iPhone 8 Release Date, Specs News, Rumors: AR Support to Be Biggest Feature of Apple's Upcoming Releases?
Apple will release the new iPhone 8 next month, and their biggest feature yet is expected to be the augmented reality (AR) support.
Some of the iPhone 8's newest expected features are the dual lens camera, OLED display, wireless charging, and the almost bezel-less screen. However, these specs are already present in flagship smartphones that were recently launched by Apple's competitors.
Forbes anticipates that the biggest feature of the iPhone 8 doesn't necessarily come in the form of its hardware, but in the new iOS 11 that will be launched with it, which is expected to have AR support.
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Apple CEO Tim Cook has been dropping hints about developing AR support in their devices.
In an interview with The Independent earlier this year, Cook described AR as "a big idea like the smartphone." He then describes the smartphone as something that is "for everyone," which indicates that AR support will be something that will be useful for everyone as well.
Aside from this, Cook already presented the ARkit — which is a software toolkit that will aid iOS developers in creating AR experiences for iPhone and iPad devices — at the 2017 Worldwide Developer Conference in June.
Another thing that also strongly points to this is the placement of the dual lens camera on the new iPhone 8.
Metro inspected the prototype of Apple's final iPhone 8 design, where they interestingly found a dual lens camera at the back.
Although the previous iPhone models were already released with dual lens cameras, the one on the iPhone 8 prototype was positioned in a vertical orientation rather than a side-by-side placement similar to the iPhone 7 Plus.
If AR support becomes available in the iPhone 8, users will have to position their smartphones in a landscape orientation to make use of the feature. This makes the dual lens aligned horizontally, which is perfect when using AR.
Apple is expected to launch the new iPhone 8 on Sept. 12 at Apple's new Steve Jobs Theatre.
