Augmented Reality, is usually shortened to AR. Have you heard about it?
It is one of the newer technologies that were meant to change the world. Alongside VR (Virtual Reality). I think we all know how things have gone for the latter (even Google killed its Android effort, Daydream) so let’s not dwell on that.
In a nutshell, AR is the interactivity of digital elements in the real world.
ARCore is the platform that Google provides to developers to build AR experiences for its mobile operating system, Android (also iOS but you already know our feelings about that platform).
So, for a device to be ARCore supported, it simply means that it has received the nod (certification) from Google. For you as a user, it means that you will be able to experience Augmented Reality applications (be they funny meow stickers on your face on your camera app or rare Pokemon or deciding where to place a couch you’re shopping for in your living room) on the device just as the developer intended.
Clear?
Now, the latest addition to the list that Google maintains of AR-certified devices are three smartphones that are of great interest to us, for obvious reasons (we are in Kenya and Kenya is our primary area of focus). These devices are the Tecno Camon 17 Pro, the Infinix Note 10 Pro and the Tecno Phantom X Pro.
Now, here is where the fun starts. The last device, the Phantom X Pro, has not yet been launched. We are expecting to see it early next month. So, in a week’s time, at the earliest. In fact, up until this listing, yours truly wasn’t privy to its existence now that all the attention has been hogged by its standard mate. It looks like the Phantom “flagship sub-brand” will start life on a strong footing.
The Tecno Camon 17 Pro is no stranger to us, being one of Tecno’s latest devices in the local market.
We are just in the process of fine-tuning our Infinix Note 10 Pro review, after having had the device for about a month now (watch our first impressions).
Google doesn’t indicate if any of the three devices support the Depth API (developer-speak for what helps a device’s camera to understand the size and shape of the real objects in a scene thereby allowing the developer(s) to enable immersive and realistic user experiences – here’s an example: you don’t want to see a sofa that is bigger than one of your living room’s walls placed there virtually, do you?).
Other devices of interest that have joined the ARCore support club include the Redmi Note 10 and Redmi Note Pro that became available in the country back in April, the Tecno Pova 2, the 5G variant of a device that is soon launching here in Kenya (will we get it at some point now that we are in the 5G era locally?), and the Samsung Galaxy A72, which launched 3 months ago and is available in the country.
