Screenshots and screen recording: Important means to document AR visual anomalies
During the use of augmented reality (AR) applications, you may encounter visual experience issues such as model misalignment, content flickering, tracking loss, and occlusion anomalies. Since the effectiveness of AR content heavily depends on the device, environmental lighting, and algorithm performance, these issues often exhibit transience and context-dependency. Vague textual descriptions (e.g., "the model drifted away") are insufficient to accurately convey the specific details of the problem. Therefore, promptly using screenshot or screen recording features to document anomalies is crucial for subsequent issue diagnosis, technical reproduction, and user experience optimization.
Why Screenshots and Screen Recordings Are Needed
When an AR application behaves differently than expected, using screenshot and screen recording features serves the following key purposes:
Accurately reproduce the problem scenario
Screenshots capture the exact moment an anomaly occurs (e.g., specific content flickering or model clipping), while screen recordings document the entire process and environmental interactions leading to the issue.
Assist technical diagnosis by the development team
By reviewing the visual evidence you capture, the support team or developers can quickly identify the root cause (e.g., device performance issues, SLAM tracking loss, or rendering pipeline errors), avoiding tedious guesswork and repeated inquiries.
Preserve device environment information
Screen recordings not only include the in-app visuals but often also show the device’s system status bar (time, battery level, network signal), which is critical for diagnosing issues caused by device overheating, throttling, or network fluctuations.
Common operation methods on mobile devices
Before taking screenshots or screen recordings, ensure that the AR scene has fully loaded and the abnormal behavior is occurring or about to occur. Try to keep the device stable for clear and visible footage.
General operating principles
- Screenshot: Suitable for capturing static visual errors (e.g., clipping, model misalignment). It is recommended to take multiple consecutive shots to cover different stages of the anomaly.
- Screen recording: Suitable for capturing dynamic behaviors (e.g., screen jitter caused by tracking loss, lag during interaction). It is recommended to keep the recording duration between 15-30 seconds, focusing on the core process where the issue occurs.
Ios device (iphone/ipad)
Screenshot:
- Devices with FaceID: Quickly press and release the power button + volume up button simultaneously.
- Devices with a Home button: Quickly press and release the power button + Home button simultaneously.
- The screenshot will be automatically saved to the Photos app
.
Screen recording:
- Go to Settings > Control Center > More Controls, and add "Screen Recording".
- Swipe down from the top-right corner of the screen to open Control Center.
- Tap the record button
to start recording; tap the stop button 
to stop recording. - To record system audio or microphone audio, press and hold the screen recording button to configure.
- The recorded video is saved in the Photos app .
Note
- Ensure that Settings > Control Center > In-App Access is turned on when screen recording.
- Performance limitations may cause degraded effects during screen recording. It is recommended to record as soon as possible after reproducing the issue to avoid prolonged operation affecting the results.
Android devices (take mainstream brands as an example)
Screenshot:
- Universal method: Quickly press and release the power button + volume down button simultaneously.
- Some manufacturers support gesture screenshots (such as a three-finger swipe down) or smart assistant shortcuts.
- Screenshots will be automatically saved to "Gallery > Screenshots."
Screen recording:
- Native Android (Android 11 and above):
- Pull down the notification shade and locate the "Screen record" quick icon (if not available, add it via "Edit").
- Tap to start recording, with an option to include microphone audio.
- Tap the recording icon in the top-left corner of the screen again to stop recording.
- The recorded video is saved in "Gallery > Movies".
- Custom OEM systems (e.g., Samsung One UI, HyperOS, ColorOS, OriginOS):
- Typically provides a screen recording shortcut in the quick panel (if not available, tap the plus icon to add).
- Tap to start recording.
- Tap the stop button at the top of the screen (varies by OEM) to end recording.
- The recorded video is saved in "Gallery > Screen recordings".
Tip
Example paths:
- Samsung: Swipe down the top panel > Screen recorder tool
- Xiaomi/Redmi: Pull down the notification shade > Screen recording
- OPPO/Realme: Swipe the top notification bar or pull down the menu bar > Screen recording
- VIVO/iQOO: Swipe down from the top-right of the screen (older models: swipe up from the bottom) > Super screenshot > Record screen
- Huawei: Swipe down from the top-right of the screen > Screen recording
- Honor: Swipe down the status bar to open the notification panel, then swipe down further to expand it fully > Screen recording
Note
- Some Android devices may restrict background screen recording permissions when running high-load AR apps. Ensure power-saving mode is disabled and necessary permissions are granted before recording.
- Screen recording may degrade performance. It is recommended to record immediately after reproducing the issue to avoid prolonged operation affecting results.
Best practice suggestions
By mastering the above operations, you can capture key evidence at the first sign of AR experience anomalies, significantly improving communication and resolution efficiency. It is recommended to provide screenshots/screen recordings, device model, operating system version, EasyAR SDK version, and AR application logs when submitting a technical support request to build a complete failure context.
For log collection methods, please refer to: