Augmented Reality explained

In Back to the Future 2 a 1989 American science fiction film, Marty McFly and his friend Dr Emmett "Doc" Brown travel from 1985 to 2015, the most notable thing is that he walks into a world of hovering cars and 3D images that popped out of the screen. 

Augmented Reality (AR) is the nearest we have come to this reality. By definition, AR is a technology that superimposes a computer-generated image on a user's view of the real world, thus providing a composite view. 

Virtual Reality (VR) works hand in hand with AR most times, by definition VR is the computer-generated simulation of a three-dimensional image or environment that can be interacted with in a seemingly real or physical way by a person using special electronic equipment, such as a helmet with a screen inside or gloves fitted with sensors. 

Because AR is a close to new technology there is, of course, a few limitations to note

1. This feature doesn't run on all devices.
2. This feature almost requires its own graphics processor because of its processing power intensity. 

The applications for AR and VR are limitless!

Some of the notable applications that run this feature are the Pokémon GO game where users would play a game fully immersed in the real world, another notable application was Google's SkyMap which mapped constellations over the night sky from wherever you are. 

The take away here is that AR runs on ARCore so your device has to have support for this feature for you to enjoy the full features.

Here is a list released by Google and Apple the top mobile device makers. 

Phones with ARCore support

Apple

    iPhone 6s ($99 at Back Market) and 6s Plus

    iPhone 7 ($169 at Back Market) and 7 Plus

    iPhone SE ($110 at Back Market)

    iPhone 8 and 8 Plus

    iPhone X

    iPad Pro (the 10.5-inch model, 12.9-inch model and the older 9.7-inch model)

    iPad (2017)

Asus

    ROG Phone

    Zenfone AR

    Zenfone 6

    Zenfone ARES

General Mobile

    GM 9 Plus

Google

    Pixel and Pixel XL

    Pixel 2 and Pixel 2 XL

    Pixel 3 and Pixel 3 XL

    Pixel 3a and Pixel 3a XL

    Nexus 6P

    Nexus 5X

Huawei

    Honor 8X

    Honor 10

    Honor View 10 Lite

    Honor V20

    Mate 20 Series

    Nova 3/Nova 3i

    Nova 4

    P20/P20 Pro

    P30/P30 Pro

    Porsche Design Mate RS

    Porsche Design Mate 20 RS

    Y9 (2019)

Infinix

    Note 6

LG

    LG G6

    LG G7

    LG G7 One

    LG G8 ThinQ

    V30 and V30S

    LG V35

    LG V40

    LG V50

    LG Q6

    LG Q8

Motorola

    Moto G5S Plus

    Moto G6

    Moto G6 Plus

    Moto G7/G7 Plus/G7 Power/G7 Play

    Moto One, One Power

    Moto X4

    Moto Z2 Force

    Moto Z3

    Moto Z3 Play

Nokia (HMD Global)

    Nokia 6 (2018)

    Nokia 6.1 Plus

    Nokia 7 Plus

    Nokia 7.1

    Nokia 8

    Nokia 8 Sirocco

    Nokia 8.1

OnePlus

    OnePlus 6T

    OnePlus 6

    OnePlus 5T

    OnePlus 5

    OnePlus 3T

    OnePlus 7/7 Pro/7 Pro 5G

Oppo

    R17 Pro

    Reno 10x Zoom

    RealMe X Lite

Samsung 

    Galaxy S7 and S7 edge

    Galaxy S8 and S8+

    Galaxy S9 and S9+

    Galaxy S10/S10+/S10e/S10 5G

    Galaxy Note 8

    Galaxy Note 9

    Galaxy A3 (2017)

    Galaxy A5 (2017)

    Galaxy A6 (2018)

    Galaxy A7 (2017)

    Galaxy A30/A40/A50/A60/A70/A80

    Galaxy A8 and A8+ (2018)

    Galaxy Tab S3

    Galaxy Tab S4

    Galaxy Tab S5e

    Galaxy J7

    Galaxy J5 and J5 Pro

Sharp

    AQUOS R3

Sony

    Xperia X

    Xperia XZ Premium

    Xperia XZ1

    Xperia XZ1 Compact

    Xperia XZ2

    Xperia XZ2 Compact

    Xperia XZ2 Premium

    Xperia XZ3

    Xperia 1

Tecno

    Phantom 9

Vivo

    NEX S

    NEX Dual Display Edition

Xiaomi

    Mi 8/Mi SE

    Mi 9/Mi 9 SE

    Mi Mix 2S

    Mi MIx 3

    Pocophone F1

Zebra

    TC52 WLAN Touch Computer

    TC57 WWAN Touch Computer

    TC72 WLAN Touch Computer

    TC77 WWAN Touch Computer