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iOS 11 ARKit iPad

Apple introduced its platform for developing augmented reality experiences for iPhone and iPad at WWDC 2017 in June. One of the most impressive aspects of the new platform is that new or specific hardware isn’t required, any of Apple’s iPhones or iPads with an A9, A10 chip or newer will be compatible with the platform.

ARKit apps will arrive to the public with the release of iOS 11 and Apple has claimed it will be the largest AR platform in the world. We’ve already seen a wide-range of uses for augmented reality as developers create and prepare new apps. And augmented reality may become much bigger than virtual reality (at least for now) thanks to ARKit.

Tim Cook has said “I regard it [AR] as a big idea like the smartphone.” He’s also shared “I’m excited about Augmented Reality because unlike Virtual Reality which closes the world out, AR allows individuals to be present in the world but hopefully allows an improvement on what’s happening presently.

ARKit app to build, launch and land a space rocket coming soon from USA Today

We learned yesterday that there have been 13 million downloads of augmented reality apps powered by ARKit, and USA Today has plans to increase that number.

It has announced that it will soon be launching an AR app that allows you to do some launching of your own. 3-2-1 Launch is an app that allows you to assemble, launch and land an AR rocket …


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Apple to lead ‘Introduction to ARKit’ talk at next month’s Game Developers Conference

Tim Cook has made it clear that Apple is focused and very bullish on the future of augmented reality. iOS 11 introduced a new ARKit framework for developers to bring the technology to their apps, and iOS 11.3 includes ARKit 1.5.

Now, Apple’s head ARKit engineer is slated to give a public talk about the company’s work in augmented reality…


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Amazon’s iOS app now uses ARKit for virtual shopping ahead of Black Friday

Along with launching today’s Countdown to Black Friday 2017, Amazon updated its iOS app to include a new feature for the holiday shopping season called ‘AR View’. Leaning heavily on Apple’s own ARKit, this new feature allows customers to virtually place products in their home “allowing them to visualize the aesthetic” prior to purchasing. (Also Amazon is currently offering a $50 iTunes gift card for $42.50. That’s 15% off.)


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Realistic AR drone simulator is fun today, could signal the start of much more [Video]

An augmented reality drone simulator powered by Apple’s ARKit allows users to fly a virtual quadrocopter wherever they are.

“ARKit is a game-changer,” says Taylor Moore, co-founder of CircleSquare Entertainment. “We were actually working very hard on a drone racing game – but dropped everything when we realized that we could offer iOS users the kind of augmented reality no one has ever seen before. DroneTopolis AR is like having a Drone in your Pocket.”

You can fly your virtual drone in places the real thing wouldn’t be allowed, fly through virtual ‘hoops’ and record and stream your flights to share with friends …


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AR Sudoku-solving app showcases the combined power of Apple’s Vision, Core ML and ARKit [Video]

An augmented reality Sudoku-solving app that only works with completely empty puzzles might be kind of pointless, but it definitely serves as an impressive demonstration of just what can be done when you use the combined power of three Apple frameworks.

Magic Sudoku uses Apple’s image analysis software Vision to read the puzzles, the Core ML framework to solve them and ARKit to present the solution as an overlay on the puzzle itself …


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