ARCore
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Android's official augmented reality toolkit is available to the public
Google's take on a mobile augmented reality framework is no longer limited to a modestly-sized preview. It just released ARCore 1.0, letting anyone publish Android apps that take advantage of the toolkit to meld virtual objects with the real world. To no one's surprise, Google has already lined up apps from big-name brands to take advantage of the new platform. Snapchat has an AR "portal" that takes you inside FC Barcelona's Camp Nou stadium, while Porsche lets you explore the Mission E Concept as if it were parked in front of you. A number of games (such as Ghostbusters World and a range of titles from NetEase) and home furnishing apps (Sotheby's, JD.com, Easyhome and Otto) are also on tap.
Google ends Tango support to fully focus on ARCore
Google began delving into the world of AR with its 2014 venture Project Tango, or just Tango as of last year, and its AR work has grown quite a bit since then. Earlier this year, it unveiled ARCore, an augmented reality platform that differs from Tango in that it doesn't require any specialized hardware. Today Google announced an update to its ARCore Developer Preview and with it, the end of Tango support. "As we focus on bringing augmented reality to the entire Android ecosystem with ARCore, we're turning down support of Tango," Google said in a blog post.
Google's AR ambitions push VR to the back seat
When Google announced its Daydream View headset last year, it was a sign that the search giant was ready to take VR to the masses. It's dabbled in VR before with Cardboard, but the View was a much more serious effort, with its fabric-clad design and user-friendly remote. Which is why it's such a surprise that Google didn't really spend a lot of time on VR at its Pixel 2 event. The company mentioned the new Daydream View -- now in colors! -- but didn't really say much more beyond that. Instead, Google was much more excited to talk about something else: AR.
Google goes full Snapchat with AR stickers for Pixel phones
Last month, Google gave us a look into what it's been doing with ARCore -- the company's augmented reality developer platform for Android. Some of the platform's capabilities already include incorporating Street View images, providing step-by-step training tutorials and showing previews of what construction projects will look like once they're finished. And today at Google's Pixel 2 event, we got another look at what the platform can do.
Google really wants you to see what ARCore can do
We've covered how ARCore is Google's answer to Apple's ARKit, designed to bring augmented reality to Android phones in a relatively simple way. Now, Google's Daydream Labs is making a case for the product by showcasing what exactly ARCore can do (and, likely not coincidentally, just one day before Apple is set to unveil its new iPhones.)
Engadget Podcast Ep 40: This Is Your Night
Hello there! After a summer-long hiatus, The Engadget Podcast is back, starting with a five-episode run through the month of September. Because our usual host Terrence O'Brien is out on paternity leave ('grats, Terry!), you're stuck with yours truly and senior editor Chris Velazco as co-hosts. In this week's episode, we chat about Google's newly announced ARCore developer kit as well as highlights from IFA, which is going on this week in Berlin. (Hint: Google Assistant is everywhere at the show.) Enjoy, and if you're wondering about the song in this week's title, well, let's just say there was an earworm going around the studio as we hit record. Many thanks to our audio engineer, who edited out any singing. Relevant links: Google unveils ARCore, its answer to Apple's ARKit Alexa and Cortana will soon work together Google Assistant is coming to more speakers and appliances Sony's smart speaker gives Google Assistant a more capable home We're live from IFA 2017 in Berlin! Subscribe on Google Play Music Subscribe on iTunes Subscribe on Stitcher Subscribe on Pocket Casts
Google unveils ARCore, its answer to Apple’s ARKit
A few months ago at WWDC, Apple unveiled ARKit, the company's first-ever attempt at an augmented reality platform. With it, developers could weave AR apps with relative ease, especially since any iOS 11 device would be compatible with it. Examples so far include a "Take On Me" style music video, a virtual pet game, a restaurant app that can display virtual food on a plate and many, many more. If that sounds pretty impressive to you, well, Google must've thought so too. That's because it's coming out with its very own augmented reality platform, and it's called ARCore.
