Hands-on with 3D Animals in Google Search [Video]

Damien Wilde | Mar 28 2020 - 9:00 am PT

At I/O 2019, Google unveiled the fantastic new 3D Animals alongside a flurry of other augmented reality filters for Lens and Search.

The new features rely heavily on your smartphone to place 3D rendered creatures (and more) within your camera viewfinder in real-life scale. From the outset, it’s worth noting that this isn’t a brand-new feature by any stretch, but it’s one that really helps you grasp the scale of animals in the natural world, all without having to head to your local zoo or nature reserve.

With millions of children around the globe not currently able to go to school due to quarantine and lockdown procedures due to the COVID-19 coronavirus outbreak, this might be a great way to give them an interesting home-schooling lesson without having to leave the house — or invite any furry friends in to make a real mess!

Things you will need

An Android smartphone running Android 7.0 or higher / iPhone running iOS 11 or later
Google Chrome for Android/iOS

The full list of 3D Animals within Google Search has grown substantially since launch, with more being added steadily since the announcement at last years I/O. Searching for any of the following animals will give you the option to bring them into your home in high-resolution 3D:

That list would likely be more than enough to fill a small zoo, and all of the animals even include realistic grunts, groans, and growls to really increase that immersion — and entertainment level. If you’re wanting to keep yourself or your kids occupied, it’s as easy as opening Google Chrome on your smartphone and searching for any of the AR animals above. You don’t even have to view them in AR, you can see each animal in 3D within your Google Search page too.

Let us know your favorite 3D animal down in the comments section below.