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Apple Is About to Change the Way We Use Phones

The augmented reality framework seen in action in new demos

Jun 27, 2017 09:41 GMT  ·  By
With ARKit you can draw a ruler on anything
   With ARKit you can draw a ruler on anything

Those times when we used phones to talk to someone in a different city are long gone, and Apple is one again very close to changing the way we use our smartphones once again.

Announced at WWDC earlier this month, Apple’s augmented reality framework called ARKit is turning the iPhone into a super-advanced device whose camera can serve purposes with limitations that are only the result of our imagination.

In the last few days, we’ve seen lots of implementations based on the new framework, and there are several that will completely blow your mind.

Turning the iPhone into a virtual measuring tape

Take the AR Measure, for example. This application allows the iPhone to turn into a measuring tape, and all you need to do is to drawing a line between two points to measure the distance between them. And the virtual measuring tape is just as accurate as a real one, as you can see in the video below.

“AR Measure turns your phone into a ruler you can use anytime, anywhere. Just point your phone and click a point to measure almost anything. The app uses the power of Augmented Reality to measure the distance between points in 3D space. So you can measure things like furniture, doors, plates, desks, carpets, paintings, chairs,” the app creators explain.

And then, you can use apps based on ARKit to do all sorts of things, such as drawing in the air with 3D support and even placing objects that look just like the real deal around you. As it’s the case of the video below showing an imagined prototype of the iPhone 8 on a table.

All these features are projected to become available to everyone with the release of iOS 11 in September, but ARKit is already up for testing for developers with the beta versions of the operating system.

Check out the videos below to see ARKit-based apps in action using the early builds of iOS 11 available for developers.

Play Video
Play Video