The Android 11 statue is here, there, and everywhere

By Chris Burns/

Google revealed a statue for the release of Android 11 this week, complete with an augmented reality experience for your phone. Google used to make a slightly bigger deal of revealing a special statue at the launch of each new version of Android, each with their own unique desert. The donut, the Oreo, the Nougat, and so forth. The latest statue is... the number 11.

This version of the statue exists at Google headquarters in California, but you can also take a peek at it from the comfort of your own home. Drop in on the Android 11 AR statue page and tap the button to make it appear. You'll need an ARCore supported device to make said AR object appear, of course.

The announcement of the version of Android and its release this week for a number of Android devices was the big deal that shadowed this markedly smaller deal on Tuesday, September 8, 2020. Take a peek at the announcement from Google's Dave Burke and notice how the main push is for the release of the software, but that the follow-up with the AR object is pointed out specifically.

The AR component makes it appear that Google's not given up on augmented reality in any respect – even though they've not made any devices recently with hardware specifically pointed at said feature set. It would not be a shock to find Google finding its way back to ToF 3D sensors and expanded ARCore functionality once Apple gives augmented reality functionality a bit of a push this Fall.

Apple also released a preview for their event this week with an augmented reality component. Much like Google's AR 11, the Apple event works with an augmented reality vision of the date of their next press event as well as a stylized version of their Apple logo.

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