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apple ar

Apple has seemed largely uninterested in the virtual reality fad, and that may be because it has plans for a different kind of feel. A new report claims that Apple is moving full speed ahead to develop a standalone augmented reality (AR) headset that will take a new processor and OS. The company has high hopes for this device, and we may meet information technology revealed onetime in 2019.

VR and AR headsets are beginning to proliferate in the market place, just they generally require another device. Desktop VR headsets are basically a monitor powered by a PC over HDMI. The current crop of Android-based products are based on smartphones–y'all have to dock your phone inside the headset to ability the device. Apple tree plans to give its device all the hardware it needs to operate without a phone.

Apple is specifically pursuing AR instead of VR because the company's leadership considers information technology "less isolating" than VR. With augmented reality, you aren't shut off from the world around you, but virtual elements can be overlaid on the real world. That provides more opportunity for enhancing everyday activities with information. For example, you could get contextual data about what you're watching on Tv set or see contact info announced when you meet people y'all know. Games are also a potential utilize case for AR, which Apple has demoed several times with its phones.

ar kit apple

Apple has already formed the engineering group tasked with making the AR headset a reality. Information technology's called "T288," and y'all've already seen some of its technology. Apple tree's ARKit framework for the iPhone is the beginning product to come up out of T288, and it'south seen every bit a testbed for Apple to come across how AR technology works in real life.

Apple is watching what developers exercise with ARKit on the software side, but the hardware side is yet largely theoretical. Apple is using HTC Vive headset to experiment with AR experiences, and adjacent year it should have a headset that plugs into an iPhone like Gear VR and Samsung's devices. However, this will only be for internal use.

The eventual AR headset will reportedly be powered past an iOS variant currently codenamed rOS, or "reality operating organization." Equally information technology has done with contempo iPhones, Apple plans to design the system-on-a-chip inside its headset. The release of the device is at least two years away, but the 2020-ish launch will probable be preceded past an announcement and programmer SDK in 2019.