Galaxy S20 series now supports AR objects in Google Search

- June 26, 2020

Devices in Samsung's latest flagship smartphone series, the Galaxy S20, Galaxy S20+ 5G, and the Galaxy S20 Ultra 5G, have recently been added to Google's ARCore list. The phones also support Google's new Depth API that lets you do even more in AR (Augmented Reality) apps.

It took Google and Samsung more than three months to bring the Galaxy S20 series into the ARCore compatibility list, but at least they're also compatible with the new Depth API. You can now use these phones to view tons of 3D models with a tap of a button in the Google Search app. You can even move these objects around and see them in AR space in your home via the camera's viewfinder, and click pictures and record videos of those 3D models.

The Depth API helps distinguish between real-world foreground and background, so digital objects can move more realistically in space with the help of improved pathfinding. Earlier, digital objects just appeared on top of both the foreground and background, but now they can partially or fully hide behind real-world objects.

The Galaxy S20+ and the Galaxy S20 Ultra also feature a VGA 3D ToF (Time of Flight) camera for accurate mapping of objects, something that could be used in AR apps, but Google hasn't started taking information from those sensors yet and it is still relying on the primary camera of the devices for ARCore.