The first wave of ARKit-powered apps is crashing into the App Store this week to change the way you use your iPhone.
With iOS 11, Apple has turned the iPhone and iPad into the world’s biggest augmented reality platform and some of the first offerings from developers are pretty mindblowing. You’ll need an iPhone 6s or above to take advantage of ARKit’s incredible powers, but these apps might convince you it’s worth the upgrade.
Here are 7 ARKit apps you should download right now:
SkyGuide
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hA0MdgKM6nQ
Stargazers can now get a more precise understanding of where in the heavens their favorite constellations are thanks to Sky Guide’s ARKit update. The app’s new AR mode works under daytime skies, twilight, and even nighttime skies. The app automatically adjusts the blending of the constellations with your real sky, but the blending mode can be fine-tuned so its perfect for your eyes under any circumstances.
MeasureKit
Photo: MeasureKit
By using ARKit’s technology, MeasureKit gives iPhone owners access to a number of different tools to measure pretty much anything you want. The free app comes with a ruler to measure distances on flat surfaces. A level to make sure surfaces are flat. An Angle measuring tool that even works on pizza. You can also measure a person’s height to solve the battle between friends on who is taller.
The Machines
Directive Games’ new app The Machines blew us away during Apple’s iPhone X keynote. The competitive multiplayer game transforms your table into a PvP battle arena. By moving your phone around you can get close up to take aim at the enemies, or back to get a better view and strategize your attack. The app lets you play against friends in the same room, or against other people online.
Food Network in the kitchen
Want to become a master chef? Food Network’s cooking app can help you get there. The app’s clever ARKit update lets you decorate virtual cupcakes & share your creations with friends. It will then instruct you how to make the cupcake on your own so you can bring your virtual creation into reality. More food options should be on the way soon too.
ModiFace
Upping your fashion game is about to become an entirely new experience with ARKit powered apps. ModiFace has two new apps that will help you get the look you want. The Hair Color app helps users pick which dye to choose, while the MakeUp app lets you see what shades of lipstick, eyeshadow, blush and other products will look like when applied to your face.
Pixie
Can’t find your iPhone in the house even with Find My iPhone? Let Pixie’s tracker app guide you. The app shows users exactly how to get to their lost device by overlaying navigation information on top of the real world. The app is free, but you’ll have to buy some of the company’s tracker tags in order to keep tabs on the object you want. If you’re like me and lose your keys all the time though, it’s totally worth it.
Ikea Place
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-xxOvsyNseY
Ikea Place lets users take advantage of AR technology to position furniture from the Ikea catalog in their own home. The “try before you buy” concept shows off ARKit’s impressive ability to handle 3D scaling with millimeter-accurate positioning.
Right from the start, the app boasts upward of 2,000 different products that customers can test. Going forward, the plan is for Ikea to use the app to debut new products before they arrive in stores. It also potentially could be used to test products before deciding whether to manufacture them.
