Google finally adds support for ARCore on Samsung Galaxy S9 and S9+
Augmented reality technology has gotten much more popular over the past couple of years, and with the arrival of ARCore, it's gotten a whole lot better on Android. Now, Samsung's latest flagships finally offer support.
Context & Ripple Effects
The path here runs through a Samsung–Google partnership from October 2017 that committed to bringing ARCore to Samsung devices beyond the Galaxy S8, and through February's general-availability launch, when Google said the platform worked on 13 Android phone models covering 100M devices. The Galaxy S9 and S9+ shipped in that window without ARCore support, leaving Samsung's newest flagships outside the certified list.
Adding them now closes that gap and follows the same playbook Google used for VR on the prior generation, where an over-the-air Daydream-ready update brought S8 and S8+ into the fold months after launch.
First-order effects
- Galaxy S9 and S9+ owners can immediately run ARCore-based apps, and Samsung's current flagships join the certified device list Google publicized at the February launch.
Second-order effects
- Every additional certified model enlarges the install base behind Google's stated 100M-device figure, giving Android developers more reason to ship AR features rather than treat them as iOS-first experiments like the planned Google Lens expansion.
Third-order effects
- If the pattern holds — per-generation certification plus post-launch updates, as with the S8's Daydream rollout — AR support becomes a standing checklist item for every Android flagship, with Google's certification list functioning as the gate that defines which devices count as AR-capable.
The trend: Android augmented reality is shifting from a curated preview to a default flagship capability, paced by Google's device-certification cadence with Samsung.