Apple just dropped a big clue that it’s planning to make a pair of augmented reality glasses with its latest acquisition.
The company confirmed this week that it purchased a Colorado-based startup called Akonia that’s focused on making lenses for wearable headset displays and it could help Apple create thin, transparent smart glass lenses with vibrant full colors.
You’ve long been able to take photos inside the Messages app on your iPhone, sending pictures directly into a conversations without saving them to your camera roll first. And you’ve also been able to grab photos from your library. But in iOS 12, both of these features are way better. Especially the camera. Not only does it ditch the stupid thumbnail-sized camera view, but you get access to some awesome new filters, and even AR stickers. Let’s take a look.
Apple just dropped another awesome ad for the iPhone X.
“Unleash” showcases its impressive A11 Bionic chip and the gorgeous games and ultra-immersive augmented reality experience it puts in the palm of your hand.
Rumors of Apple introducing a triple-lens iPhone in 2019 is picking up steam after an analyst told investors the three lenses were a likely push to make the iPhone the top augment reality device.
Jialin Lu, a Deutsche Securities analyst, is among the latest in a number of tech observers who believe Apple is planning a three-lens rear camera set-up, though some speculate the third lens may be added to expand the reach of the handset’s zoom function.
Apple’s next big thing could be a virtual reality headset.
According to a new report, the iPhone-maker is planning to launch its own headset in 2020 that can handle both AR and VR technology. And in true Apple fashion, it’ll pack some innovations that could finally bring VR into the mainstream.
If you’re going to play Holochess on the Millennium Falcon, there’s just one rule: Let the wookiee win. To play it in your living room, the only requirement is having a new-ish iPhone.
The iPhone X’s exclusive AR Snapchat Lenses were first shown off at the iPhone X keynote last year. Jump forward seven months and Snap has finally gotten around to releasing them.
Available only to owners of Apple’s flagship handset, the Lenses work using Apple’s TrueDepth front-facing camera, technology which is reportedly two years ahead of the competition.
Augmented reality is still waiting on its “killer app,” but a new demo from Toronto designer Adam Pickard shows off a use-case we could likely all get on board with: turning paper Ikea manuals into animated demonstrations.
For anyone who has ever looked, with growing bafflement, at the blueprints for assembling their coffee table or new chest of drawers, this proof-of-concept demo is enough to have you gratefully reaching for your iPhone.
All three of Apple’s proposed iPhone models for 2018 will reportedly include 3D sensing tech for augmented reality and Face ID — which means that Apple has its work cut out producing all of them.
As a result of last year’s 3D sensor production issues, it’s therefore getting started on manufacturing earlier this year, with trial production set to kick off as early as the second quarter of 2018.
In an effort to reengage with its fanbase after its recent badly received redesign, Snapchat is planning to allow users to create augmented reality “Lenses” and share them with the rest of the community.
The debut of creator-made Lenses in the app’s carousel will debut at the end of this month. The Lenses can be made using Snapchat’s Lens Studio application, and Snap will then select the best ones and make them available to the wider 187 million daily user community.
Apple’s probably not coming out with AR glasses anytime this decade, but that’s not stopping concept designers from flooding the web with dreams of what Apple’s spectacles will look like.
This latest concept comes from Martin Hajek and they’re definitely the most stylish Apple Glasses vaporware we’ve seen yet. The Apple Glasses in Hajek’s mockups actually look like real glasses, only they’re also big enough to provide some useful information to the wearer.
Take a closer look:
Apple reportedly met with the suppliers of augmented reality glasses components at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas this week.
The company made a significant push into AR with the launch of its ARKit framework in iOS 11, while rumors surrounding its own wearable AR hardware have been circling for years.
2017 was an exciting year for consumer technology. It brought us big advancements in areas like machine learning and biometric security, as well as a big boost for augmented reality, and some not-so-satisfying changes to smartphone price tags.
Here are the top technology trends of 2017.
Apple marketing guru Phil Schiller has heard the haters saying the iPhone X wasn’t the first smartphone to get facial recognition. But according to Schiller, that doesn’t matter at all.
“They all stink,” says Schiller in a new interview discussing Apple’s new facial recognition feature. The wide-ranging interview touches on everything from AirPods to virtual reality, but what sets Face ID apart is what got Schiller the most excited.
Did you ever wonder how Face ID sees you? After all, it has an incredibly complex set of eyes that project invisible dots onto your face, and then turns the results into a 3D representation of your head. If you want to know what that representation might look like, then check out the new Face Mesh tool in the latest update to MeasureKit, the AR measuring app.
One of the key suppliers for the iPhone X is fueling speculation that Apple is working on a standalone augmented reality product.
Catcher Tech, which makes metal casings for Apple products like the iPhone, iPad and MacBooks says that it is planning to start making metal components for AR products.
Apple surprised investors with its best Q4 earnings report ever today. The outrageous numbers dispelled doubts about the iPhone-maker’s strategy — and pushed Apple closer to becoming the world’s first trillion-dollar company.
With the launch of the iPhone X just hours away, Apple CEO Tim Cook had a lot to be happy about during the earnings call with investors. Analysts quizzed Cook and Apple CFO Luca Maestri on everything from iPhone 8 sales to how Apple plans to monetize its augmented reality efforts.
Here’s what we found out:
Apple CEO Tim Cook is a full-on geek when it comes to augmented reality.
Cook has raved about AR’s potential in a number of interviews the last year, but according to a PhD student at the University of Oxford, Tim actually has a great understanding of the technology. In a story shared on Reddit, the student reveals how Tim Cook dug deep into the details of the tech during a recent demo.
This week on The CultCast: Live in the home of the future, today! We’ll tell you how with iOS 11’s huge improvements in the Home app and HomeKit. Plus: There’s a new Apple ID phishing scam you need to know about; there’s been a disappointing development with Apple’s AR glasses; we have to talk about the hundreds of new emoji coming at you in iOS 11.1; and we’ve got a svelte iPhone 8 case, a MacBook Pro sleeve made from real sheep, and a new power brick that’ll charge your MacBook, iPhone, Nintendo Switch — everything!— in an all-new Under Review.
The vast majority of augmented reality ARKit apps released so far have been games, according to a breakdown release by analytics firm Sensor Tower Intelligence.
Combing over the AR apps released since iOS 11 launched on September 19, reveals that games represent around 35 percent of ARKit-only apps worldwide, followed by utilities (19 percent), other entertainment (11 percent), education (7 percent), photo and video apps (6 percent), and lifestyle (5 percent). The “other” category — for those apps which don’t fall into any of these genres — accounts for the remaining 8 percent.
The Model A is the first universal virtual reality headset for your smartphone that you won’t want to ditch within hours of buying it. It’s designed to be lightweight and comfortable to wear, and has a high-fidelity audio system built right in.
It’s just one of the awesome ideas in this week’s Crowdfund Roundup. We also have the world’s best pen machined out of titanium, a gadget that keeps all your devices secure online, the ultimate camping companion, and more!
Advertising is the life blood of many tech companies, so it’s no surprise that people are already tripping over themselves to find a good way of monetizing augmented reality, the technology Apple has brought to the masses with ARKit.
The company that’s first out of the gate with AR spam is Snapchat, which has just announced that it’s opening up its 3D World Lenses to advertisers. Ever wanted to have fun™ by interacting with a beloved corporate mascot? Well, now you can.
There’s a pretty amazing demo of augmented reality technology at the new Apple Park visitor center.
The visitor center — which opened to the public on Tuesday afternoon — features a large-scale model of the new campus.
The model is large but bare bones. It looks like a classic architectural model with plain mockups of the buildings and the campus’ contours.
But pick up a nearby iPad, point the camera at the model, and it suddenly springs to life with lifelike plants, trees, and details galore. Check out the video below.
Hard to believe that a smartphone camera born from two tiny megapixels and a fixed-focus lens10 years ago now includes 3D facial recognition, augmented reality and a studio lighting emulator.
The camera system on the 2017 iPhones features more than incremental improvements for making pictures and recording video. In fact, the new camera hardware transcends photography and plays a deeper role in personal communication, entertainment, and data security.
The long wait for Apple’s big iPhone 8 upgrade is nearly over.
Apple is set to unveil its new lineup of iPhones during an event at the Steve Jobs Theater in Cupertino on September 12. This year’s model has been hyped more than any in recent memory. Tons of new features are being packed into the 10th edition of the iPhone for what will likely be the most innovative smartphone Apple has released in years.
Here are all the details and new features we know are coming:
