Your Android smartphone can do much more than take pictures, send text messages, browse the internet, and receive phone calls. In fact, using just your phone’s camera, you can turn your device into an augmented reality wonder.
Keep reading to learn about six augmented reality apps that are so great, you’ll want to use them on a daily basis.
1. WallaMe
Create your own virtual world of signs and messages with WallaMe. The app allows you to share secret messages with friends and family members by turning streets and buildings into a blank canvas.
Simply point your phone’s camera at any surface and you can write or draw a message on the screen. Then you can share it with anyone! This means that if someone you know stands in the same location, they’ll be able to see your message.
You can use this app to create a fun virtual adventure when you’re on vacation or exploring a new place for the first time. WallaMe can also be used to organize a room or even to provide instructions for putting something together.
2. ViewRanger
If you’re someone who likes exploring the great outdoors, ViewRanger is the best augmented reality app that you’ll want to use each time you head out. This app is ideal for those who love hiking, biking, or traversing new areas.
ViewRanger offers a library of thousands of trails that you can pick from. If you enable the app to use your location data, it’s able to identify your location and log your own trail. The app also offers aerial, street, terrain, and satellite maps so that you know exactly where you are and where you’re headed.
The app also has an awesome Skyline feature that identifies lakes, mountain peaks, and other important landmarks near you. This feature shows the name of the landmark and how far it is away from you.
3. Inkhunter
Getting a tattoo is a life-long decision unless you plan to pay for the cost of laser tattoo removal. If you’re considering getting a tattoo, the fact is that you don’t know how it will look until it’s actually inked on your body. Inkhunter exists to solve this problem.
The app has a huge library of tattoos that you can see on your body. All you have to do is pick a tattoo, point your phone at the part of the body where you want the tattoo to be, and then the app places it on that exact spot.
Using augmented reality, Inkhunter not only shows the tattoo from a top-down view, but you can also use the app to see it from every angle possible. This app even lets you save and share your results.
4. My Augmented Reality
Many augmented reality apps allow you to keep track of where you are, but what if you want to keep track of where certain places are? My Augmented Reality allows you to do just that.
Imagine walking around a new city and seeing all sorts of cool shops and restaurants that you want to try during your stay. Each time you come across a place of interest that you want to visit later, you can use My Augmented Reality to geo-tag the location.
This way when you’re walking around the same area, you can use your phone to see where each geo-located place is, and how far of a walk it is to get there.
My Augmented Reality can also be used for exploring theme parks, when hiking, or even for students who are new on campus.
5. Star Walk 2
If you’re a space junkie or want to see just how cool augmented reality can be, you’ll want to check out Star Walk 2. Even if you don’t have a fascination with space, this app will open your eyes to all of the amazing things that happen in the universe around us.
To use the app, all you have to do is open it and point your phone’s camera towards the sky. Star Walk 2 will then lay out all of the constellations, stars, planets, and even satellites that are in the sky above you. The app is a true pocket planetarium that will open your eyes to what surrounds you.
You can even use Star Walk 2 during the day, even when stars are often impossible to see.
6. Google Translate
Travelers face all sorts of obstacles when heading abroad, including language barriers. If you’re often in foreign countries where you don’t know the language, be sure to download the Google Translate app.
The app allows you to have full conversations, even if you don’t speak the same language as the person you’re conversing with. As you speak, the app translates your words to the language of the person you’re speaking to.
Google Translate does more than translate spoken word. It also uses augmented reality to translate menus, road signs, and any other piece of text. All you have to do is point your phone’s camera at the text and voila – it’s translated!
Google Translate supports more than 100 languages and offers language packs that can be downloaded for offline support.
Conclusion
Augmented reality apps are plentiful for Android devices. If you want to discover the stars, try out a tattoo, or geo-tag places that you want to go later on during a vacation, be sure to check out the apps on this list.
