Sports Illustrated Enhances College Football Preview Covers with AR Technology

SI is using augmented reality to enhance this week’s college football preview.

This week’s college football preview issue of Sports Illustrated comes to life with the addition of augmented reality technology. 

SI previously used AR in its “Capturing Everest” issue in May. This time, presented by Holiday Inn Express, the technology is being used on each of the four covers for our big season preview. You don’t even have to have a fancy VR headset to experience it.

All you need is to download the Life VR app on your phone and use the app’s AR mode to scan the cover. Once you do, you’ll see a video narrated by SI’s Andy Staples that serves as an introduction to the issue. (It’s the same video at the top of this post.) 

As with previous years, there are four versions of the cover, featuring USC, Oklahoma State, Ohio State and Alabama. 

Here’s a preview of what the AR looks like.

In non-AR news, the college football preview includes Lee Jenkins’s profile of USC quarterback Sam Darnold, Staples on the Big 12’s diminished influence, and SI’s preseason Top 25.