Exclusive to Pixel smartphones is an experience called ‘AR Stickers’. Built into the camera app, this enables creative use of augmented reality objects and animated characters giving users new ways of capturing unique video moments to express themselves.

Demonstrated using the new Pixel 2 smartphone revealed at Google’s hardware event today, AR Stickers is a quick way to integrate augmented reality objects into everyday life. For example, a cute, animated coffee cup can be placed on your desk, or you can shoot a birthday video with lots of AR balloons.

Google plans to release new AR Sticker packs in the future, so that they relate to changing seasons, holidays or big pop culture moments. The inevitable Star Wars pack is coming, along with characters from Stranger Things, NBA Stars, and the cast of Saturday Night Live.

In the press release, Google states that AR Stickers will be “exclusive to the Pixel”, so it is currently unclear whether the feature will become available on the first generation Pixel smartphones.

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Dominic Brennan
The trial version of Microsoft’s Monster Truck Madness probably had something to do with it. And certainly the original Super Mario Kart and Gran Turismo. A car nut from an early age, Dominic was always drawn to racing games above all other genres. Now a seasoned driving simulation enthusiast, and former editor of Sim Racer magazine, Dominic has followed virtual reality developments with keen interest, as cockpit-based simulation is a perfect match for the technology. Conditions could hardly be more ideal, a scientist once said. Writing about simulators lead him to Road to VR, whose broad coverage of the industry revealed the bigger picture and limitless potential of the medium. Passionate about technology and a lifelong PC gamer, Dominic suffers from the ‘tweak for days’ PC gaming condition, where he plays the same section over and over at every possible combination of visual settings to find the right balance between fidelity and performance. Based within The Fens of Lincolnshire (it’s very flat), Dominic can sometimes be found marvelling at the real world’s ‘draw distance’, wishing virtual technologies would catch up.