Technologies

Google 3D animals: How to conjure AR animals with Google search and more

With Google’s 3D objects, you can put virtual animals in your real world. (Plus some other options.)

Feeling bored? Put a virtual animal in your home. One thing that might have felt like a passing fad but still gets people’s attention (at least according to the new likes on my old Twitter thread about it) is this list of augmented-reality animals that I dropped into the real world through Google search. That’s right. AR animals, now that we’re all becoming stay-at-home people for a while and can’t go to zoos or pet shops, are a thing. Google has added even more AR searchable things like skeletons and microscopic cell structures, but animals (and dinosaurs) are probably more adorable.

If you’ve been curious and haven’t tried it yet, I have some tips.

First I saw some news stories linking to my Twitter thread. Then, my first-grader son asked what another kid was doing on his school video chat: It turns out she was making a cat appear on her head, and in her room, all via AR. It’s because of them — and you — that I’m giving you my guide on How to Make Magic Animals Appear.

The easy way is directly below. Keep scrolling for two other methods to put virtual animals in your mixed-reality world.

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First off, the easy way

Google put 3D objects into Google search over a year ago. To find them, you need to search on Google for the right ones. Think of an animal. Type it in. See what happens. Google has a lot of animals, and also some space objects like planets and satellites via NASA. And the list of 3D objects may increase, based on indications from Google and Apple.

First make sure you have an AR-ready device. For iPhones and iPads, you’ll need iOS 11 or higher. And that’s not older than an iPhone 6S or SE, or a third-gen iPad Air, or fifth-gen iPad, or any iPad Pro. Or, a seventh-gen iPod Touch. (Yes, Apple’s model naming gets super confusing.)

Android phones need to be ARCore compatible, which includes a lot of models running Android 7 or later. Here’s a helpful list of all the phones that 9to5Google compiled.

Then launch Google Chrome (or Safari on an iPhone or iPad), search for your animal — it doesn’t have to just be a tiger — and somewhere on the page will be a Google information box that also has a «View in 3D» button.

Click on it, then a viewer will appear showing where you can place your virtual animal. Move your phone around as it instructs, so it can scan your floor. Leave some extra space to place it.

Congrats — you have an AR animal!

Pinch to zoom to make it bigger or smaller.

What if you don’t see the 3D button? I’ve had people ask me this. You might be browsing in desktop-view mode. On iOS 13, in Safari, try tapping the Aa icon on the search bar. If you see an option that says «request mobile website,» tap on it. In Chrome, go to settings (the … icon on the lower right) and if you see «request mobile site,» tap on it.

Another tip: To record it, you could take a screenshot (tap your power and volume button or power and home button on an iPhone or iPad), or do a screen capture video on iOS if you’re fancy. Pro tip: You can add screen capture recording to your Control Center tools in Control Center settings, which easily allows you to start and stop recordings and save them to your photo roll. Or, just be in the moment and enjoy seeing your animal buddy.

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A starter list of Google AR 3D animals

I’ve hunted around and found a bunch, but a larger trial-and-error list compiled by 9to5Google includes:

Alligator
Angler fish
Ball python
Brown bear
Cat
Cheetah
Deer
Dog (bulldog, pomeranian, Labrador retriever, rottweiler, pug)
Duck
Eagle
Emperor penguin
Giant panda
Goat
Hedgehog
Horse
Leopard
Lion
Macaw
Octopus
Raccoon
Shark
Shetland pony
Snake
Tiger
Turtle
Wolf

Option 2: Even more animals

You can download some AR-compatible apps to try on the App Store or Google Play. One free app with a ton of AR-compatible 3D objects is Sketchfab, an online 3D object repository that has its own app, and recently updated to better support Apple’s AR. It’s a little harder to browse through, but there are tons of user-created things that can be dropped into your world.

I found a scorpion, many dinosaurs and more. This isn’t a great option for kids, though: best to do with your kids and vet out if there’s anything weird on Sketchfab that isn’t appropriate or too scary.

Option 3: Don’t forget about Snapchat

Snapchat’s wildly good face filters and AR effects offer some animal transformations and disguises, too (or, even room-altering effects, depending on the day). You’ll need a Snapchat account, and I’d suggest parents do this with kids together rather than have them play on their own — not all options may be suitable.

Once in Snapchat, the small smiley-face on the right of the larger circle at the bottom brings up face filters. You can browse through a bunch of weird and fun experiments — again, parents, vet out the scary ones; this isn’t entirely kid-friendly.

But you could try one out and have fun, and not record any of them. Or, press the shutter button (the circle) to snap, or hold to record a clip. When done, you can save locally to your phone by hitting the «save» icon on the lower-left corner of the screen, and it saves to your own photos so you don’t have to post anything online if you don’t want to.

Technologies

What a Ban Would Actually Mean for DJI Drone Owners and Holiday Shoppers

What’s the secret to a very un-merry shopping season? A brand new, unusable drone.

With Thanksgiving wrapped up and the Black Friday shopping sales here, if a DJI drone is on your holiday wish list, you might want to hit «buy» immediately. The company has issued a stark warning: Its drones could be banned from sale in the US, and the deadline is looming.

The Federal Communications Commission voted 3-0 at the end of October to «close loopholes» that allow tech deemed a «national security risk» to be sold in the US. In plain English, the US government is clearing the path to give DJI the same treatment it gave Chinese phone-maker Huawei, effectively banning its products from the American market.

The US government has deemed DJI, which is based in China, a security risk. It’s also considering a separate ban on TP-Link routers.

DJI is already sounding the alarm, posting on Instagram that a «deadline that could decide DJI’s fate in the US is just 43 days away» (now 19 days away). The company is warning that without an audit, its products could face an «automatic ban.» The US government has long labeled the Chinese drone maker a security risk, and it looks like the hammer might finally be coming down right before the holidays.

Don’t miss any of our unbiased tech content and lab-based reviews. Add CNET as a preferred Google source.

The vote isn’t the end of the road, however. Future bans would need to target specific products and would require a period of public consultation. But it appears the groundwork is being set for the FCC to block sales of future and some existing DJI drones from US shores, as well as products that use DJI technology.

The government has called for a DJI audit by the end of the year, but if that doesn’t happen, DJI drone products could be banned for sale by default under a national security law.

DJI asks for a security audit before any ban

A representative for DJI told CNET that while the FCC vote references a rule change that doesn’t currently apply to DJI specifically, the National Defense Authorization Act deadline in December would put Chinese companies like it on the FCC’s ban list, «without any evidence of wrongdoing or the right to appeal.»

Adam Welsh, head of global policy at DJI, said the company has repeatedly said it would be open to audit, but that «more than 10 months have now passed with no sign that the process has begun.»

«The US government has every right to strengthen national security measures, but this must go hand in hand with due process, fairness, and transparency,» Welsh said.

Welsh said DJI is urging the government to start the audit process or grant an extension.

Will DJI drone owners need to give them up?

Because the ban would apply to new sales, not drones that have already been sold, a DJI drone you already own would still be legal to use — at least under current rules.

Government agencies, however, are prohibited from purchasing or using drones from Chinese companies, including DJI.

DJI’s drones consistently rank high in their product category. In January, they dominated CNET’s list of best drones for 2025. But some of the company’s newest products, such as the DJI Mavic 4 Pro, haven’t been available for sale in the United States.

Even DJI products that are not yet banned may be hard to find. The website UAV Coach has posted a guide to the bans and reports that, due to inventory issues, most DJI drone models are sold out at retailers regardless of future FCC action.

Technologies

Today’s NYT Strands Hints, Answers and Help for Nov. 29 #636

Here are hints and answers for the NYT Strands puzzle for Nov. 29, No. 636.

Looking for the most recent Strands answer? Click here for our daily Strands hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Mini Crossword, Wordle, Connections and Connections: Sports Edition puzzles.

Today’s NYT Strands puzzle is a real puzzler. Some of the answers are difficult to unscramble, so if you need hints and answers, read on.

I go into depth about the rules for Strands in this story.

If you’re looking for today’s Wordle, Connections and Mini Crossword answers, you can visit CNET’s NYT puzzle hints page.

Read more: NYT Connections Turns 1: These Are the 5 Toughest Puzzles So Far

Hint for today’s Strands puzzle

Today’s Strands theme is: What a piece of work!

If that doesn’t help you, here’s a clue: You can build it in a shop.

Clue words to unlock in-game hints

Your goal is to find hidden words that fit the puzzle’s theme. If you’re stuck, find any words you can. Every time you find three words of four letters or more, Strands will reveal one of the theme words. These are the words I used to get those hints but any words of four or more letters that you find will work:

CREW, REAM, LANE, WHEE, DELL, CANE, PULL, REVEL

Answers for today’s Strands puzzle

These are the answers that tie into the theme. The goal of the puzzle is to find them all, including the spangram, a theme word that reaches from one side of the puzzle to the other. When you have all of them (I originally thought there were always eight but learned that the number can vary), every letter on the board will be used. Here are the nonspangram answers:

WHEEL, AXLE, LEVER, WEDGE, PLANE, PULLEY, SCREW

Today’s Strands spangram

Today’s Strands spangram is SIMPLEMACHINE. To find it, start with the S that’s three letters to the right on the top row, and wind over and down.

Technologies

Today’s NYT Connections Hints, Answers and Help for Nov. 29, #902

Here are some hints and the answers for the NYT Connections puzzle for Nov. 29, #902.

Looking for the most recent Connections answers? Click here for today’s Connections hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Mini Crossword, Wordle, Connections: Sports Edition and Strands puzzles.

Today’s NYT Connections puzzle is tough. If you need help sorting them into groups, you’re in the right place. Read on for clues and today’s Connections answers.

The Times now has a Connections Bot, like the one for Wordle. Go there after you play to receive a numeric score and to have the program analyze your answers. Players who are registered with the Times Games section can now nerd out by following their progress, including the number of puzzles completed, win rate, number of times they nabbed a perfect score and their win streak.

Read more: Hints, Tips and Strategies to Help You Win at NYT Connections Every Time

Hints for today’s Connections groups

Here are four hints for the groupings in today’s Connections puzzle, ranked from the easiest yellow group to the tough (and sometimes bizarre) purple group.

Yellow group hint: Middle of the body.

Green group hint: Fill-in.

Blue group hint: Nice place to hang out.

Purple group hint: Card game.