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How to be a ‘Tiger King’ with Google’s 3D animal tiger in Search

Google’s 3D animals have exploded in popularity more than a year after Google first announced that AR objects would be coming to Search, but perhaps the most popular animal of all has been the tiger. Could this be due to the sudden popularity of the Netflix show “Tiger King”? If you’re looking to strike a pose with a virtual tiger, you’ve come to the right place…

We detailed all the nitty gritty of how to use Google’s 3D AR objects here, but we’re skipping all the noise for those of you that just want to skip right to taking some photos with a 3D tiger.

How to be a ‘Tiger King’ w/ Google 3D animals

  1. Grab your Android or iPhone
  2. Search for “Tiger” on Google
  3. Find some space
  4. Tap on View in 3D
  5. Take a picture and be a Tiger King!

1. Grab your Android or iPhone

The first and easiest step is to just grab your smart device. Thankfully, Google’s 3D animals AR objects work perfectly fine with most modern devices. As long as your Android phone is running version 7.0 or higher and your iPhone is on iOS 11 or higher, it will work just fine.

So whether you have an iPad, Google Pixel, Samsung Galaxy device, or even an older iPhone, you should be able to access 3D animals just fine. As our Ben Schoon noted, the easiest way to know if your device is supported is to simply Google for your favorite animal and see if the “View in 3D” option is available.

For the ability to actually view the animal in space using augmented reality, the Android or iPhone device you’re using needs to support ARCore. You can find the full list of ARCore devices here.

2. Search for “Tiger” on Google

Search for Tiger on Google! That’s all you have to do to find the life-sized tiger in the form of a Google Search knowledge panel. As usual, you’ll be presented with the summary of the tiger from Wikipedia.

The tiger (Panthera tigris) is the largest species among the Felidae and classified in the genus Panthera. It is most recognisable for its dark vertical stripes on orangish-brown fur with a lighter underside. It is an apex predator, primarily preying on ungulates such as deer and wild boar.

Thankfully, the Knowledge Panel is located right at the top of the Google Search, so no need to go scrolling looking for your tiger.

3. Find some space

The 3D tiger that Google is going to give you here is… actually life-sized. That means the tiger is going to be a lot bigger than you think. If you are planning to take a photo of yourself or your child with the life-sized feline beast, you’ll need to find some significant space. Chances are, a crowded and messy room isn’t going to work.

Personally, there were only a couple rooms in my house where I could capture the massive beast. Find some open space for your shot!

4. Tap on View in 3D

If you didn’t already, the next step is to tap on the “View in 3D” button. If you’re not seeing this option, it probably means that the device you’re currently using isn’t supported. An easy way to fix this is to find a newer or more modern device that has support for 3D animals.

5. Take a picture and be a Tiger King

You don’t have to be anything like the, uhm, misguided people in the Tiger King documentary to take a picture with a tiger. In fact, taking a picture with a digital version of a tiger for free is probably going to do a lot to end the exploitation of animals for the purposes of entertainment.

To take your picture, simply frame the shot and tap on the shutter button. The photo then will promptly appear in your camera roll for sharing elsewhere on the web.

That’s it!

Were you able to find your 3D digital tiger? Let us know in the comments below. Be sure to check out our full guide to Google’s 3D animals to see the full list of all the animals that you can pose with, all the other AR objects you can use (including the human skeleton, NASA objects like Mercury and other planets, and soon, cars), and more.

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Avatar for Stephen Hall Stephen Hall

Stephen is Growth Director at 9to5. If you want to get in touch, follow me on Twitter. Or, email at stephen (at) 9to5mac (dot) com, or an encrypted email at hallstephenj (at) protonmail (dot) com.