Google Maps AR directions won’t come with a cute fox after all

Image: SCREENSHOT: CASSIDY MILLER/GOOGLE

Mr. Fox was apparently not fantastic enough.

Google Maps began rolling out Augmented Reality directions on Pixel Phones this week. This was a feature it promised at last year’s I/O developer conference, and one that Mashable got to try out this February. 

The feature is pretty nifty: When you’re unsure about your next move, you can hold your camera up to the street and your surroundings, and Google Maps will be able to provide you with a range of helpful specifics, like how many feet there are to your next destination, or whether to walk forward or back, or turn left or right.

Image: SCREENSHOT: CASSIDY MILLER/GOOGLE

However, there’s one cute, furry difference between what Google teased last year and what’s showing up in the actual AR features: a fox. 

At the 2018 demo, blue arrows directed Google Maps users where they wanted to go. The arrows had help from a lil’ animated AR fox that ran along your path just in front of you. According to CNET, the actual AR feature won’t feature the fox.

Awww.

Image: SCREENSHOT: CASSIDY MILLER/GOOGLE

That’s because the product designers found that the fox wasn’t exactly useful. People who tested the product apparently reported that they were expecting more use from the fox — for example, to show them fun things. Its capacity as merely a map guide was a letdown.

It seems that the fox was detracting from another thing, too: our collective attention. Google actively encourages people to make limited use of the AR feature, prompting them with a message to put the phone down and focus on their surroundings in the real world. Maybe the fox was just too darn cute. 

This might be a happy call for navigators and explorers, but it’s certainly a sad day for fox lovers.