Overview of ARCore and supported development environments | Google for Developers
Explore an overview of Google's platform for building augmented reality experiences.
Overview
Added
March 17, 2026
Subject & domain
computer-science-advanced · augmented-virtual-reality-ar-vr
Grade range
Grade 9 (Freshman)–Grade 12 (Senior)
Page kind
Article
Introduction
Overview of ARCore
- Core Function: ARCore is Google’s platform for integrating virtual content into the real world using a smartphone camera.
- Three Key Capabilities:
- Motion Tracking: Tracks the phone's position and orientation relative to the world using camera features and inertial sensors.
- Environmental Understanding: Detects the size and location of horizontal, vertical, and angled surfaces (e.g., floors, walls, tables).
- Light Estimation: Analyzes the environment's lighting conditions to help virtual objects blend seamlessly.
- Device Requirements: Supported on qualified Android devices running Android 7.0 (Nougat) or later.
- Development Support: Provides SDKs for major development environments, including:
- Android
- iOS
- Unity
- Unreal
- Web
- Cross-Platform: Certain APIs are available across both Android and iOS to facilitate shared augmented reality experiences.
- Persistence: ARCore allows virtual objects to remain fixed in place, enabling users to move around them and view them from different angles.
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