It’s not often you get a chance to see something iconic in a whole new light.
But that’s just what happens when you explore the new Statue of Liberty app, a remarkable example of how augmented reality (AR) can truly change your perspective.
Using the app’s AR features, you bring Liberty into the room with you—plus float above it, peer inside its structure, and travel back in time to watch the Manhattan skyline rise before your eyes.
The app offers plenty to explore, but let’s be honest: You’ll want to check out the AR stuff first.
To get started, tap Vision of Liberty, then View in AR. Your phone will detect an AR space and populate it with the torch—but watch what happens next: It fills your entire screen with a bird’s-eye view of the statue, leaving you, in effect, floating in midair. (No, really. Listen for the seagulls.)
From your new spot in the sky (which will adjust to the time of day wherever you are), pan to see an incredible 360-degree vista of New York Harbor. Then gaze down at the statue for a view you’ve definitely never seen before. (If you’re not a fan of heights, you may want to be sitting down.) Want more AR? Go into the section called How Liberty Was Made, tap View in AR, then tap Time Machine to see how Liberty appeared in her original, unvarnished copper. Then use the time-lapse feature to watch how the elements gave the statue her green patina over time. Afterward, tap X-Ray to strip away the exterior and reveal her incredible skeleton (which, fun fact, was designed by Gustave Eiffel, aka the tower guy).
There’s more: In Liberty and the People, watch a time-lapse video, seen from the perspective of the crown, that shows the development and rise of the New York skyline—an incredible way to take in the change the statue has gazed upon over the decades. Maybe you’ve never visited her before; maybe you pass by her every day. Whatever the case, it’s not an overstatement to say the app truly feels like seeing the Statue of Liberty for the first time.