Apple appears to be the only big smartphone company that’s not yet done something in the mobile virtual reality space. The company appears to be more interested in augmented reality, its own comments reveal that much, but it hasn’t even shown off an AR product just yet. Apple is expected to do so with the iPhone 8 later this year. According to a new report, the company has around 1,000 engineers working on its augmented reality offering.
Business Insider claims to have seen a UBS research note which mentions that Apple may have more than 1,000 engineers working on an augmented reality project and that the company might come out with its very first AR offering with the iPhone 8 later this year.
The note mentions that the upcoming iPhone might include “moderate 3D mapping” features as well as an AR software development kit for developers which will allow them to build their own experiences by leveraging Apple’s AR technology.
This note is similar to the one shared by KGI Securities recently which mentioned that the iPhone 8 will have a “revolutionary” camera capable of sensing 3D space. It was also predicted that this technology would be used for features like 3D selfies as well as the ability to create avatars for use in augmented reality games.
None of this has obviously been confirmed by Apple as yet so take it with a grain of salt until there’s more information. Apple is not due to launch the next-generation iPhone until the fall this year.
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