Yesterday we reported on the reveal of the long-anticipated Google Tango enabled smartphone from Lenovo. Today, we’ve got our first look at its compatible apps.
Google has launched a brand new web page for Tango, which lists the first seven apps that will be enhanced with the 3D scanning tech. MeasureIt, for example, is an internally developed program that uses Tango to instantly display measurements. You could quickly snap the width, length and angles of a table, or maybe measure out how much space you have for an HTC Vive.
https://youtu.be/iHN4c7FYXYs
Wayfair offers a similar utility service with WayfairView, which lets you place virtual furniture around a real room to get a feel for how it might fit into your home. A similar interior design app named Lowe’s is also in the works.
Other apps prove the educational potential of Tango. Solar Simulator from Omar Shaikh lets you project outer space within the comfort of your own home, or anywhere for that matter. Dinosaurs Among Us, meanwhile, looks to be a fun edutainment app made in partnership with the American Natural History Museum, letting you bring prehistoric beasts to life to roam the land today.
And then, of course, there are the games. Right now Google is teasing Domino World, which lets you stack virtual dominoes across floors, stairs, and everywhere else, creating the kind of insane gauntlets you could only dream of as a child. Woorld, meanwhile, looks to be a sort of virtual play area to keep kids occupied. Overall it’s a pretty intriguing first wave of apps, though we certainly hope to see more ambitious projects going forward.
Google has also produced a brand new advert for Tango (above), which will first be seen in the Lenovo Phab 2 Pro. It doesn’t stray far from the formula of family-friendly tech ads; two brothers explore the world around them, playing dominoes within their home, visiting a museum and star-gazing within a school sports hall. The end of the video reveals that they were actually doing all of these things inside the phone.
You’ll be able to get your first glimpse at these apps and more when Lenovo Phab 2 Pro launches for $500 in September. As for the future of Tango and VR? We’re all looking to Google Daydream for the answers.
