Apple And Google Have Kicked Off A Smartphone AR War That Could Change The Face Of Technology
Augmented reality is on the verge of a major leap, and we're likely to see it start this year.
Since Apple launched its ARKit at its annual developer conference earlier this year, we¡¯ve been gradually seeing more apps making use of the tools to show us just what augmented reality is capable of.
Now, it looks like Google is getting in on the game too.
Google has just announced ARCore, a platform to let Android developers make augmented reality apps for smartphones, in a move that proves just how important the technology really is.
So far, most AR apps have involved games or entertainment gimmicks. We¡¯ve already seen just how popular they can be with the rise of Pokemon GO. Now, developers are keen to show just how we can use the technology in our day to day lives.
App developers gathered on Apple¡¯s Cupertino campus yesterday came out to show off their wares, including major names like Ikea, AMC, Giphy, and more. And these are apps the developers say they¡¯ve been able to easily create in six to eight weeks using Apple¡¯s platform.
Ikea¡¯s new iOS app ¡®Ikea Place¡¯ takes a page from developers in the past who¡¯ve tried furniture trial apps. You can open up Ikea Place on your phone, use the iPhone¡¯s camera to measure the space you¡¯re in, and then place virtual furniture to take a closer look. This allows you to walk around the piece and get a sense of its dimensions, colour scheme, etc before you buy.
To be clear, some developers have already been designing AR apps for the likes of Google¡¯s Tango, and Microsoft¡¯s Hololens platforms. The big difference here is the amount of reach ARKit and ARCore potentially provide. When users don¡¯t need a separate piece of hardware to run your app, instead just installing it on their phone, you¡¯re automatically reaching out a much larger user base in the hundreds of millions.
AR is the future of technology, right up there alongside AI and the Internet of Things. Therefore, a platform to more easily build them makes it that much more likely we¡¯re going to see more and more of these kinds of apps in the near future, as soon as iOS 11 and Google Oreo effectively drop.
