How to Use Android Phone to Bring Life-Sized 3D Animals in Your Living Room

BY Parth Shah

Published 30 Mar 2020

Use Android Phone to Bring Life-Sized 3D Animals in Your Living Room

Both Google and Apple are betting big on Augmented Reality with ARcore and ARkit tools respectively. While the developers are busy creating AR apps, the companies themselves have added some AR use cases in Android and iOS. Apple has added the Measure app to measure objects using the iPhone camera app. Google is focusing on fun elements here. Back in February 2018, the search giant launched AR stickers for the Google Camera app on Pixel devices. The functionality was limited to Pixel devices and Android phones with the Google Camera app. Last year, Google announced 3D animals function using the AR through its search engine.

To reach a broader audience, the company is supporting both iOS and Android platforms. With that, the user can bring the life-sized 3D animals in his living room. Here is how to use it on any Android device.

Use Google 3D Animals on Any Android Phone

Step 1: The 3D animals’ function is accessible on google.com, meaning you can use it on any browser on the Android phone. I mostly prefer the default Google search on my Pixel XL. Just type the animal name in Google search box and browser web results.

3d animals in wikipedia

Step 2: You will find the ‘View in 3D’ option under the Wikipedia menu. Tap on it and the Google app will ask for camera and storage permission. Allow it and the app will open the camera interface.

Step 3: Now slowly move your phone horizontally for about 30 seconds and voila! Be ready to be amazed by the life-sized 3D animal in your room. You will be surprised by the level of details, live movements, and the roar of the animal. One can also take a picture of the scene using the shutter button.

3d animals

All the Available Virtual Animals

Google supports a long list of animals to view a close to the real-life 3D version of them in the living room.

Lion
Tiger
Cheetah
Duck
Wolf
Goat
Brown Bear
Horse
Turtle
Cat
Dog
Octopus
Eagle
Alligator

Any many more. The list is endless. Just type the animal name in Google and if it’s supported by the company, then you will see the ‘View in 3D’ option under the Wikipedia section.

Which Devices Are Supported?

The 3D animal function is only supported on AR-enabled devices. Your Android phone needs to be running the Android 7.0+ operating system to support the feature. Check out the list of supported Android Phones from here. If you are not sure then open the device Settings and navigate to System > Advanced > System update and download the latest OS on the phone.

Use AR Stickers in the Google Camera App

Google has integrated the AR stickers in the Google Camera app. With that, you can bring the live and interactive characters to real life and take pictures of it. The company has renamed it to Playground in the Camera app.

google camera ar stickers

Open Google Camera, swipe left and open Playground section. It will open the different interface with the ability to add stickers, doodles, and more. Tap on Playmoji to browse the characters such as Pokemon, Food items, Travel stickers, and more. Download them and import them in the camera app. One can also add text doodles and change the color of it.

ar stickets pokemon

If the Google camera app is not available on your device, then you can always port the Google Camera app from the web. The functionality is best-served with flagship chipsets. You might feel sluggish performance with entry-level hardware.