Augmented Reality (AR) is an interactive experience of a real-world environment where the objects that reside in the real-world are "augmented" by computer-generated perceptual information, sometimes across multiple sensory modalities, including visual, auditory, haptic, somatosensory, and olfactory. With the rise of personal mobile devices capable of producing interesting augmented reality environments, the vast potential of AR has begun to be explored. Nowadays numerous AR applications have been used in the industry of different kinds and disseminated all over the world. AR will really alter the way individuals view the world. The AR is yet in its initial phases of research and development at different colleges and high-tech institutes. Throughout the last years, AR apps became transportable and generally available on various devices. Besides, AR begins to occupy its place in our audio-visual media and to be used in various fields in our life in tangible and exciting ways such as news, sports and is used in many domains in our life such as electronic commerce, promotion, design, and business. In addition, AR is used to facilitate the learning whereas it enables students to access location-specific information provided through various sources. Such growth and spread of AR applications push organizations to compete for one another, and every one of them exerts its best to gain the customers. This paper provides a comprehensive study of AR including its history, architecture, applications, current challenges, and future trends.