Version 1.3 of the AR Stickers feature that ships with the Camera app of Google’s Pixel and Pixel 2 removes the default installation of stickers and reduces its overall file size by nearly 87-percent. More specifically, while the previous version of the app sat at right around 64.4MB, the revised application only weighs in at 8.5MB. The significant reduction in size will undoubtedly be beneficial to users looking to save space on their handsets – particularly those who don’t typically use all of the stickers available. That’s because the new update is a result of Google’s decision to effectively remove the pre-installation of sticker packs that were bundled with the app before. That’s not necessarily surprising since the update to version 1.2 removed the Foodmoji and Text stickers entirely. That left only the Star Wars and Stranger Things-themed sticker packs preinstalled by default. Now, instead of getting every sticker right out of the gate, the download only includes a single animated AR sticker from each pack. The change also equates to storage space saved even after some stickers are reinstalled.
The U.I. changes reflect that difference in a way that should be fairly familiar to those who have used sticker packs from any provider in nearly any messaging app. They now show the single remaining add-in in full color while any and all other stickers are only shown in a grayscale tone. All of those AR Stickers shown in the carousel will also still animate without having to download them. That’s a feature carrying over from the prior version of the app and may seem counterintuitive with regard to saving space. However, it should still be helpful in giving users an idea about what to expect from the sticker pack before that’s ever downloaded.
For those that absolutely need all of the stickers, getting those back is fairly straightforward but may be a bit annoying. As with the sticker packs removed in version 1.2, the Stranger Things and The Last Jedi packs have been placed in the Play Store for download. Users won’t need to go through the hassle of seeking those out either. Instead, they can be found by opening the camera app and AR Stickers feature. From there, one of the currently unavailable options needs to be selected, which will result in a pop-up card with the option to navigate directly to the sticker pack in the Play Store. The change is rolling out this week, so users shouldn’t be too surprised if it hasn’t hit their device just yet.
