Samsung is shutting down two apps it used to brag about

Samsung confirmed that both AR Doodle—a camera‑based drawing tool that anchors sketches to faces or objects, with optional S‑Pen support—and Quick Measure—a utility that leverages the phone’s camera to estimate lengths of boxes, walls, and other items—will be sunset at the end of 2026. The company’s changelog updates on the Galaxy Store indicate the apps will no longer appear for download after that date and will be excluded from upcoming One UI 9 builds, which already explains why they are missing on newer hardware such as the Galaxy Z Fold 8. Existing installations will persist until the OS drops support, prompting users to back‑up the binaries now if they wish to keep them.

The move reflects a broader shift in Samsung’s software strategy. While AR enjoyed a wave of hype alongside the metaverse and blockchain a few years ago, the surge of generative AI has eclipsed those buzzwords, prompting manufacturers to reallocate resources toward AI‑centric features. Samsung’s decision to prune under‑used AR utilities mirrors similar cutbacks at competitors that are consolidating their app ecosystems around AI‑driven camera modes, voice assistants, and predictive services. By retiring niche AR tools, Samsung can streamline One UI, reduce maintenance overhead, and free engineering bandwidth for AI integration across its flagship devices.

Looking ahead, the discontinuation creates a modest risk for developers who built third‑party experiences around Quick Measure’s measurement APIs or AR Doodle’s surface‑tracking data. Those ecosystems will need to migrate to alternative platforms such as Google’s ARCore or Apple’s Vision Pro SDKs, or risk losing functionality. Consumers who rely on quick, on‑device measurement may gravitate toward dedicated hardware (e.g., laser measurers) or third‑party apps that still support AR. Watch for Samsung’s next software roadmap—particularly any AI‑enhanced camera tools that could replace the lost AR capabilities—and for any community‑driven forks that keep the apps alive beyond the official sunset.