Are Augmented Reality stickers or AR stickers just another fun fad or are they hear to stay? It’s still too early to tell at this point since there are only a handful of devices that support this natively and it’s still a relatively new feature that not a lot of people know about. But if OEMs that are adding support for this are any indication, then we might be seeing the dawn of a new way to communicate. Or well, we’re just adding more fun ways to enhance our photos and videos aside from the usual emojis and stickers. The LG G7 ThinQ is the newest device that has added the AR sticker mode to its native camera app through a software update from Google.
What are AR stickers?
If it’s the first time you’ve encountered this thing though, a little introduction is necessary. Basically, this camera mode lets you add augmented reality objects into your photos and videos. It was originally introduced with the Pixel 2 and eventually, it became available with the original Pixel devices as well. Now if you update your LG G7 ThinQ to the latest software version, you’ll be able to see an add AR stickers as well It’s not a separate app that you use but is included in your native camera already, beside the standard photo and video options.
How do you use AR stickers?
Tap on the AR Sticker option and from there you’ll see all the available ones from Google’s library. Just drag the one that you want to include or you want to try out and once you “release” it, it will come to life and do its own bit of animation the way you’ve seen AR items do. You can create tiny scenes on your desk or in your room or even in public places. People might look weirdly at you when you laugh or squee since you can only see the stickers on your screen of course. You can move it around the screen or pinch to zoom and un-zoom according to the size you want. This “magic” happens through Google’s AR Core tech, which we talked about a lot lately. And then of course, you can share this through various messaging apps or social networks.
What kind of AR stickers are there?
Google is continuing to build its library of AR stickers, but for now you’ll be able to see various sticker packs of food and characters available. And they also partner with movies and TV shows like Star Wars and Stranger Things to create special pop-culture stickers for you to play around with. There are even stand-alone sticker packs available on the Google Play Store, like Foodmoji and Text, the latter which allows you to type in any words that you want to be AR-animated onto your photo or video.
So what’s with the LG G7 ThinQ AR stickers?
Aside from the aforementioned Pixel devices, LG says their new smartphone is the first to officially have Google’s AR stickers, once you’ve updated the device’s software. You’ll be able to enjoy all the AR stickers goodness that Pixel owners have had for the past few months. Unfortunately, the update is only available in Korea for now but we can expect it to roll out to other markets eventually. We’ll update you when that happens.
What if I have an Android phone that supports AR but it’s not a Pixel or an LG G7 ThinQ?
You can still enjoy a version of the AR stickers through the Motion Stills app. Earlier this year, the app was updated to include the stickers. However, you can only add them through the app itself and not in your native camera. Also, the sticker selection is still pretty sparse with only a handful of generic ones available, like the gingerbread man, spider, robot, chicken, dinosaur, etc. Still, it’s better than no AR sticker at all.
SOURCE: LG
