Got a Pixel or a Pixel 2 smartphone? It’s time to try out the new AR Stickers
“Got a Pixel or a Pixel 2 smartphone? It’s time to try out the new AR Stickers”
Like most biggies, Google is betting big on AR and it’s newest flagships, the Pixel 2 and Pixel 2 XL ( review) are tuned specifically for that. One of the ways the Mountain View major is showcasing the AR capabilities of its phones is AR Stickers, a fun feature that was demoed at the Pixel 2 global launch event in San Francisco back in October. Seems the feature is now ready for its official debut, and the folks at Google were kind enough to give us an early peak. And as we’re wont to do, we’re bringing it right to you…
The AR Stickers feature will land on Pixel 2 and the original Pixel smartphone running Android Oreo 8.1 by means of an update, and will be available directly within the default camera app. Once you activate it, you’ll see a bunch of sticker sets available up top, and at the time of launch, the available options include characters from Star Wars: The Last Jedi, popular Netflix show Stranger Thing s, foodmoji, editable 3D text and a few others.
Once you find a suitable surface, like a floor or a desk (needs a solid texture to work properly, so a plain surface might not work well), you can drag the AR characters down from the shelf and voilà, you now have animated characters on your camera viewfinder you can shoot stills and videos with. The characters and stickers add to the existing environment, and can be resized using regular pinch zoom gestures. You can interact with some of them too. A few characters, especially from the same set, even interact with each other. For example, if you bring The Demogorgon and Eleven from Stranger Things together, the latter is quick to send the creature into oblivion. Characters from Star Wars include Porg, BB-8, Stormtrooper, and the ever-popular R2-D2. More sticker packs should be available in the future.
We tried the AR stickers on a Google Pixel 2 XL and the experience was quite smooth. One thing to note is that the camera locks the focus once AR mode is enabled, so make sure you have good ambient light and be prepared for a few out-of-focus objects. Google is also quick to point out that while the feature will be coming to the original Pixel smartphones too, the latest Pixel 2 duo should offer the best experience as they’ve been factory-calibrated for AR. Android 8.1 is required, so if haven’t updated your Pixel smartphone yet, you’ll need to do so for AR Stickers to work. We’d recommend you update your Pixel phones to the latest Android version anyway, but if you need another good reason to do so, we can vouch for the fact that the new AR Stickers are a whole lot of fun.
