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Samsung Galaxy S9 and S9 Plus devices finally support ARCore

Galaxy S9 and S9 Plus users can now take part in all the Play Store's AR experiences including exploring the solar system, creating an AR drawing, and pretending to throw paper into a trash can across your room.
By
May 15, 2018
ARCore 1.0 Google Lens

Owners of the Samsung Galaxy S9 and S9 Plus can finally take part in AR experiences using Google’s ARCore technology. Numerous Reddit users have reported that they can now run ARCore on their phones, while both the Galaxy S9 and S9 Plus have been added to Google’s page of officially supported devices.

It was initially reported that the Galaxy S9 and S9 Plus would support ARCore back in February. However, the devices did not support the tech out-of-the-box and it is only now, two months after the release of the phones, that users have begun reporting that they can install the ARCore app. This is perhaps disappointing, considering that, at the time of the Galaxy S9’s release, the Galaxy S8, S8 Plus, Note 8, and S7 all already supported the tech.

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ARCore is Google’s augmented reality development kit. It makes it easier for developers to build AR experiences into their apps. First released in February 2018, ARCore version 1.2 was unveiled just last week. The latest version brings multiplayer support and the ability for AR apps to see vertical surfaces.

To get ARCore support on your device, you need to head to the Play Store and download the ARCore app. While this will instal the framework, it won’t actually offer any AR experiences. To really see what AR can do, you will then need to download some of the apps that make use of the framework. For inspiration, you can take a look at our list of the ten best augmented reality apps for Android.