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Here's a Look at the First Wave of Augmented Reality ARKit Apps Hitting the iOS App Store Today

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With the launch of iOS 11 today, Apple has turned hundreds of millions of iPhones into augmented reality-capable devices thanks to the support of a new developer framework called ARKit. With this technology, iOS developers can more easily craft AR experiences for users on compatible iPhones and iPads, using each device's built-in cameras, processors, and motion sensors.

As of now, the first wave of these apps are available for you to download and test on the iOS 11 App Store. The first apps range from game updates to practical everyday tools and even apps that encourage a healthier lifestyle, with more refined experiences likely coming in the future once developers get a grasp on what users enjoy with the first wave of apps.

Note that to use ARKit-enabled apps on iOS 11 you must have an iOS device with an A9, A10, or A11 processor. This means ARKit apps can be launched on iPhone 6s, iPhone 6s Plus, iPhone 7, iPhone 7 Plus, iPhone SE, iPhone 8, iPhone 8 Plus, and the upcoming iPhone X. For iPads, you can use the 9.7-inch iPad or the 10.5-inch and 12.9-inch iPad Pro. The older 9.7-inch model of the iPad Pro is compatible as well.

One you have iOS 11 installed on one of these devices, head over to the new App Store and check out some of the ARKit apps listed below to see how Apple's new augmented reality technology works in your own home.

Games

ar-roundup-2.jpg
Splitter Critters (left) and Egg, Inc. (right)​


Splitter Critters ($2.99)

- What's it about? Use swipes of your finger to split a colorful landscape and guide alien critters back to their spaceship, avoiding enemies and solving puzzles in the process.

- How's AR used? Scan a flat surface and then place a fully playable version of the main game into the real world, housed within a small white box.

Warhammer 40,000: Freeblade (Free)

- What's it about? Control an Imperial Knight war machine in the Warhammer 40,000 universe and fight the evil forces of Chaos through 170 single player missions using cannons, missiles, and thermal blasts to defeat your enemies.

- How's AR used? Drop your Imperial Knight from the main game into an AR "Photo Mode" to take snap shots of the war machine in the real world.

Egg, Inc. (Free)

- What's it about? A farming simulation game focused on hatching eggs, building hen houses, hiring drivers, and researching advanced technologies to upgrade your egg farm.
- How's AR used? Take a glimpse at your farm in AR with a "Farm To Table" picture-taking mode.

Thomas & Friends Minis (Free)

- What's it about? Build, decorate, paint, and create full train sets and then control characters from Thomas & Friends as you drive through your customized train set.

- How's AR used? Bring all of your creations into the real world with the app's AR mode, which places your train set on a flat surface so you can zoom in and around while still being able to interact with various tools and control characters.


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Article Link: Here's a Look at the First Wave of Augmented Reality ARKit Apps Hitting the iOS App Store Today
 
Article Link
https://www.macrumors.com/2017/09/19/first-wave-arkit-apps-app-store/
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blackcrayon

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dan9700 said:
AR has been on the app store for years with movie effects apple needs to stop thinking this is brand new
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Good Lord.

Apple doesn't "think" AR is brand new. Apple does think their first party support for it, through an official Apple developer API, *is* new. Do you think the explosion of new AR apps in the coming weeks will be a coincidence?
 
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Superhappytree

Superhappytree

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Why isn’t there a dedicated section on the App Store highlighting the best AR apps? I thougt they would make a bigger deal about it rather than having to read these specific articles with links to them. I also thought there would be ads highlighting some unique use cases of AR as well. Considering all the hype about it I don’t think Apple highlighted it enough in the keynote apart from showcasing that game.
 
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ck2875

ck2875

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jacobh101 said:
Looking forward to best use cases for ARKit with iPhone or iPad, I believe that it's truly going to be game changing!
Click to expand...

Human Anatomy Atlas 2018 has an AR feature for putting a highly-detailed 3D naked corpse of a male or female on whatever flat surface you want. You can have them laying on their back or stomach.

So yeah, guess who's not sleeping alone tonight? (mostly sarcasm)
 
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now i see it

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Since there really aren't any more 'next great things' left in computing, AR will have to be it for now and will get all the hype. At least it's an interesting curiosity.
 
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tkukoc

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Superhappytree said:
Why isn’t there a dedicated section on the App Store highlighting the best AR apps? I thougt they would make a bigger deal about it rather than having to read these specific articles with links to them. I also thought there would be ads highlighting some unique use case of AR as well. I don’t think Apple highlighted it enough in the keynote apart from showcasing that game.
Click to expand...
It's coming, IOS 11 just came out today to a full world wide release.
 
zakarhino

zakarhino

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I'm sorry but Tim's right, this is a day to remember. ARKit is miles ahead of any existing AR technology on mobile devices without special hardware. This is going to unlock a whole new category of apps and offer brand new exciting ways to interact with apps we already know and love -- for millions of people... if only Apple focused on bringing more AR stuff into their apps when iOS 11 launched, instead we were cursed with Animojis.

Oh well, I guess we'll leave it to the developers to show off what this technology is really capable of. I can't wait. Personally I've never been more excited for an iOS release than this one simply because of ARKit.

dan9700 said:
AR has been on the app store for years with movie effects apple needs to stop thinking this is brand new
Click to expand...

Sorry but you're misinformed. Other "AR" apps on the App Store to date have simply been 3D models pasted on top of the camera view -- a cheap gimmick, like Pokemon Go's AR (and the people that have done it right have used proprietary libraries that don't work nearly as well as ARKit).

ARKit has relative spacial tracking, scene understanding and much more. On top of that, it's available to every single iOS developer. I suggest you watch this WWDC Session to understand why ARKit is significant:

https://developer.apple.com/videos/play/wwdc2017/602/
 
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Superhappytree

Superhappytree

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tkukoc said:
It's coming, IOS 11 just came out today to a full world wide release.
Click to expand...

Yeah, you’re right. I suppose I should be more patient but I have very little these days.

ck2875 said:
Uhh... There are?

RYqmJoMm.jpg
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Ah! Completely missed that! Thanks. I thought it would be highlighted on the ‘Today’ section though which is what I was checking. I thought it would be better on there considering the bigger tiles to give it some more attention.
 
meaning-matters

meaning-matters

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dan9700 said:
AR has been on the app store for years with movie effects apple needs to stop thinking this is brand new
Click to expand...
Can you mention one non-ARKit app that shows objects at the correct/real-world scale and orientation all the time, even when you walk away or around it?
 
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