Augmented Reality in Android vs Apple iPhone? Which delivers better experiences?

[Starfyre]

So I am forcing myself to consider the iPhone X because of the lack of AR support my phone has. ARKit really delivers some amazing experiences with the iPhone. Just today, while looking at the Pixel 2, I stumbled across Google's ARCore, and Project Tango, which is a direct competitor to the Apple ARKit.

ARCore
https://developers.google.com/ar/

Project Tango
https://get.google.com/tango/

Project Tango equipped phones have a depth sensor on the rear that helps the phone get a sense of depth, not normally possible with just the camera to create more immersive experiences for the user.

Not knowing so much about this, does anyone know if the Augmented Reality in ARKit delivers more if not as much as what Google is providing to Android?

The big takeaway I got was "Depth Sensor in Rear of Phone" helps create more accurate AR. I assume the iPhone does not have this, or is there some way the camera or combination of dual lenses help the iPhone detect depth? If not... I am making the prediction right now that the next year's iPhone X successor is going to include a depth sensor on the back of the device.

 

[fs454]

The dual lenses can sense depth which is central to how Portrait Mode works, so the X, 8 Plus, and 7 Plus already technically have this. I believe the same data is used with ARKit although it can also operate nearly the same on single-camera devices to broaden the base of compatible phones - I would put money on Apple's software being better as they don't need the depth sensing to understand the world around it. We'll see, but plan on most major AR apps being cross compatible.

 

[QueenTyrone]

It'll probably be even between Google and apples ar