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Google launches 'Just a Line' AR app that lets you draw in the air

Published: Mar 21, 2018, 4:33 AM

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Have you seen Tilt Brush? It's a VR app made by Google that lets you paint in 3D space. It's a really cool premise and you may have seen digital artists create some amazing stuff with it. Unfortunately, it is currently available only on the HTC Vive and the Oculus Rift, which greatly reduces the number of people who can use it. However, there's good news for the rest of us.

Google has now released a new experimental AR app, called Just a Line, that lets you doodle in AR, using only your smartphone. Best of all, it is compatible with all phones that support Google's ARCore framework. Granted, the number of devices is somewhat limited at this point—spanning all Pixel phones, Galaxy devices from the S7 and up, the OnePlus 5, the LG V30 and V30+, and the Asus Zenfone AR—but support is expected to expand to many other brands and devices.

So, what is Just a Line? Well, it's basically a simplified version of Tilt Brush that doesn't require dedicated hardware. It's currently in an early, experimental state, so you can only draw white lines, but it's still really cool nonetheless. What's more, since this is AR and not VR, you can integrate your creations into the environment around you and even record videos in-app.

The process of drawing is as simple as it gets – you hold your phone up and doodle in the app's viewfinder. You can see where the shapes are going in 3D space and they maintain their position as you move around. Check out the video above for a demonstration of Just a Line. And if you own one of the supported devices, you can download the app for free using the link below.