Apple is convinced that A.R. is the technology
of the future, but frankly it hasn't done
a good job showing HOW it will become a part
of our everyday lives.
So that's why I've rounded up the following
apps.
They're not necessarily the most polished
A.R. apps on the App Store, but I think they're
the best ones for showing how A.R. can "augment"
our iPhone experience beyond visually nifty
gimmicks.
It may be familiar to you already, but Apple's
own Measure app is a good starting point.
It's built directly into iOS and lets you
make rough measurements with your iPhone's
camera.
You can even take a screenshot of that measurement
and send it to a friend.
Again, its measurements will be rough, and
we'll probably have to wait until Apple has
depth sensors in the iPhone's rear camera
before we REALLY get reliable accuracy.
All that said, the Measure app does an impressive
job through machine learning alone.
Next we have Sky Guide.
This star chart app has been around for years,
and I've always admired the way it lets you
use the iPhone's GPS to identify the stars
above you.
Before it had a camera-based A.R. mode, you
had to look back and forth between the app
and sky in order to figure out what you were
looking at.
With the new A.R. feature enabled by the camera,
though, you can overlay constellation maps
on top the night sky to learn exactly what
you're looking at.
Or you could even use it during the day to
see what the sky will look like on a specific
date.
The not-so-elegantly-named Sun Seeker 
Sun Tracker Compass KIND of follows the same
idea, but the focus here is on the SUN rather
than all the other stars.
It's a good app for showing where the sun
will be in the sky at a specific time of day
or date.
It's also great for figuring out if a bedroom
in a new apartment is going to get direct
sunlight at some point in the year.
In its camera mode, Sun Seeker also shows
trajectories for the summer and winter solstices—that's
when the noon time sun is at its highest point
in the sky.
This way you'll always be able to contextualize
the current day’s trajectory.
IKEA Place is a reminder that great A.R. apps
don't HAVE to be mind-blowing.
The concept here is simple—you choose a
piece of furniture you're interested in from
the app and IKEA Place lets you see how it
will look in your office or apartment.
It's a good way to tell if a piece of furniture
is really going to work for your room before
you spend money on it.
Jigspace reminds me of those interactive museums
for kids, but in this case you tinker with
digital A.R. models.
There are about 60 so-called "jigs" to choose
from, and that includes everything from the
Gutenberg Press to lightsabers.
With each model, you get a step-by-step explanation
of how each device works — even the fictional
ones!
A.R. games usually aren't all that fun, but
Smash Tanks is an exception.
It’s all about setting up A.R. boards on
tables or other surfaces where you aim tanks
at other tanks.
Obstacles like buildings or trees usually
get in the way, so Smash Tanks makes you move
around the table or counter in order to get
a better shot.
It’s entertaining to do this alone, but
I also like how Smash Tanks let you play local
multiplayer matches either by passing the
phone to a friend or inviting up to seven
people on the same network.
Zombie Gunship Revenant AR is a fun game,
too, and it shows how games can deliver good
A.R. experience without relying heavily on
the camera.
In this case you place the battlefield down
on a surface, and then you play as though
you're piloting a military helicopter protecting
a base from waves of zombies.
To get the best shot, you'll have to move
in close and move around the table.
It's fun, simple, and it doesn't overthink
A.R.—and I'm a big fan of that.
Not able to own a cat or a dog?
Consider getting a dragon with A.R.
Dragon.
It’s all about raising a dragon from the
moment it hatches, and the beast gets a little
bigger every day you log in.
The camera-based A.R. interface does a good
job of making it look as though the dragon
is hanging out in front of you, and I like
how it lets you feed your dragon or play ball
with it.
It's one of the best apps for seeing how fun
it can be to interact with digital beings
through AR.
A.R.
Runner does a good job showing how A.R. can
even augment exercise, which it does mainly
by letting you overlay the real world with
checkpoints in open spaces.
You can then run through these checkpoints
and compare your times against other people
in the world.
It's a cool idea, but it's one that will probably
be more rewarding when we all have A.R. glasses
or contacts or whatever.
As it is, you're always going to be jogging
with your phone in your hand, and that's never
NOT going to look weird.
Vuforia Chalk has A.R. features that I'd like
to see built right into FaceTime.
So long as you and a friend both have the
app, you can use the iPhone's camera on a
call to point out things with hand-drawn arrows
and circles in real time.
In my case, it'd be perfect for helping out
my dad with tech support from almost 2,000
miles away.
It's cool, but it's not without limitations.
You can only use the free version for calls
that last for three minutes, and again, the
lack of TrueDepth sensors on the rear camera
means the accuracy sometimes leaves a lot
to be desired.
That's it for now, but I'll say that I'm hoping
to hear some big news about A.R. with the
new iPhones that blows this kind of stuff
out of water.
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