Google introduced the Playmoji feature with the Pixel 3 series in 2018. It is basically an upgraded version of the already available AR Stickers. With the newly launched Google Pixel 4a, the company has officially confirmed its no longer supporting the Playmoji AR stickers.
Last week, the new Google Pixel 4a along with several other smartphones received the ARCore certification. According to 9to5google, the Playmoji option in the “more” section within the camera app is no longer available. Moreover, Playmoji now becomes an exclusive feature for older Pixel smartphones.
Google ditching Playmoji feature starting with Pixel 4a
Furthermore, the third-party Playmoji packs including Avengers, Star Wars: The Last Jedi, Stranger Things, and Detective Pikachu are missing from the Play Store. Only the Google packs like Weather, Pets, Japanese Phrases, Travel, Love, Sports, Signs, Food, and Winter are available to download.
Unlike the previously available AR sticker, the users can interact with these Playmoji effects in real-time. It even uses AI for real-time suggestions directly on the camera viewfinder. More interestingly, these effects are also available in the selfie mode.
Also, the company reaffirmed its support to the ARCore platform and mentioned to focus on “building great AR experiences that serve a much wider audience.” While ARCore is available on many Android smartphones, the Playmoji feature is limited to Pixels and a few LG and Motorola smartphones.
It still works on older Pixel smartphones
The Pixel 4a users can still install the Playground app from the PlayStore, but the Playmoji option doesn’t show up in the camera app. The lack of interest from third-party developers could have led to removing this fun feature. Additionally, the AR stickers and Playemoji are limited to very few smartphones.
From now on, the new Pixel users can only add 2D stickers and custom captions. A simple swipe to the “more” section in the Google camera app can show both these features.
However, the company’s newly introduced augmented reality (AR) objects on the google search became widely popular among Android smartphone users. After announcing at the Google I/O 2019, the company has constantly added new 3D animals for viewing in AR directly in the Google Search.
With no requirement of additional sensors, the ARCore also became available on most Android smartphones. Unlike the Playground, ARCore went mainstream and is a key part of many apps and games. Even some games and Snapchat Lenses works with the support of the ARCore platform.