Google has announced that it will terminate the premium smartphone augmented reality platform named Google Tango with effect from March 1, 2018. According to TechCrunch, the company will focus on the development of the ARCore instead of Google Tango.
The search engine giant took to Twitter and disclosed that they would like to appreciate the efforts of the developer community and they have made considerable progress with Tango over the last three years. The company added that they would like to engage with developers to develop the next-generation ARCore.
We’re turning down support for Tango on March 1, 2018. Thank you to our incredible community of developers who made such progress with Tango over the last three years. We look forward to continuing the journey with you on ARCore. https://t.co/aYiSUkgyie
— Tango (@projecttango) December 15, 2017
Google released Tango in 2014 and several smartphone manufacturers have also unveiled smartphones with Tango support. The purpose of the Tango is to make use of the advanced camera hardware to create 3D meshes in such a way that it resembles with the Microsoft HoloLens.
The main reason for the disruption of Google Tango is attributed to the fact that smartphone manufacturers are finding it difficult to integrate Tango because of cost issues. Google managed to infuse Tango only in select devices mainly from Lenovo. Moreover, Google is facing acute competition with the Cupertino-based tech giant Apple. The iPhone manufacturer has integrated ARKit platform on iOS 11.
The upcoming ARCore will not only be cost-effective but also help users to stay productive. In 2018, we can expect devices based on ARCore technology and will be available at a budget-friendly price. You need not have to spend a whole lot of money to work with Android AR.
Recently, Google introduced Pixel and Pixel 2 smartphones with support for AR stickers, which is an alternative to Google Tango. The customers will lose interest if Google continues to discontinue services introduced previously.
The big question here is – What will happen to customers who have been working with Google Tango smartphones? Google will not push any updates from March 2018 and is unlikely to receive any new updates before that. You will be compelled to work with a device with outdated hardware. The whole situation looks identical to that of the smartphones pre-loaded with stock Android. If you are working with a smartphone with stock Android, then you will not receive any fresh updates.
