Augmented Reality Apps-If we go back a few years, we will realize how unreal augmented and virtual reality seemed.  Even though both of these technologies have been around for a while now, they still sound pretty exotic. Users will be more leaned towards buying gadgets that incorporate these technologies. Why? Because it’s human psychology, people want to experience new and more exciting things. And of course, what could be better than immersing in the world of augmented and virtual reality.

Augmented reality is the reason why Pokémon Go is able to make it appear as if Pikachu is standing on the sidewalk or sitting on your nightstand. Asides the very popular Pokémon Go AR game, you can find a number of augmented reality apps in the Google and App store as well. If you’ve been looking for ways to experience augmented reality right on your smartphone device, no need to look any further. I set out to hunt out some of the best AR mobile apps to escape reality. I’ve enlisted and described these apps below.

1. SkyView Explore the Universe

If you are someone that is interested in stargazing, SkyView is the perfect augmented reality mobile app for you. With the advancement of technology and the emergence of AR mobile apps like SkyView, you no longer have to be an astronomer to view and interact with stars and constellations in the sky. SkyView is an intuitive stargazing mobile app that utilizes your mobile’s camera to observe the vast sky and identify various celestial objects whether day or night.

Users can find celestial bodies in the sky by simply pointing their camera towards the sky. It’s a very powerful mobile app and can even identify elements in the sky even after you rotate the camera, it automatically recognizes various points in the sky and adjusts itself accordingly. Here are some of its best features:

• • Identifying and naming objects in the sky such as galaxies, planets, satellites, and stars.

• • Shows the location of different space stations as well as of stars.

• • It comes with red or green night mode filters to preserve your night vision.

• • It contains the time travel feature which you can use to jump to the future or the past to see the sky at a different time and date.
  • Easily capture images and share them with your social circle on your social networks

2. Pokémon GO (iOS)

Mobile app development companies are always on the lookout for ways to incorporate new technology into their mobile apps. And no doubt, they are doing an excellent job in utilizing the upcoming technologies. Of course, asides all the other augmented reality mobile apps out there, Pokémon Go is the most popular of the lot. Even before the game was launched, it had a lot of hype and of course thousands of pre-orders. Pokémon Go had its players going to different locations to find different creatures and then throw virtual Pokeballs to capture them.

Furthermore, players could use their captured creatures to battle with other Pokémon using different interactions that combine the physical surroundings with the game itself. The level of entertainment and reality that Pokémon GO brought is definitely unmatchable. Here are some of its features that I absolutely loved:

• • You never run out of Pokémon to catch. It gives you a chance to explore the locations around you and find rare and powerful Pokémon.

• • You can battle with other trainers in real-time.

• • You can make new friends, exchange cool gifts, and trade your Pokémon.
  • Spice up your play by joining different teams and raid battles.

3. ARBasketball – Augmented Reality Basketball Game

ARbasketball is a gaming app based on augmented reality that works using your mobile’s camera and other sensors. Before you head on to installing this mobile app, remember that it is a very satisfying and addicting app. This game allows players to throw virtual balls into a basketball hoop. It is fairly simple to use; all you have to do is print out the marker, place it at your desired location and open the app. After the app is open, point your camera at the marker, you will see a virtual basketball net that you can swipe basketballs into.

4. BBC Civilizations AR

One of the best ways to utilize augmented reality is for the education sector. The Civilization AR mobile app from BBC enables you to locate various historic artifacts and study them by rotating and resizing them as you find fit. After you have installed the app, you will see an amazing tutorial that will explain the procedure of locating and examining an Egyptian mummy. You will be able to see the history associated with the mummy. There are above 30 artifacts for you to explore and admire, this is an excellent AR mobile app for people that love history.

Check out some of its amazing features:

• • Exploring and interacting with realistic historic artifacts

• • X-ray features that you can use to discover hidden secrets

• • Use the restore feature to see how an artifact looked when new
  • Take and share photographs of the objects

5. Mondly

Have you wanted to learn a language but always felt that you don’t have enough time. Mondly is one of the augmented reality apps for language learning that will help you overcome this issue. You can choose from 33 different languages; the language you select will be incorporated into your daily exercises to pace up your learning.

Just like ARbasketball, Mondly is also fairly easy to use. After tapping on the AR button, you will have to find a flat surface, once a flat surface is identified, the app will place your AR teacher and she will begin teaching you by showing you various examples of the word to help you easily memorize them. Here are some of the key features that make it an excellent tutor for you:

• • Accurate pronunciation with the help of native speaker and crystal-clear audio.

• • Precise speech recognition to assess your pronunciation.

• • Learning from conversations and phrases
  • A leaderboard feature that will allow you to see the progress of other people around the globe and compete with them.

Conclusion

Remember that I’ve selected the above AR mobile apps from the apps that I had tested. You might know about an app that is better than all the apps mentioned in this list, I would love to hear about it.

Both augmented as well as virtual reality are still fresh technologies, app development companies are constantly looking for ways to use AR in more entertaining and innovative ways. We will just have to wait and see what the future has in store for us.

Image credit- Pixabay