Apple has made it quite clear that its bid would be on AR in the long run, and Tim Cook confirms it with his excitement surrounding augmented reality as he said in an interview with Bloomberg recently "I'm so excited about it, I just want to yell out and scream." The financial services company, UBS believes that his excitement is justified since, with this technology, Apple might be able to edge out rival companies like Google and also change how we use and look at our smartphones.
Apple is to unveil its latest iPhone, iPhone 8 which will be the 10th-anniversary edition of the smartphone, which has an increasing number of users every day. While the smartphone has been rumoured to carry high-end and world-class features, the company has not confirmed anything yet. With Apple announcing the ARKit in June, rumours of the AR technology being integrated into the new iPhone device have been making the rounds. But none of that is confirmed by any official source yet, although another development in iOS ensures VR experience in iPhone.
The iOS 11 would carry ARkit, which will enable developers all around the world to create AR apps for iOS. While iOS 11 comes with iPhone 8, the older models and iPad tablets could also update to the latest operating system.
Further, rumours of iPhone 8 featuring a deep sensing 3D camera have also surfaced, which will enable both security and AR facilities in the new device. Analysts from UBS, upon analysing the rumoured as well as confirmed information, have said that the new device, "should be a fundamental change in how consumers engage with digital content."
Why so much shout around AR?
Well, AR makes the impossible possible by placing virtual objects in the real world through a mobile phone screen or headset. The boundary between virtual reality and real reality is transcended. UBS analysed and put forth the ideas of how the AR would change the smartphone experience into something new.
It said: "We can picture the phone looking like a clear piece of glass when looking through the camera ... At a concert or sporting event, we could imagine numerous possibilities to connect with those around us and enhance our experience of the event. Games would become far more engaging. Angry Birds would be played on the desk in front of us rather than on a 5-inch screen. The phone could be put on the dashboard of a car, providing a line of sight view of where we should be turning."
While Google and other companies turn to other OEM hardware partners for software or hardware fit, Apple allows in-house hardware developing products. UBS analysts further said, "Augmented reality (AR) is an area where Apple could leapfrog the competition in providing a superior user experience. This could result in sustained iPhone retention rates and more switchers [people switching to the iPhone from other smartphones for the first time]."
