ file
USDZ does something none of the other four do: it puts the model in the room, from a link, on a phone nobody had to prepare.
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01
Upload a photo of the object
AR is unforgiving about proportion, so a straight-on photograph of the whole object beats a dramatic angle that hides half of it.
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02
Generate and export USDZ
The mesh is generated as GLB and written to USDZ from there, with the PBR material carried across.
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03
Put it behind a link
An anchor with a rel="ar" attribute pointing at the file is the whole integration. Safari on iOS opens it in the camera view on tap.
What AR Quick Look actually is
A feature of iOS itself rather than an app. Link to a USDZ from a web page and Safari on an iPhone or iPad renders it in the camera view, scaled to the room, with no install and no permission dialog beyond the camera. It is the lowest-friction way to put a 3D model in front of someone that currently exists.
It only covers half the phones
USDZ is a zipped flavour of USD that Apple platforms read and Android does not. Scene Viewer on Android takes GLB instead. If you are shipping AR to the public, ship both and let the page choose · they come from the same generation, so it costs nothing extra to have the pair.
Why the file is larger
A USDZ is an uncompressed zip on purpose, so the contents can be read straight from disk without unpacking first. That is what makes it open instantly on a phone, and it is why the same model is a bigger file here than as a GLB. The trade is deliberate and it is the right one for AR.
Product pages
A photograph of the product becomes a model a customer can stand on their own table before buying it.
Client previews
Send a link. They tap it on the phone already in their hand and see the thing at full size.
Headset content
The same file is what visionOS expects, so nothing extra is needed to reach it.
Interiors and fittings
Furniture placed in the actual room rather than imagined into it.
Does USDZ work on Android?
No · it is an Apple format. Android uses Scene Viewer, which takes GLB. Export both and have the page serve whichever the device can open.
Do I need an app to view a USDZ?
On an iPhone or iPad, no. AR Quick Look is part of iOS, so a link in Safari is enough.
Why is the USDZ bigger than the GLB?
Because it is deliberately not compressed · the contents are read in place so the model opens instantly. That is the trade the format makes for AR.
Are the textures included?
Yes. The PBR material is carried across from the generated mesh into the USDZ.