Back in September, Sketchfab, one of the largest content libraries for 3D models announced ARKit support, meaning developers now had access to over two million models for their augmented reality (AR) projects. Recently, Sketchfab has seen competition emerge in the form of Google Poly, another 3D model library that supports both ARKit and ARCore. Ensuring that it stays competitive, Sketchfab has today announced AR support for Android devices, so the app now supports ARCore as well.
So with Android implemented from today, users also have access to those plus two million models through the app. While Sketchfab claims it has ‘the largest library of AR content on the planet’, it is one of the few apps to support both ARKit and ARCore.
Sketchfab co-founder and CEO, Alban Denoyel said in a statement: “Mobile AR lets you navigate 3D content in a much more natural and intuitive way than a 2D screen. You can move around any object or scene with 6 degrees of freedom, just like you would in real life, or in VR, but without the limitations of either.”
Sketchfab made it’s first steps towards supporting immersive technology back in 2015, raising $7 million USD of investment for 3D and virtual reality (VR). Six months later, just after the consumer launch of Samsung Gear VR and prior to the arrival of headsets like Oculus Rift and HTC Vive, Sketchfab added a ‘VR Button’ so that users could view content on the website via mobile devices using Google Cardboard.
It was only in July this year that Sketchfab launched its dedicated app for Android and iOS users, adding both 2D traditional sound along with 3D positional sound a few weeks later.
With Google’s launch of Poly this month, the new library was built from the ground up with AR and VR development in mind, enabling anyone to quickly find 3D objects and scenes for use in their projects. As Poly fully integrates with Tilt Brush and Blocks, users can find models and adjust them to their needs which Google calls ‘remixing’.
While Stetchfab does likely see Poly as competition it certainly does have a massive headstart in terms of content. Additionally, Poly models generally feature low poly counts, whereas Sketchfab does feature some highly detailed work.
As Sketchfab continues to improve its app, VRFocus will keep you updated.