AR-Focused Updates Coming Soon to Apple Devices
As part of the upcoming iOS 11 software update for iPhones, Apple’s ARKit aims to give developers a full platform for creating novel and immersive new AR functionality in mobile apps. With the advent of ARKit as well as new hardware debuting on the newest generation of iPhones –such as the plethora of sensors and the AI-optimizing A11 “Bionic” chip on the iPhone X– might Apple help make 2017 the year when VR finally gains a mainstream toehold? CNBC reports:
New augmented reality software from Apple and Google will be “huge” in taking the technology to the mainstream, a prominent tech evangelist told CNBC on Monday.
“I think it’s huge because it lets developers start to learn how to build this kind of software,” Robert Scoble, a partner at Transformation Group, told CNBC on the sidelines of the Singapore Week of Innovation and Technology.
Apple’s ARKit technology is one of the features on the company’s iOS 11 that will be released on Sept. 19. The new platform will take “apps beyond the screen” by letting users of the software create AR experiences for iPhones and iPads, according to the company. Google’s ARCore is a similar software development platform for Android phones.
The reason why those platforms are needed, Scoble explained, is if smartglasses eventually become lighter and more widely adopted, there needs to be enough interesting software.
