Google is now actively soliciting support for its ARCore and Google Lens platforms from handset vendors as it has taken the lesson from the ill-fated Tango platform which was discontinued due to increasing challenge from Apple's ARKit after it managed only to secure support from two handset makers and failed to entice significant inputs from application developers and to reach end consumers in scale, according to Digitimes Research.
As of May 2018, the number of handset makers, excluding Google Pixel, which have decided to have their gadgets supporting ARCore and Google Lens has reached 10, respectively. Those who will support the ARCore include Samsung Electronics, Huawei, Xiaomi Technology, while China-based Transsion Holdings, a leading handset provider in Africa, will join the Google Lens club.
To enhance the functionality of the two AR platforms, Googel announced ARCore 1.2 at the Google I/O 2018 developer's conference held in early May. The latest version of ARCore introduces three major new features: Sceneform, Augmented Images, and Cloud Anchors. Among them, the Augmented Images and Cloud Anchors are designed to enhance the liveliness and shared interactivity of virtual objects, Digitimes Research says.
Meanwhile, the functionality of Google Lens was also expanded to support Google Camera, in addition to the previous support of Google Photo and Google Assistant.