Apple Augmented Reality: Test it now in Apple Maps flyover mode

If you haven’t heard about or tried Augmented Reality, time to get on board because it’s hitting the mainstream and what it does blows Virtual Reality out of the water.

Yes I know, VR is amazing, it’s the future of gaming and all that – but I’ve been saying for a while that Augmented Reality (AR) has much wider applications and potential appeal.

Apple demonstrated their power in this space at WWDC just weeks ago, with an amazing demo from the team who work with filmmaker Peter Jackson.  Apple aren’t building AR applications, they are building the brains behind AR into iOS – allowing developers to make the most of it with relative ease.

Well it seems Apple’s own developers are getting in on the action, in the Beta release of iOS 11, the Apple Maps app has one hell of an amazing feature – Augmented Reality, and it’s a great way to bring the concept into a demonstration for people who haven’t seen it.

While it’s not a true representation of AR in that it does not combine the real world with the virtual, in fact a purist would argue this is in fact Virtual Reality – without the headset.

The point is, it’s using Apple’s AR Kit, the developer module that makes it all happen, and man it’s exciting.

To give it a try yourself, you need to be running the iOS 11 Beta, either as a developer, or on the Public Beta – remember though, don’t do it on your primary device, it’s for testing only!

One that’s running, open Apple Maps, then  search for a location.  Click on it and choose the “Flyover” – you’re immediately transported to the location as if you are standing there.

In previous iOS versions the flyover put you in a helicopter view flying around the location – in iOS 11 you’re standing in place, and can walk around  – as far as you want.

Really amazing stuff.

Source: Twitter