In 2017 it came to our lives, if we had a Google Pixel smartphone, one of those characteristics that was a trend among many of its users. More than anything, because it gave us free rein to creativity and, above all, to imagination. We are referring to the augmented reality technology that was integrated into the mobile devices of the Mountain View, known as AR stickers.
This feature appeared in our lives so that we could make use of different 3D or 2D characters or objects as if they were in our own living room or room, or rather, at any point just by opening the camera of our Pixel. For this reason, it is the ideal time to know which are the mobile devices of the American firm that have this support and how we can get to enjoy this augmented reality, yes, we anticipate that it will be both in photo and video.
The ‘AR’ at your service
As we said at the beginning, in 2017, those from Mountain View surprised us with the arrival of AR Stickers on their Pixel 2 . One of the functionalities that would allow us to be able to add different virtual characters, as well as funny emojis in each of our images and videos, so that, in this way, we could give a creative and animated touch to our multimedia files.
We should only have a compatible Google Pixel, open the camera of our smartphone and switch to the AR stickers mode. Of course, first of all, we must see what are the requirements to be able to enjoy these augmented reality stickers of the Google Pixel.
First of all, we will have to have a Pixel, and although at first it was an exclusive function of Google smartphones, it began to be extended to other brands. Afterwards, you only needed to have at least the version of Android 8.1 Oreo, in addition to updating these two applications on your Google mobile:
After meeting these essential requirements, we still have to know an important detail to get to enjoy this tool. Besides that it is an important point, since it is time to see which Google phones are compatible with Playground . And, for you to be able to use this feature, you must have ARCore, Google’s augmented reality platform.
This means that, in order to be able to use ARCore on a mobile phone, it is necessary for said Android device to have certain sensors, as well as enough power to be able to perform the necessary calculations for the operation of augmented reality.
In the case of Playground, it will only be available for the Pixel 4 and those models that came out before, that is, that from the 2020 models they will not have this characteristic functionality. In the case of Playmoji, it is only available on the Pixel 4, Pixel 3a and Pixel 3. But why don’t the following Google smartphones have this functionality?
Goodbye to Playground and Playmoji
However, in mid-2020 we had to say goodbye forever to Playground and Playmoji , since Google confirmed that its future smartphones, from the 4th, will not be able to use this technology no matter how much we download it from the Play Store. However, they confirmed that it would continue to be available in the models that we have mentioned above. This does not mean that they have abandoned AR technology, but the use of these features, since they also had to face disputes over the rights of third parties such as the Playmojis from ‘Star Wars’,’ Detective Pikachu ‘or’ Stranger Things’.
Therefore, from then on, their life had a time limit until they made it clear that the camera of their next smartphones would no longer be compatible with Playground , the sections of stickers, Playmoji and the tool to add texts.
Photos and videos in augmented reality
After knowing which smartphone of the American firm can enjoy the different functionalities that we will see below, we will begin by explaining how we can get to take augmented reality photos with our Google Pixel, both using Playground, Plamoji and AR Stickers .
To do this, we must follow a series of steps that we will explain point by point so that you do not get lost at any time:
- Open the Camera application on your Google smartphone.
- Scroll through your camera options until you find the More> Playground option.
- Then touch on the Stickers section> Playmojis (3D characters or objects) or Stickers (2D characters or objects).
- Choose the Playmoji or the sticker that you like the most. You will even have the option to download new Playmojis if you wish.
- Long press on a Playmoji or a sticker and then drag them where you want them to appear in your camera frame. For example, in selfies, the characters will be able to react on their own and, obviously, they will also be able to move by themselves. In addition, you will have the option to add text or adjust animations on the screen.
- Finally, tap on the shutter button to take a photo with objects in augmented reality. And if you want to stop Playground, you just have to click on the ‘X’ icon.
If in your case you want to add any type of text or adjust these animations that we have just commented, you will have to do this:
- You can add text, by tapping on Text, which can be distinguished by the letter ‘A’.
- To resize an object, tap it. And then pinch the screen or spread your fingers.
- To remove an object, you will have to hold it down and drag it to the trash icon, located in the upper right.
However, not everything will be photography, since we can also carry out these same settings, but recording all kinds of videos with these characters that we choose from the Playground section . The only difference between taking a photo with augmented reality and a video is that we will have to hold the shutter button to start recording the video.
For the rest, everything will be practically the same as we have explained. In this way, you can already enjoy this characteristic technology on your Google Pixel, as long as it is compatible.
