It requires Android 8 or later with Google Play Services for AR (ARCore), which is preinstalled on most phones from the last few years. Placement is camera-guided: the phone finds the floor as the user moves it slightly.
Thridify serves the same GLB used by the web viewer, so there is one source model for web, Android AR and (via USDZ) iOS AR.
How a page launches Scene Viewer
A web page opens Scene Viewer with an Android intent URL that points at a GLB or glTF file. The URL carries a mode: 3d_preferred opens the 3D view first, ar_preferred goes straight to the camera when the phone supports AR, and ar_only refuses to open without it. A fallback URL tells Chrome where to send phones that cannot launch Scene Viewer at all.
The model has to be reachable over HTTPS from Google’s viewer, so files behind a login or a strict hotlink rule will fail even though they load fine on the page.
What Scene Viewer shows, and what it does not
Scene Viewer renders glTF 2.0 with standard metallic-roughness PBR materials. Textures, normal maps and simple animation come across. Custom shaders and effects built for a particular web viewer do not, so a finish that relies on one will look flatter in AR than on the page.
Placement is camera-guided. The shopper moves the phone slowly so ARCore can find the floor, then the product appears at true scale. Good light and a textured floor help; a glossy, plain white floor is the hardest case.
Why it matters
Together with AR Quick Look on iOS, Scene Viewer means one link gives app-free AR to nearly every smartphone shopper.
Questions about Scene Viewer (Android)
- Which Android phones support Scene Viewer AR?
- Phones running Android 8 or later with Google Play Services for AR installed. Google publishes the list of supported devices. Phones without it can still open the 3D view.
- Why does my product look different in Scene Viewer than on my site?
- Usually because the site viewer uses lighting or material effects that are not part of the glTF standard. Scene Viewer only renders what is in the file, so the file’s own materials need to carry the look.
- Is Scene Viewer the same as WebXR?
- No. Scene Viewer is a separate Google app that the browser hands a file to. WebXR runs the AR session inside the web page.