Apple Inc. unveiled three new iPhones on Tuesday at its headquarters in Cupertino, Calif.
The iPhone 8, iPhone 8s and iPhone X all feature Apple’s first proprietary graphics processor, which provides greater speed, improved cameras and some features for augmented reality apps.
READ MORE: Apple unveils iPhone X, dubbed ‘the biggest leap forward since the original iPhone’
The augmented reality (AR) demonstration is what has caught the attention of many, it probably also left a few people wondering what it is.
Augmented reality allows video to be superimposed over real life visuals. Think of Pokeman Go as an example.
While that is one example, Apple believes they have set the bar higher.
READ MORE: Apple product launch: iPhone X unveiled alongside upgraded Apple Watch, Apple TV
Apple senior vice-president of worldwide marketing Phil Schiller said the company “custom tuned each iPhone for augmented reality.
“The cameras are actually individually calibrated in the factory and that makes a huge difference in the performance for AR.”
Schiller went on to provide a few examples of where this might be useful.
One was a game called Warhammer 40,000: Freeblade.
“You can now use the photo mode to bring the freeblade knight into the real world and play it right where your friends are standing around you,” he explained.
Perhaps a more intriguing application was for the MLB.com At Bat app.
Spectators will be able to hold the phone up over the field and access the stats of the players on the diamond.
The third app Schiller spoke of was Skyguide from Fifth Star Labs.
This particular app will allow you to “superimpose the map on top of the sky as you are looking at it around you,” he explained. “This isn’t some generic sky, this is the sky around you.”
The app that has generated the biggest buzz is one called Animoji.
Animoji allows users to create messages which will reflect a person’s actual emotions as they are talking. Essentially, you can shoot a video message in which your face will look like an animated panda or robot but it will include whatever expressions you are making as you record the message. There are more than 50 options to choose from.
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Apple is betting heavily on AR technology as it has been reported by Bloomberg News they are working on digital glasses which would connect to an iPhone.
While the current market for the products is relatively miniscule, it is expected to be worth $165 billion by 2024.