A Bloomberg report gives us a glimpse into what Apple may potentially be working on in terms of augmented reality and how it may be carried out.
Firstly, it corroborates with past reports in saying that Apple has a large number of engineers working on AR features and that it will first debut on the iPhone.
Hundreds of engineers are now devoted to the cause, including some on the iPhone camera team who are working on AR-related features for the iPhone, according to one of the people.
Bloomberg also describes some specific features Apple is exploring, but lacks detail.
One of the features Apple is exploring is the ability to take a picture and then change the depth of the photograph or the depth of specific objects in the picture later; another would isolate an object in the image, such as a person’s head, and allow it to be tilted 180 degrees. A different feature in development would use augmented reality to place virtual effects and objects on a person, much the way Snapchat works.
However, the report does believe that Apple will be producing AR glasses in the future, despite Google’s failed attempt at them.
The AR-enhanced glasses are further down the road, the people say. Getting the product right will be key, of course. Wearables are hard […]
The current crop of AR glasses are either under-powered and flimsy or powerful and overwhelmingly large. Apple, the king of thin and light, will have to leapfrog current products by launching something small and powerful.
The piece also notes that Apple has recruited some high-profile engineers to work on the project.
Run by a former Dolby Laboratories executive, the group includes engineers who worked on the Oculus and HoloLens virtual reality headsets sold by Facebook and Microsoft as well as digital-effects wizards from Hollywood.
