Google launches ARCore, an augmented reality SDK, to compete with Apple's ARKit

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On August 30, Google announced the launch of an augmented reality SDK, “ARCore,” which competes with Apple’s ARKit.

Mobile phones are generally considered to be the simplest and easiest platform for experiencing AR. Now that the two giants, Apple and Google, have entered the market, developers can finally develop AR applications in iOS and Android native systems. The popularization of AR seems to be on the way.

It is understood that ARCore will use Java, OpenGL and Unreal and Unity 3D game engines, promising to provide all the building blocks and APIs to build immersive AR experiences. ARCore allows developers to track the position and orientation of the phone and detect horizontal surfaces. In addition, ARCore can detect ambient light and use it as a variable in the AR experience. This will allow developers to adjust the lighting and even the color of virtual objects projected into the real world to make it more realistic and provide a more credible experience.

However, ARCore will most likely still require some processing power, so some entry-level Android devices may not be able to run ARCore. At the same time, the fragmentation problem of the Android system is extremely serious, and it is not easy for ARCore to be compatible with different models and different Android versions. Therefore, there are not many phones that support ARCore at present, and only high-end models of Google and Samsung are supported: Pixel, Pixel XL and S8, S8+.

ARCore is still in preview at this stage, and Google aims to launch ARCore 1.0 by this winter. Through collaboration with manufacturers, Google expects ARCore to be available on 100 million devices.

It is also worth mentioning that the official version of ARkit, which allows iOS developers to develop AR applications for iPhone and iPad, is expected to be officially released at Apple’s fall conference, slightly earlier than ARCore.