Google has teamed up with Disney and Lucasfilm to launch a new The Mandalorian AR experience on smartphones. In spite of the popularity of the show, and the reach of apps through the Android platform, this Star Wars-themed AR experience is surprisingly limited to a select number of smartphones.
The Mandalorian proved to be a major hit when the first season launched on Disney+ and in no small part, thanks to the popularity of Baby Yoda. Since then, there has been an influx of The Mandalorian-themed merch with even the option to convert an Amazon Echo smart speaker into a Baby Yoda version. With season 2 of the hit show now in full swing, it is not too surprising Google has teamed up with Disney and Lucasfilm to bring an even more immersive The Mandalorian experience to smartphone users, through the use of augmented reality (AR).
Announced in a blog post, Google confirmed the launch of its new ‘The Mandalorian AR Experience.’ Similar to Google’s other AR experiences, smartphone owners are able to merge elements of The Mandalorian with their own real-world space and take advantage of an ability to “interact with characters and discover hidden features” from the world of Mando. While currently limited to season 1, Google says new experiences will be added each week on Mando Mondays and right up until October 31, 2021. To get started, fans of the show will need to download the dedicated Android app from the Google Play Store. That is, providing they have the right phone to begin with.
As to be expected with an Android app, the The Mandalorian AR Experience can only currently be downloaded on Android phones. However, what is probably less expected is that the actual list of supported phones is surprisingly limited. Officially, Google says the experience will work on its own 5G Google Pixel models, as well as “select 5G Android phones.” In other words, users do need a 5G Android phone to be able to even download The Mandalorian AR Experience app, let alone play with any of the features. To check whether a specific 5G Android smartphone is supported, here's the list.
Naturally, one might assume this restriction is due to the experience requiring the speeds and latency promised by 5G, but that’s not the case. Google explicitly explains that no 5G connection is actually used, in spite of the need to have a 5G phone to begin with. Instead, this limitation appears to be a result of Google, Disney and Lucasfilm looking to showcase “a next-generation augmented reality app” that’s specifically optimized for use on 5G devices. With 5G phone adoption still as low as it is, that does mean a number of The Mandalorian fans won’t be able to take part in this Google AR experience.
Source: Google
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