Although to many, the term “Augmented Reality” still seems like a somewhat futuristic concept, the fact is that this technology has been with us for years. In simple terms, augmented reality overlays computer-designed images and reality, creating a union between the two.
Visually it is attractive and fun, but if you want to know if it is worth it, maybe you should form your own opinion with this selection of the best-augmented reality applications for iOS and Android that we have prepared for you.
Table of Contents
1. BBC Civilizations AR
Education is one of the best uses for Augmented Reality, and its applications like this are beginning to pave the way for a future focused on AR. The BBC Civilizations AR app allows you to admire various historical artifacts, and locate, rotate, and resize them as you see fit.
You are given a handy tutorial the first time you start the app, which guides you through an Egyptian mummy, you hear about its history, and you can even view it with an X-ray feature.
There are over 30 historical articles for you. Admire, explore, and photograph in your living room. It is an excellent application for anyone interested in history or those who want to know the (very likely) future.
2. SketchAR
There is something of an artist in all of us, but not all of us have time to sit down and practice drawing by hand for hours. SketchAR are AR strokes: make a couple of circles on a piece of paper and choose a sketch, and SketchAR will project that image onto the paper, allowing you to trace the missing lines.
It’s not precisely a tracer, as you’ll have trouble matching lines perfectly, but it works great if you’re looking to practice specific drawing techniques. It can be a bit awkward: Holding a phone with one hand and drawing with the other isn’t exactly a very natural position to say, but it’s worth trying.
Works with small pieces of paper on most ARCore-capable phones. It is available for Android, iOS, and Microsoft HoloLens headphones.
3. Pokémon Go
This would not be a complete list if we did not include Pokémon Go, a game that captured millions of people’s attention as soon as it was released. The game uses the cell phone’s GPS to track your location and move your avatar on the game map. Your cell phone camera shows pokemon in the real world.
Players of Ingress, another Niantic app, will see similarities between the two applications, starting with the Pokestops, which are the same portals in Ingress. Deploying the original 150 Pokémon is the best the developer has been able to do. Niantic continues to improve the app, adding new features like barter.
4. Mondly
Do you want to learn a new language, but never have enough time? Mondly is one of the best ways to do it, and since it’s on your phone, you can practice on the go. With 33 different languages, users can choose and do daily exercises.
Mondly has not been slow in adopting new technology. There’s a VR version of the Gear VR app, and what’s more exciting, AR technology is built into the main app. Tap the AR button, and you’ll be asked to find a flat surface.
Once it is detected, your AR teacher will begin your lesson, bringing examples of the words as a memory aid. While it may not be something you get involved with every day, Mondly’s AR side is a fun little addition that can stoke your language-learning experience.
5. Ink Hunter
Ink Hunter is the application you should use when you have not decided which tattoo you want to get. The app allows you to put on pre-made tattoos or your designs, and these are oriented in the position you want, anywhere on your body.
The app places tattoos on your skin using the camera and adjusts the tattoos’ size concerning the closeness of the camera to your skin.
The latest update includes tattoos in color and black and white, and with that, you can see better how it will look before you make this decision with which you will have to live for life.
6. Google Translate
This is not an augmented reality app in the strict sense of the word, but it has a feature that is incredibly useful for translating texts. It is accessible only through the device’s camera.
You just open the application, go to camera mode, and put the text that is in another language. You will not see the text in the original word, but in the language you want it to translate. You can download up to 13 languages to be brought when you are not connected to an internet network.
7. WallaMe
WallaMe allows you to leave messages around the world that others can only read with the WallaMe mobile app. You can take a picture of a street or notice and with artistic “tools,” edit it and create unique messages. You can add photos with you to prove that you were there.
If you are walking in a place with a hidden message, and you have the app, you will be able to see it. There is also the option of creating a secret message, but it can only be found with WallaMe and your cell phone camera.
Those who do not know about the application’s existence cannot see the messages created by others, but this creates a sense of exclusivity that its users surely like very much.
8. Knightfall AR
What genre of games could be better adapted to AR than to battle strategy? Knightfall AR puts players in the shoes of the Knights Templar while defending Acre from enemy warriors.
You place the battlefield on any flat surface near you, and from your point of view, you act as a target reticle, allowing you to shoot arrows and catapults at enemy units as they advance toward your walls.
Killing enemies gives you gold, which you can spend on defenses and warriors to push back invaders. By bypassing the campaign levels, animations are also unlocked for the game’s Photo Mode, allowing you to capture characters for your fun.
It is not perfect, and it is also a bit complicated. We found that the battlefield sometimes drifted away from us. It also started to lag once more units were placed on the battlefield. But despite this, it is perfect for hanging out, and it is an excellent indication of the future of AR games.
9. Just a Line
Not only independent developers have fun in AR, but also Google. Just a Line is one of the highlights of Google’s AR Experiments project Although the premise is simple, it is enjoyable to play, as well as being a high starting point to see what Augmented Reality can do.
Start the application, and it will take you a moment to calibrate the space in front of you. Once this is done, keep your finger on the screen to draw whatever you want. When you’re done, take a step back to admire your work.
Then take a step and admire it in 3D space. It’s enjoyable, and by moving, you can change the results, stretching the lines as you walk inside.
It’s not particularly exciting, and it doesn’t have much use outside of just drawing in the air, but it’s fun, and you can even take short videos to share with your friends.
10. Genesis
Have you ever wanted to put a sheet of paper on a table and watch the monster inside unfold and fight other monsters? Yes: basically, we are describing Yu-Gi-Oh!, Although we are also describing Genesis Augmented Reality.
As the seventh most viewed mobile crowdfunding game of all time on Kickstarter, Genesis Augmented Reality puts you in the shoes of a “Riftlord”: a mortal imbued with Genesis’s powers to end Rharkon’s evil influence, all in control.
Summon powerful entities to defeat dark beings Yes, yes: it’s a bit dramatic, but who cares when the technology is excellent?
11. Quiver
Since smartphones are more geared towards adults than teens, the staggering shortage of AR content for kids isn’t exactly surprising. Fortunately, Quiver works to bring your child’s 2D color books to life with animated images springing directly from the pages.
Although the app requires printed color pages, users can download one of several free color packs from Quiver’s website, ranging from fire-breathing dragons and teddy bears to towering, wild dinosaurs.
Once drawn, users simply need to make sure that the entire page can be seen inside their smartphone’s camera peripheral, allowing the image to come to life with the drawn details and accompanying music.
Users can view the animations from any angle once started, pause the content, or even zoom in and out as if they saw a real-life object, and despite being child-oriented, there’s no denying that it’s fun for All ages.
12. Holo
Remember the AR stickers on Google Pixel? Well, this app is pretty much where it all started. Holo allows you to take characters from both fictional worlds and the real world, and drag and drop them into your immediate surroundings, which Holo refers to as “Holo-mixing.”
Each character ranging from YouTube celebrities to fictional characters performs a range of animations and set sounds when placed in the world and can be scaled or scaled to match your location’s size.
The actual execution may be a little imprecise, and the AR functionality is not without its bugs: Characters you place may like to move, rather than sit still, but as a free app available on both Android and iOS, It is undoubtedly a very entertaining thing.
13. Google Lens
Google glasses are dead: long live Google Lens! Google Lens is the substitute for the long-neglected Google Goggles app, and fortunately for longtime users of that app, it still does most of the things Goggles was known for and a few more.
Point the Google lens at an object, and it will try to identify it. If you know what it is, you can suggest places to buy it or alternative products, or do a Google search.
You can identify plants, store phone numbers and dates on posters, or give the application (and its users) information about nearby points of interest.
Accessing Google Lens is quite easy. You can download the Android application below, access it from your Google Assistant, or access it from Google Photos. Unfortunately, iOS users do not have access to the Lens app, although they can access Lens through Google Photos.
14. Augment
Visualizing furniture in your “potential” environment is one thing, but visualizing almost any 3D model in augmented reality is entire. Although somewhat complicated, Augment is an application specially designed to increase your business’s sales, give life to printing, and be able to see the possibilities at hand visually.
Once users sign up with a free account in Augment Manager, the app allows users to upload their 3D images and trackers from apps like Cinema 4D, Sketchup, Maya, and the like, and place 3D models virtual environment using their device’s camera.
A steep learning curve accompanies some of the more advanced features, but those features also make the software much more capable. It handles print content similar to Layer, offering additional multimedia features with a simple camera scan.
But being able to upload your 3D content will help you outperform the competition when deciding where to place the screen you recently bought, or what those reforms you plan to do will look like.
15. SpotCrime
Occasionally oversights can be fatal, but this is rarely the case when it comes to safety. With SpotCrime, users can collect a wealth of crime information and real-time alerts for almost any location in the United States, the United Kingdom, and select parts of Canada.
SpotCrime tracks your location using your smartphone’s GPS, extracting crime data from police departments, sheriff’s agencies, the media, and other sources. The crimes range from robberies and shootings to arrests and attacks, and the application identifies each occurrence with its respective icon on a map.
Additionally, users can set up automatic alerts and search for crimes related to a specific address or view them as a list accompanied by links to additional information. Yes: Certainly, the application will not prevent crime, but it will provide you with an overview of the most dangerous streets and neighborhoods. So you know where you are getting.
16. Roar
ROAR is an app that consumers, businesses, and retailers can benefit from, but let’s talk to the people who will use it in their personal lives.
For them, ROAR is an AR purchasing consultant that allows them to take pictures of thousands of foods and beverages, and almost immediately know their prices and ingredients, see other people’s comments, and perhaps even discover relevant coupons and promotions.
Many of the products found in the ROAR database can be compared from within the application. Even more impressive is the ability to scan a movie poster to quickly buy tickets for an upcoming screening, which can save you the trouble of having to browse a website. ROAR is a continually growing application.
