November 2022 deprecated camera methods removal for ARCore SDK for Android NDK (AR Foundation)
Stay organized with collections
Save and categorize content based on your preferences.
In November 2022, Google Play Services for AR will remove deprecated methods
related to NDK camera images and metadata.
Apps using these methods in affected versions of
AR Foundation
might start to
behave differently or crash when users update Google Play Services for AR.
Affected apps
Beginning in November 2022, your app may stop working or crash when users update
to the latest version of Google Play Services for AR if:
Your app was compiled with an affected SDK
Your app uses any of the following affected APIs:
If your app was compiled with
AR Foundation version…
Affected apps may see breakage in November 2022. To mitigate this,
update to the latest version of AR Foundation that your version of Unity supports.
At a minimum, update to AR Foundation version 4.x or higher.
Verify affected app is fixed
Test the app by simulating the November 2022 changes in advance by adding a special meta-data entry to your app's AndroidManifest.xml:
Ensure Play Services for AR version 1.29.0 or higher is installed on the target device.
Test your app and verify that all ARCore features are functioning as
expected.
Remove the <meta-data> tag when testing is complete. Leaving this tag
in place in your published app could result in unexpected behavior in the
future.
If the app functions normally, then the app is ready for the changes in November 2022.
Timeline
Period
Events
November 2020 (ARCore SDK version 1.20.0)
Deprecate native APIs.
Update implementation to use alternate native APIs.
November 2021
Announce future breaking change due to pending removal of implementation
of affected APIs from Google Play Services for AR in November 2022.
November 2022
Remove implementation of affected APIs from
Google Play Services for AR.
Introduce breaking change for apps using ARCore versions prior to
1.23.0.
[null,null,["Last updated 2025-07-14 UTC."],[[["\u003cp\u003eIn November 2022, Google Play Services for AR will remove deprecated methods, potentially affecting apps using AR Foundation versions prior to 4.x.\u003c/p\u003e\n"],["\u003cp\u003eApps built with affected AR Foundation versions and using specific APIs might experience crashes or functional issues after the November 2022 update.\u003c/p\u003e\n"],["\u003cp\u003eDevelopers should update to AR Foundation 4.x or higher to mitigate potential problems and ensure app compatibility.\u003c/p\u003e\n"],["\u003cp\u003eA special meta-data tag can be added to the AndroidManifest.xml for testing and verifying app readiness before the November 2022 changes.\u003c/p\u003e\n"],["\u003cp\u003eThese changes were initially announced in November 2021 following the deprecation of native APIs in November 2020.\u003c/p\u003e\n"]]],[],null,["# November 2022 deprecated camera methods removal for ARCore SDK for Android NDK (AR Foundation)\n\nIn November 2022, *Google Play Services for AR* will remove deprecated methods\nrelated to NDK camera images and metadata.\n\nApps using these methods in affected versions of\n\nAR Foundation\n\nmight start to\nbehave differently or crash when users update Google Play Services for AR.\n\nAffected apps\n-------------\n\n| **Important:** Apps using AR Foundation version 4.x or higher will not be affected.\n\nBeginning in November 2022, your app may stop working or crash when users update\nto the latest version of *Google Play Services for AR* if:\n\n1. Your app was compiled with an affected SDK\n2. Your app uses any of the following affected APIs:\n\n| If your app was compiled with AR Foundation version... | And uses affected APIs... | Breaking behavior starting in November 2022 |\n|--------------------------------------------------------|------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|---------------------------------------------|\n| AR Foundation 2.1 (Unity 2019 LTS) | [`XRCameraSubsystem.TryGetLatestImage(out XRCameraImage)`](https://docs.unity3d.com/Packages/com.unity.xr.arsubsystems@2.1/api/UnityEngine.XR.ARSubsystems.XRCameraSubsystem.html#UnityEngine_XR_ARSubsystems_XRCameraSubsystem_TryGetLatestImage_UnityEngine_XR_ARSubsystems_XRCameraImage__) | Returns `false`. |\n\nFix affected apps\n-----------------\n\nAffected apps may see breakage in November 2022. To mitigate this,\nupdate to the latest version of AR Foundation that your version of Unity supports.\nAt a minimum, update to AR Foundation version 4.x or higher.\n\n\nVerify affected app is fixed\n----------------------------\n\nTest the app by simulating the November 2022 changes in advance by adding a special `meta-data` entry to your app's `AndroidManifest.xml`:\n\n\n1. Ensure *Play Services for AR* version 1.29.0 or higher is installed on the target device.\n2. Add a new `\u003cmeta-data\u003e` tag as a child of the existing `\u003capplication\u003e` element in the app's\n\n [custom `AndroidManifest.xml` file](https://docs.unity3d.com/Manual/android-manifest.html#:%7E:text=Overriding%20the%20Android%20manifest)\n\n :\n\n \u003capplication ...\u003e\n ...\n\n \\\u003c!--\n Simulate the November 2022 changes in advance.\n IMPORTANT: Remove this tag when testing is completed.\n Do not include this tag in published versions of your app.\n --\\\u003e\n \\\u003cmeta-data android:name=\"com.google.ar.core.session_settings\"\n android:value=\"camera_stack_option,unified_mono\" /\\\u003e\n \u003c/application\u003e\n\n3. Test your app and verify that all ARCore features are functioning as\n expected.\n\n4. Remove the `\u003cmeta-data\u003e` tag when testing is complete. Leaving this tag\n in place in your published app could result in unexpected behavior in the\n future.\n\nIf the app functions normally, then the app is ready for the changes in November 2022.\n\nTimeline\n--------\n\n| Period | Events |\n| November 2020 (ARCore SDK version 1.20.0) | Deprecate native APIs. Update implementation to use alternate native APIs. |\n| November 2021 | Announce future breaking change due to pending removal of implementation of affected APIs from Google Play Services for AR in November 2022. |\n| November 2022 | Remove implementation of affected APIs from Google Play Services for AR. Introduce breaking change for apps using ARCore versions prior to 1.23.0. |\n|-------------------------------------------|----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|"]]
