Google IO 2019's best exhibit wasn't even there

Google IO 2019
Image credit: TechRadar

We got an update on Google's plans for augmented reality (AR) during Google IO 2019, and it looks like a lot of fun and games – with some promising advancements for even casual Google product users.

That includes folk who only use Google Search. During the keynote, a presenter showed how AR will be added to search results: go scrounging for info on sharks, and you'll be able to click a button to look into a lite camera app and place a 3D model of the shark in real life, as if to compare size. Another example showed a modeled skeleton-and-muscle arm flexing and relaxing – something far easier to see from different angles in AR than in a simple image.

After the keynote, we moseyed over to one of the Google IO 2019 sandboxes filled with different fun AR exhibits – all showing off different applications of AR tech that, strictly speaking, wasn't there at all.

Click through the gallery to see them all!

David Lumb

David is now a mobile reporter at Cnet. Formerly Mobile Editor, US for TechRadar, he covered phones, tablets, and wearables. He still thinks the iPhone 4 is the best-looking smartphone ever made. He's most interested in technology, gaming and culture – and where they overlap and change our lives. His current beat explores how our on-the-go existence is affected by new gadgets, carrier coverage expansions, and corporate strategy shifts.

TOPICS