New apps created with ARKit previewed; Apple updates AR design guidelines

Apple invited several media sites to its Cupertino, California, campus this week to show off some upcoming ARKit apps being developed by major companies like The Food Network, Ikea, Giphy, and AMC, according to various sites, including CNBC, The Verge, and TechCrunch. 

At this summer’s Worldwide Developer Conference (WWDC), Apple introduced ARKit. It allows developers to tap into the latest computer vision technologies to build detailed virtual content on top of real-world scenes for interactive gaming, immersive shopping experiences, industrial design and more. 

Details on how to design intuitive augmented reality experiences for iOS using the best practices are now available in the Human Interface Guidelines. Developers can now explore new sample code for ARKit. Apple says “we can’t wait for your apps to be available to hundreds of millions of people with the launch of iOS 11 this fall.” 

According to the IDC research group, total spending on AR/VR products and services is expected to soar from $11.4 billion in 2017 to nearly $215 billion 2021, achieving a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 113.2% along the way. In June, Apple and Ikea announced an augmented reality app that allows users to try out how furniture will look in the home before buying. And following is a list of the apps shown to media sites this week.

The Food Network is launching an app that will let you create custom digital desserts. The app will return a recipe that can help you build it in real life.

AMC and Next Games are teaming up on a game (pictured above) called “The Walking Dead: Our World.” With it you can battle against zombies through your phone, much like players interact with characters in Pokemon Go. 

In The Very Hungry Caterpillar AR app. A caterpillar inches around the room you’re in. You feed it and, eventually it turns into a butterfly. When you look up through the lens of an iPhone or iPad, it joins the dozens of other butterflies that have been created through previous game plays.

Arise, a game from Climax Studios, places a scalable 3D world full of crumbling ruins onto your tabletop. You help character navigate through the world without any traditional controls.

Giphy — the popular GIF application — will soon let you drop GIFs into the real world, instead of limiting them to a 2D space.