Apple’s new ARkit, it’s a much bigger deal than you think.
I know I’m not going out too far on a limb if I say that Apple is about to do something big. They are releasing ARkit in their imminent iOS 11 launch. But the thing is, despite all the hype about VR & AR — most people think it’s just the latest tech gimmick or something for “the gamers”. Most people don’t yet know that the world is about to change.
Info: Augmented Reality (AR) also known as Mixed Reality (MR), is where computer generated images and sound are mixed or overlaid on our normal experience of reality. Imagine wearing glasses that let you see the real world, mixed with digital imagery, for example a green line guiding you to your destination.
Apple is not launching “AR glasses”. In the version Apple is launching (with ARkit) you simply look at the world through your phone and this view is digitally augmented. This “handheld AR” is not new — many Apps already do this — from Snapchat and Facebook messenger where you can become a rabbit with a digital mask during a video chat, to “peak finders” which overlay the name and height of mountains on your camera view.
So if AR already exists, why is ARkit a big deal? ARkit makes it really easy for any developer to add smart AR to iOS apps, and it will be supported on the huge installed base of iOS devices.
Why is AR kind of a big deal?
The digital world is about to come spilling out of our devices and into the world around us. The world is going to become a mix of things that are physically there, and things that are digitally there. I was going to write “really there”, but corrected it to “physically there”: in many cases the digital world is now more important and real than the physical world.
You know how more and more devices have been becoming “connected” with bluetooth and wifi? Well, now in one great leap, everything is connected. A door, a tree, or a banana can tell you all about itself. We can stop building screens into everything, because anything can have an virtual screen overlaid via AR. For that matter, eventually we can get rid of TVs and monitors entirely.
It’s easy to imagine its usefulness, but it’s impossible to imagine the eventual impact. Of course we’ll find our way to new places easier, probably we’ll find products in stores easier, probably we’ll find our friends and family easier. Will we also make new friends, or partners, easier? I’m sure we can learn how things work faster, and can get useful assistance doing our jobs. Maybe I’ll be able to install an ad-blocker that blocks out the advertisements in the real world - all the billboards and ads on the bus and tram. Or, I will accept a new layer of ads overlaid digitally on the real world in exchange for a cool experience or game.
Where are we headed?
People are going to be increasingly walking around in their own world. Remember the bands of youth walking around with their phones up in the air chasing the invisible Pokemon last year? Get used to it.
I think we need to become much more proactive about deciding where we want to go and the future we want to live in. Besides hyping the significance of AR, that’s my reason for writing this article. In a sense we’ve already come quite far with digital augmentation - without calling it that. Most of us carry a smartphone and I’ve honestly been surprised at how much this device has been transforming my relationship with some people. When we meet, they are simply not as present because they are simultaneously in their digital world.
Back in the 90’s I was so excited by the prospect of VR. Now I understand that simply making something 360 degrees and 3D won’t make a bad thing better. I remember reading how passionate one of the inventors of TV was about it’s power to educate. I wonder what he would think of his invention today.
Magic
Despite all the doom & gloom, I can’t help but be excited and hopeful for what the future brings. I’m looking forwards to a lot of surprise, inventiveness, and an amazing outlet for creativity. I’m looking forwards to the world becoming more magical. I love that these folks made a list of things they want to see: http://www.madewitharkit.com/ideas
No, this isn’t all going to happen tomorrow. But the ARkit is a watershed moment in that it’s bringing the first big wave of AR experiences to a mass audience. Apple was very clever about making this available on their existing phones. Many of the first apps will be little more than gimmicks, but the interesting thing is that the apps based on this technology will work on other devices when they come out. There is no doubt in my mind that Apple will launch some kind of AR glasses in the near future. These glasses will succeed where others have failed because they will launch out of the box with a collection of proven apps and because after a taste of AR, the people will actually ask for them.
