Apple's AR apps will finally be able to stick things on walls

When iOS 11.3 launches, it'll pack tech developers can use to make their augmented reality apps do things they've never been able to do before.

Apple's ARKit 1.5 uses advanced computer vision to recognize images and integrate them into an AR scene. For instance, a demo app has you point your camera at a poster of a lunar module hanging on the wall to launch an interactive video of the 1969 moon landing on the Sea of Tranquility.

Games that let you bounce virtual balls off the floor and wall. Apps that make you feel like you're at the 1969 moon landing after pointing your phone at a poster.

These are a couple of the new things you'll be able to do on your iPhone and iPad with Apple's augmented reality update, ARKit 1.5. The software, which is part of the upcoming iOS 11.3 release, will pack new features to enable richer apps. That includes the ability to places items on vertical walls and doors, not just horizontal surfaces like tables. It also has image detection for signs, posters and artwork, and it supports higher resolution for the real-world images you see on your screen.

CNET got an early peek at the sort of apps developers will be able to make using ARKit 1.5, such as those demo ball game and moon landing apps. (Sadly, they won't actually be available, unless some enterprising developers create them.)

Apple also included the ARKit news in a broader set of announcements Wednesday previewing features of iOS 11.3. Notably, the update to iOS will give iPhone users new ways to keep tabs on the health of the phone's battery and whether it needs to be serviced. Users will also be able to choose whether to turn off a key power management feature. That follows from an uproar in late 2017 over Apple's slowdown of older iPhones to offset battery problems.

Watch this:Apple iOS 11.3 packing in AR, more animoji, battery controls

Also coming in iOS 11.3: a feature called Business Chat that will let users communicate directly with businesses from within Messages; four new animoji (lion, bear, dragon and skull) for iPhone X users; and a new Health Records featuredesigned to bring together hospitals, clinics and the existing Health app to make it easy for consumers to see their medical data from multiple providers.

The company said that the AR, animoji and health records features will arrive in iOS 11.3 in the spring, while the Business Chat feature will launch in beta with the public availability of iOS 11.3. The battery features, it said, will come in a later iOS 11.3 beta release.

source: cnet