“Some of the biggest tech companies — Apple, Google, and Microsoft to name a few – seem sure that augmented reality (AR) is going to take smartphones to the next level,” Brad Jones reports for Digital Trends. “So far, it’s all been talk, but that could change before the end of this year. Apple is preparing to unleash ARKit, a brand-new framework for creating this kind of content.”
“Now, we’re on the verge of Apple’s AR coming-out party: the release of iOS 11,” Jones reports. “ARKit will be supported by iOS devices that use the Apple A9 or A10 processors – the 2017 iPad, the iPhone 6S, and onward… it absolutely dwarfs the userbase for Google Tango, Microsoft HoloLens, and every other AR platform.”
“Apple, in usual fashion, has taken time to get AR right, instead of being first. The first wave of results suggests it’s a step beyond Google Tango and other peers,” Jones reports. “The next step will be putting advanced AR-friendly hardware into the hands of a broad range of users, and that looks set to happen when the next iPhone is announced.”
Read more in the full article here.
MacDailyNews Take: Android’s fragmentation will be its downfall.
SEE ALSO:
Led by Apple, the augmented reality boom will transform smartphones and business – July 15, 2017
Why augmented reality on the iPhone will leave Google’s Android sucking fumes – July 14, 2017
Apple’s billion devices provide a massive augmented reality edge over Google – July 13, 2017
Apple’s next-gen iPhone to feature rear-facing 3D laser for augmented reality and autofocus – July 13, 2017
Augmented Reality: Apple’s revolutionary offering leaves Google’s Android woefully behind – June 26, 2017
Apple’s AR is much closer to reality than Google’s – June 26, 2017
IKEA’s forthcoming Augmented Reality furniture app powered by Apple’s ARKit – June 19, 2017
Apple’s single most important WWDC 2017 announcement: ARKit – June 11, 2017
Apple CEO Cook discusses philosophy behind HomePod, ARKit’s potential market impact – June 6, 2017
Overnight, Apple will own the world’s largest augmented reality platform – June 7, 2017
So what will the killer app for Augmented Realityon a phone be?
I do not see any glaring need. Is it possible that AR is marketing hype of a solution in search of a problem like 3D TV?
Most people will see it as a gimmick. Not a “timid.”
This sounds so familiar in the world of invention and innovation, covering everything from motorised vehicles to computers have had the same said about them at the beginning. Even their creators often didn’t see their true future. You will see this is no gimmick even if it takes a few years to show you its true potential. Like those other inventions we will look back and laugh at such lack of foresight.
I do not dispute the future of AR. I wonder of the value on a mobile phone.
Tim Cook loves him some iPhone but seems to not give a shit about the Macintosh.. AR probably has more potential on a real computer.
When first invented, no one saw a “glaring need” for a home computer. Later, when Apple shipped a mouse Walt famously said there was no evidence that people wanted or needed one. AR will revolutionize the way we use computers as the computer becomes more in tune with what we are doing and looking at. The real advances will be when we don’t carry a phone anymore and the display is present in users field of vision via glasses, contact lenses or implants.
“When first invented, no one saw a “glaring need” for a home computer.”
I still don’t see the need for a Windows computer.
There is no glaring need. Most people will see it as a timid in the consumer space. I think Pokémon Go blew that wad. It’s the same old analyst over sell of something they hope will push stock prices higher. Virtual reality, augmented reality… these things have lofty names that promise science fiction like results, but don’t come close to delivering. People keep telling Apple what they want, more powerful macOS machines, and Apple keeps pushing gimics on iOS.
Just producing more powerful versions of the same things is exactly how most companies become increasingly irrelevant. Not an excuse for not initiating continuous improvement but it can’t be the exclusive road ahead in particular for a company like Apple. That was at least in part the road that nearly finished the company in the first place until innovation an a re perception was brought back by SJ.
I see really useful functions for AR, one of them being Apple maps that are augmented so that when looking through your screen you will be able to see signs, businesses and locations etc. If Apple allowed users to create their own AR games by using Apple maps to place objects in locations around the world it could open up a whole new genre of treasure hunting games.