Google Delivers an Answer to Apple on Augmented Reality - Bloomberg

For more details, see ARCore: Augmented reality at Android scale (Google Keyword blog); on a related note, see In the Augmented Reality Race Microsoft Is Now Playing Catch Up Despite Early Announcements (Supersite Windows)

"The Alphabet Inc. company released a mobile developer tool on Tuesday to get more AR features on Android phones without those costly hardware tweaks. Called ARCore, the software helps mobile apps and websites better track physical objects and overlay them with virtual images. Google will now pitch Android partners on its software, rather than courting them to be compatible with Tango.

ARCore will be available for developers to preview on Tuesday with Google’s own Pixel phones and Samsung Electronics Co.’s S8 smartphone. Google plans to add more Android devices over time and fully launch the software this winter. "We have a path to getting this on north of 100 million phones very quickly," said Clay Bavor, who leads Google’s virtual reality and AR efforts."

Google Delivers an Answer to Apple on Augmented Reality - Bloomberg