ARKit

Apple's augmented reality developer framework, known as ARKit, launched within iOS 11 on September 19. The debut turned hundreds of millions of iPhones into advanced AR-capable devices in the span of a few days, leading to the first wave of ARKit apps on the iOS App Store. One of these apps is called "Pixie," which existed prior to ARKit with its own proprietary AR technology, but the...

Apple today announced the launch of a new augmented reality app that takes inspiration from Apple TV+ series "For All Mankind." The app, built on Apple's ARKit framework, is designed to offer augmented reality experiences for the 2020 iPad Pro models and the iPhone 12 lineup. Apple describes "For All Mankind: Time Capsule" as a new augmented reality experience that "brings the world of...

Apple today announced ARKit 4 alongside iOS 14 and iPadOS 14. The new version of ARKit introduces Location Anchors, a new Depth API, and improved face tracking. Location Anchors allow developers to place AR experiences, such as life‑size art installations or navigational directions, at a fixed destination. Location Anchoring leverages the higher-resolution data in Apple Maps to place AR...

Apple today informed developers that ARKit 3.5 is now available, with the update adding support for the LiDAR Scanner and depth-sensing system included in the new 11 and 12.9-inch iPad Pro models. According to Apple, the new LiDAR Scanner will allow for a "new generation of AR apps" that use Scene Geometry for enhanced scene understanding and object occlusion. Existing AR experiences on ‌i...

Apple at WWDC 2019 today made a series of augmented reality announcements headlined by ARKit 3. ARKit 3 features a new immersive "People Occlusion" feature that allows virtual objects to be placed in front and behind people in real time, as Mojang demonstrated on stage with a preview of its augmented reality game Minecraft Earth. Apple's new RealityKit SDK provides developers with tools...

iOS 12, set to be unveiled at the Worldwide Developers Conference on Monday, will include ARKit 2.0, an upgrade to the existing ARKit 1.5 SDK that's available to developers to allow them to build augmented reality experiences in their apps. ARKit 2.0, according to a new report from Reuters, will include a feature that's designed to let two iPhone users share an augmented reality experience,...

Ahead of next week's Worldwide Developers Conference, Loup Ventures analyst Gene Munster today shared his predictions for the features and services that Apple will unveil during the event. Munster expects Apple to debut new Siri, AR, AI, and Digital Health functionality, including a Beats-branded accessory (presumably a speaker) that includes Siri integration, much like the HomePod. Some of...

When Apple first announced its ARKit developer platform, one of the examples it gave was an image that showed someone playing Dejarik, a holographic board game from the Star Wars universe. The game has been available in an augmented reality experience on the iOS "Star Wars: Jedi Challenges" app [Direct Link], but it required pieces of hardware -- namely the Lenovo Mirage AR headset -- that current...

Since ARKit debuted within iOS 11 on September 19 last year, iPhone and iPad owners worldwide have downloaded and installed more than 13 million ARKit-only apps. The data comes from Sensor Tower, which broke down the most popular categories of augmented reality apps fueled by ARKit, the top 10 free and paid apps, highest grossing apps, and more. Games remain the dominant category for...

Apple will be hosting a session at this year's Game Developers Conference for the first time, offering an introduction to ARKit, its augmented reality platform for developers. The session will be presented by Michael Kuhn, who leads Apple's ARKit engineering team. Entitled "Introduction to Apple's ARKit: Best practices and recent updates," the talk will cover core concepts of the ARKit...

The iOS 11.3 update, seeded to developers and public beta testers last week, introduces ARKit 1.5, an upgraded version of the set of tools developers can use to create augmented reality apps for the iPhone and the iPad. As it turns out, ARKit 1.5 can do a lot of neat things. It can map irregularly shaped surfaces for better detection of your surroundings, and it can also recognize and map...

Apple today previewed iOS 11.3, its next major iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch software update. The first beta has been seeded to developers today, with a public beta coming soon, ahead of an official release this spring. iOS 11.3 introduces new Animoji on the iPhone X, including a lion, bear, dragon, and skull. There will now be 16 characters to choose from in total, including existing ones like ...

Apple's ARKit augmented reality framework has seen only modest adoption from developers since it was announced at the Worldwide Developers Conference, while growth has seen a steady decline since its official launch, according to App Store data gathered by Apptopia. ARKit enables iPhones and iPads running iOS 11 to superimpose computer-generated graphics over the real world, allowing...

Apple is developing 3D depth sensing technology for the rear-facing cameras in its 2019 iPhones, according to a new report by Bloomberg on Tuesday. The 3D sensor system will be different to the one found in the iPhone X's front-facing camera, and is said to be the next big step in turning the smartphone into a leading augmented reality device. Apple is evaluating a different technology from...

Amazon is preparing its customers for the busy holiday shopping season, posting a detailed plan today on how it aims to help you get the items you want through Alexa voice shopping, curated gift guides, and a new "AR View" in the official Amazon iOS app. AR View was built using Apple's augmented reality developer framework called ARKit, and the company said it's meant to help customers "make...

Stranger Things: The Game received a feature update on Friday, coinciding with the hit TV series' season two debut on Netflix. Version 1.0.252 of the free retro-style sci-fi adventure game brings a new playable character to the Arcade and a brand new Hawkins High School dungeon. Elsewhere, there are new quests to be gained from the Florist and the Hawk Theater Attendant, while players have...

Apps that use the ARKit framework Apple introduced in iOS 11 have been installed 3 million times around the world since September 19, according to new data shared today by analytics firm Sensor Tower (via TechCrunch). Many of the ARKit-only apps that are available are games, accounting for 35 percent of ARKit apps worldwide. ARKit-only apps include those that are built entirely around the new...

Apple CEO Tim Cook believes there isn't any sector or industry that will be untouched by augmented reality going forward. Tim Cook via Alastair Nicol for Vogue In a recent interview with Vogue, Cook said he believes the technology will transform everything from fashion runway shows to shopping."If you think about a runway show in the fashion world, that's a great application of AR because...

With the launch of iOS 11 today, Apple has turned hundreds of millions of iPhones into augmented reality-capable devices thanks to the support of a new developer framework called ARKit. With this technology, iOS developers can more easily craft AR experiences for users on compatible iPhones and iPads, using each device's built-in cameras, processors, and motion sensors. As of now, the first...

Pokémon GO creators Niantic are looking at ways to incorporate audio into future AR game experiences, according to the company's chief technology officer. Speaking on a panel discussing augmented reality at TechCrunch's Disrupt event, Niantic CTO Phil Keslin said that audio cues would mean players wouldn't have to awkwardly hold their phone up while interacting with games like GO. "I can...

ARKit demos have been popular over the summer, showcasing the features that iOS 11 users will gain on their iPhones once the new software update rolls out worldwide later in September. Today we've rounded up some of the latest tech demos of the software development kit, which you can check out below. In the first ARKit demo, augmented reality and user experience designer Jelmer Verhoog has...