iOS developers have already gotten their hands on ARKit, Apple's latest platform which enables developers to quickly and easily build augmented reality experiences into their apps. ARKit blog Made With ARKit has been sharing even more examples of the augmented reality apps that developers are toying around with, coming a few months ahead of when the first apps will launch to the public alongside iOS 11 this fall.
In two new videos shared on Twitter, developers have created useful measuring apps with ARKit, using the camera, processors, and motion sensors in an iPhone or iPad to calculate the size of various objects. In the first video, the app requires users to tap two locations and then shows the total distance between the spots as a floating number in the air.
In the second video (seen above), users choose a starting point for the virtual measuring tape, and then pan to where they want the end point to be located. The video compares the virtual AR measuring experience to a real measuring tape, and then tries it out on a picture frame and armoire. The app in the second video was built by Laan Labs, and they have a few other ARKit videos on their twitter, including one where they make a 3D drawing.
Gaming apps have already begun to take shape as well, with developer Matthew Hallberg building a Minecraft AR app with ARKit and Unity. The app lets players place Minecraft blocks around their real-world environment, and then destroy what they've built with Minecraft's traditional crafting and destruction mechanics.
One well-known partner for ARKit is furniture company IKEA, which plans to launch a new iPhone and iPad app that will let customers view objects in their own home through ARKit before they make a purchase. For more on ARKit, check out a hands-on video of the platform's demo that Apple created for developers and used to showcase the technology this year at WWDC.
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Apple must have a time machine to go back to 2013 which was the AR era. We've progressed to VR era since 2015. Maybe Apple will catch up with VR by end of year or 2018.
"2013, which was the AR era"Huh? Why was that the "AR era?" Beca
You sound like the guy who says "Apple never invented anything, they just piggyback on other peoples ideas and capitalize on them".
Apple never does things first, nor do they claim to. The guy you replied to said Apple pulled the rug from underneath its competitors, and I bet that will be true. And we will hear people complain about how some Android phone had those features x years ago (Welcome to 2014 Apple!) while hundreds of millions of new customers experience this new-to-them technology.
Being first doesn't matter. Being the first to do something right matters.