Slashdot Mirror


Will The iPhone 8 Include Augmented Reality? (bgr.com)

Earlier this month Mashable wrote "it's now even more obvious what [Apple] is working to bring to the masses, and it's probably not, as some rumors have indicated, virtual reality." They cited CEO Tim Cook's recent predictions that augmented reality "is going to become really big" -- he said it again on Thursday -- and BuzzFeed noted that Apple "has quietly put into place the components of what could prove to be an AR ecosystem: The iPhone 7 Plus has...a two-camera system capable of gathering stereoscopic data and generating image depth maps... In Apple Watch, the company has a spatially-aware, wearable device outfitted with an accelerometer and GPS. In its new AirPod wireless earphones, Apple essentially has a pair of diminutive, spatially-aware microcomputers -- each one with an Apple W1 wireless chip (the company's first), two accelerometers, two optical sensors, beam-forming microphones, and an antenna... And sources tell BuzzFeed News that the company has recently been taking meetings with immersive content companies like Jaunt.
Their article also lists AR companies that Apple's bought over the last three years -- plus their patents for a "head-mounted display" and a "peripheral treatment for head-mounted displays." BGR adds that Tim Cook "likes to tease future products," and points out that Cook has even said Apple is working on AR features "behind the curtain". This casts a new light on those rumors of an all-glass case for next year's iPhone 8. Will the whole body of the phone become part of an Augmented Reality display system? (And could AR also explain Apple's aggressive push for wireless headphones?)

55 comments

  1. Ob by Hognoxious · · Score: 4, Funny

    It will make you think it has a headphone socket?

    --
    Confucius say, "Find worm in apple - bad. Find half a worm - worse."
    1. Re:Ob by alvinrod · · Score: 1

      Of course. Those crafty bastards must have finally managed to distill the essence of Steve Jobs to produce an augmented reality distortion field.

    2. Re:Ob by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      You beat me to it.. Apple already lives in an augmented reality because the believe that nope uses the headphone jack.

  2. No by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    No.

  3. Augmented Fantasy by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0, Insightful

    Apple stopped dealing with reality a few years ago.

    1. Re:Augmented Fantasy by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      The phone augments reality with its reality distortion field, with the emitters made of solid gold.

    2. Re: Augmented Fantasy by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Back in the old days when most Android phones had it included.

  4. No by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    No, it won't.

  5. Said only 2 days after Tim Cooks view on VR: by SuneSpeg · · Score: 1

    "There’s no substitute for human contact"

    1. Re:Said only 2 days after Tim Cooks view on VR: by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      That's why Apple is working on AR rather than VR. Go find the context of that quote, Tim Cook explains it.

  6. Less than a month since the iPhone 7 comes out by hsmith · · Score: 2, Insightful

    And idiot bloggers are already churning out shit about a phone a year away. Yawn

    1. Re:Less than a month since the iPhone 7 comes out by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      It's not even AR. It's ACCL (Augmented Cloud Cuckoo Land).

    2. Re:Less than a month since the iPhone 7 comes out by CanadianMacFan · · Score: 1

      It started before the 7 came out.

    3. Re:Less than a month since the iPhone 7 comes out by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      But idiots like us still fell for the clickbait...

    4. Re:Less than a month since the iPhone 7 comes out by unixisc · · Score: 1

      Precisely! And having gotten a new iPhone 7, I'm not likely to replace it until it's actually dead. The only reason I upgraded to it from 5s was Apple Pay, and now, there's no other reason to upgrade. I have the 128GB model, so even storage won't likely be an issue. Only other thing I'll be upgrading next month will be my iPad mini, and that too b'cos it just has 16GB of storage in it.

      Whenever this phone dies, I anticipate that iPhone 7 will be the entry level phone in the market. Any configuration that matches my current iPhone will be adequate for my needs.

    5. Re: Less than a month since the iPhone 7 comes out by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      You buy a new tablet, I bought a new micro-sd card :) enjoy consumerism

    6. Re: Less than a month since the iPhone 7 comes out by unixisc · · Score: 1

      Interesting you should bring that up. I have a Verizon Ellipsis tablet as well, running Android Lollypop. It has 16GB of internal flash, and I have a 64GB SD card to go w/ it, but the issue that I have here - Marshmallow is currently not available for that tablet, therefore I can't swap primary and secondary memory as I'd like to to make sure that there is enough storage for my apps. Also, this tablet maxes out at 32GB. With a Marshmallow upgrade, I could hopefully have more than 32GB in the tablet.

  7. Hoping by Mikkeles · · Score: 1

    I'm hoping for a kitchen sink!

    --
    Great minds think alike; fools seldom differ.
  8. Of Course Not! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    They will have thought up a far better Apple-specific marketing name for it instead (e.g. just like "Retina Display")...

    1. Re: Of Course Not! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Magic Window!

    2. Re: Of Course Not! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Virtual Virtual Reality.

    3. Re: Of Course Not! by macs4all · · Score: 1

      Magic Window!

      I'm old enough to get that joke!

  9. Augmented Reality... by MindPrison · · Score: 1

    ...isnt iPhone specific. Technically any smartphone with a camera can become "augmented reality" with the right software.

    In the phones case its simply just 3D graphics overlay, with plane/movement/motion tracking software.

    --
    What this world is coming to - is for you and me to decide.
    1. Re:Augmented Reality... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Insightful

      Technically any smartphone with a camera can become "augmented reality" with the right software.

      Or a microphone and headphones. Probably lots of other combinations too. Augmentation of reality doesn't need to rely on visual components.

    2. Re:Augmented Reality... by geek · · Score: 2

      ...isnt iPhone specific. Technically any smartphone with a camera can become "augmented reality" with the right software.

      In the phones case its simply just 3D graphics overlay, with plane/movement/motion tracking software.

      You're missing the part about the headset. Microsoft really kicked this into gear with HoloLens. Apple sees the writing on the wall with that. Google Glass was pretty inspirational, if you look at the videos they put out early on where glass was constantly reporting to you visually things in your surroundings. Those things never came to pass unfortunately.

      Apple has a real opportunity here. If they can put all of this together (which is their strong suit) then we could really see a revolution in tech. VR has no appeal to me and I suspect most others. Its really only useful for gaming. AR on the other hand has so many possibilities that it is really incredible if we can truly get there. In a sense AR will do for us what internet searches originally did. Truly AR feels like the logical extension of todays technology.

      Google failed to do it and Microsoft is slowly doing it. Apple is looking to make a big splash for the iPhones 10th anniversary next year so I wouldn't put it past them to do something like this.

    3. Re:Augmented Reality... by SolemnLord · · Score: 1

      Apple is looking to make a big splash for the iPhones 10th anniversary next year so I wouldn't put it past them to do something like this.

      I'm kind of two minds of this.

      On one hand, I think it's "too soon" for Apple to jump in. They're rarely the first to actually put out an on-the-shelves product of any given technology (the HoloLens is real and from what I've read pretty cool, but it's not exactly at my local Best Buy, and the less said about Glass the better). Typically Apple jumps in late to the game with a smart implementation of tech that ends up copied by others, and my gut tells me that AR wouldn't be any different.

      That said, Apple also lays the pieces of its tech puzzle out over years. AR isn't exactly new tech in phones, but Siri and (especially) Maps have become better over the years. The dual camera on the iPhone 7 Plus isn't just nifty, they've built a quality depth-mapping system out of it. Surprising everyone, they're further ahead in machine learning than suspected. Hell, work on Project Titan probably includes some sort of automobile HUD. So arguably all the parts are there to make a good AR system, and you could be right and the next iPhone will boast one.

      I guess we'll just have to wait and see. If it's not there, the best explanation is that it just needs a bit more time in the oven.

    4. Re:Augmented Reality... by macs4all · · Score: 1

      Apple has a real opportunity here. If they can put all of this together (which is their strong suit) then we could really see a revolution in tech. VR has no appeal to me and I suspect most others. Its really only useful for gaming. AR on the other hand has so many possibilities that it is really incredible if we can truly get there. In a sense AR will do for us what internet searches originally did. Truly AR feels like the logical extension of todays technology.

      Exactly. Well said!

  10. Sunshine and light an unicorn sprinkles by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Sustainably harvested and fair trade unicorn sprinkles, of course. Just like they are every year.

    The real question is: will this be the year we get wireless charging?

    1. Re:Sunshine and light an unicorn sprinkles by macs4all · · Score: 1

      The real question is: will this be the year we get wireless charging?

      I suspect as much. It will allow the iPhone 8 to be totally sealed, which is my prediction.

      Also, Apple has been hiring Wireless Charging talent for about the past 9 months.

  11. AR could be Apple's Metro by Dracos · · Score: 1

    Metro was an OK enough idea until MS implemented it and rammed it down everyone's throats. Similar well-meaning but fundamentally flawed reasoning is possible here.

    Just as Metro took away the task bar in favor of invisible UI elements, Apple took away the analog jack in favor of wireless headphones.

    1. Re:AR could be Apple's Metro by Dutch+Gun · · Score: 1

      I don't believe AR will become Apple's Metro. First, Apple is often isn't the first ones to push risky new technologies, so I have my doubts they'll have anything ready for shipping by next year. They watch what others do, then try to do it with more polish and style. Second, even if they did some AR-focused product, I don't believe Apple is so stupid as to think AR should replace the fundamental iOS UI paradigm.

      Whatever mistake removing the phone jack may (or may not) be, and however overhyped AR may be, I think it will probably be an order of magnitude less terrible than what was inflicted on Windows users with Windows 8. Windows 10 *finally* got the "modern/metro" integration mostly correct, but burned through a lot of user goodwill in other areas (privacy, intrusiveness, forced upgrades, etc).

      --
      Irony: Agile development has too much intertia to be abandoned now.
    2. Re:AR could be Apple's Metro by macs4all · · Score: 0

      Metro was an OK enough idea

      Compared to WHAT, exactly?

      Not trolling; I'm genuinely interested in how big ol' palm-buttons and a single-windowing (yes, I know, TWO windows!) UI is an "ok enough idea", ESPECIALLY for Desktops and Servers. Really.

    3. Re:AR could be Apple's Metro by macs4all · · Score: 0

      I don't believe Apple is so stupid as to think AR should replace the fundamental iOS UI paradigm

      The UI continuity between MacOS 1.0 and macOS Seirra, and iPhone OS 1.0 and iOS 10 should allay any fears that Apple will completely change its UI paradigm, FFS!

  12. Buzzfeed, EditorDavid don't understand 3d cameras by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    An iphone7 with "dual cameras" is not capable of producing depth maps, just like none of the Android phones with two cameras, side by side, less than 1cm apart, can produce depth maps. These are two different cameras with different lenses, which are used to give 2D images greater dynamic range and resolution.

    Stereo cameras, which are capable of producing depth maps and creating 3D images and environments, are two identical cameras that are placed at minimum one to two inches apart, as seen in the HTC Evo 3D, the Amazon Fire Phone, and the Lenovo Phab 2. They are fundamentally different.

  13. It...could...work! by UttBuggly · · Score: 0

    Sorry, 'Young Frankenstein' hangover.

    That said, Apple could do something potentially cool.

    The recent Pokémon Go craze showed that, given the right stimulus, a large segment of the population will act like lemmings. And spend money to do it.

    If Apple comes up with some kind of SUPER TWITFACE VR app, and monetizes it, you heard it here first.

    --
    I am my own gestalt.
  14. i don't care about that.... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    just please dear god bring back SWIPE TO UNLOCK!! :'(

    1. Re:i don't care about that.... by macs4all · · Score: 1

      just please dear god bring back SWIPE TO UNLOCK!! :'(

      Yeah, I'm kinda with you on that one...

  15. Apple users by thundercattt · · Score: 0

    Don't Apple owners already have an augmented reality? Carrying around their status symbol everywhere.

    1. Re: Apple users by ElderKorean · · Score: 0

      You think that's bad, I've got an iPhone and I drive a Prius. But I have a Pebbel and not an iWatch if that counts for anything

    2. Re: Apple users by thundercattt · · Score: 1

      I feel like the oddball out with my Nexus phone and VW diesel.

  16. They are already halfway there by wjcofkc · · Score: 0

    Considering that iPhone users already exist in a reality distortion field, this is no great leap.

    --
    Brought to you by Carl's Junior.
  17. Interesting! by Gravis+Zero · · Score: 1

    I wonder if it will have a mode that will cancel out the Apple reality distortion bubble, turning the "one word: courage" speech into it's proper "fuck you, buy our shit" speech. ;)

    --
    Anons need not reply. Questions end with a question mark.
  18. Accelerometers in AirPods? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    If there's accelerometers in the AirPods, this is a huge opportunity. Seems like a program that detects when your AirPods fall out and hit the floor, then directs you to find them, would be worth gold.

    1. Re:Accelerometers in AirPods? by macs4all · · Score: 1

      If there's accelerometers in the AirPods, this is a huge opportunity. Seems like a program that detects when your AirPods fall out and hit the floor, then directs you to find them, would be worth gold.

      The AirPods actually use their built-in IR sensors to determine when you take one of them out. It will automatically pause music, and some other possibilities depending on whether you are making a call, etc. It was kinda cool, but I don't have time to run down the article that mentioned that right now.

  19. Re:Buzzfeed, EditorDavid don't understand 3d camer by SolemnLord · · Score: 1

    An iphone7 with "dual cameras" is not capable of producing depth maps

    And yet it does.

    What's with the scare quotes around "dual cameras", anyway? Do you not believe that the 7 Plus has two cameras?

  20. RDF by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    The iPhone 8 should include a Jobsian Reality Distortion Field (RDF).
    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reality_distortion_field

  21. Oh shit no... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Law enforcement's gonna take this and morph it into a portable (and unremoveable w/o authorization) Room 101 wearable apparatus (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Room_101).

  22. You're asking me? by backslashdot · · Score: 1

    Why in the fuck are you asking me that? I came here to get the news, not to be asked what the news is. Shit.

  23. Pompous by Fragnet · · Score: 1

    "augmented reality", or as we called it 10 years ago when we did it with a camera we manufactured, "blending two images together".

  24. Apple Hiring AR Talent by macs4all · · Score: 1

    I read somewhere a few months ago, that Apple was snapping-up AR (and VR?) talent. They don't do that for no reason.

    Ah, here's an article...

  25. Re:Buzzfeed, EditorDavid don't understand 3d camer by macs4all · · Score: 0

    An iphone7 with "dual cameras" is not capable of producing depth maps

    And yet it does.

    What's with the scare quotes around "dual cameras", anyway? Do you not believe that the 7 Plus has two cameras?

    Scare quotes. I love that!

  26. Re:Buzzfeed, EditorDavid don't understand 3d camer by macs4all · · Score: 1

    An iphone7 with "dual cameras" is not capable of producing depth maps, just like none of the Android phones with two cameras, side by side, less than 1cm apart, can produce depth maps. These are two different cameras with different lenses, which are used to give 2D images greater dynamic range and resolution.

    Stereo cameras, which are capable of producing depth maps and creating 3D images and environments, are two identical cameras that are placed at minimum one to two inches apart, as seen in the HTC Evo 3D, the Amazon Fire Phone, and the Lenovo Phab 2. They are fundamentally different.

    Hey dumbass. Apple never claimed they were used for stereoscopic imaging. Their miniscule parallax is being used ONLY to create a pseudo-depth-map, for use with a software-simulated "narrow depth of field" effect that is often used in portrait (and other) photography with "real" cameras. The effect is so popular that it was actually worth the effort and expense in software and hardware, apparently. The fact that they were able to get additional utility out of the 2nd camera by fitting it with a "telephoto" lens zoom-range was just bonus.

    Or maybe it was the other-way around. Maybe they wanted the optical telephoto, and someone said "Hey! I bet we can generate a fake narrow-focus effect with that!". Either way, the idea was NEVER "3D photos".

  27. Re:Buzzfeed, EditorDavid don't understand 3d camer by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Hey dumbass. Apple never claimed they were used for stereoscopic imaging. Their miniscule parallax is being used ONLY to create a pseudo-depth-map

    The original poster never said that apple did claim that. He was arguing with the summary that said that the dual cameras were designed for depth maps and the OP was claiming correctly that no, it's not and you agree with him. So it seems pointless to be insulting someone who agrees with you.