Pokemon Go’s Augmented Reality to Get Big Upgrade on Apple Devices

This week, Apple is hosting its Worldwide Developer Conference in San Jose, California. The annual conference serves as a showcase for various new Apple products as well as a look ahead for what’s next for developers. Although most of the big news coming out of the conference involves new iMacs or the new HomePod that serves as a dual speaker and household helper, Apple also revealed some news that will impact Pokemon Go.

Apple is developing a new augmented reality tool called ARKit that will allow for a more “immersive” AR experience. The system will used motion tracking, scale estimation, and ambient lighting to create a much more realistic look and feel, which will supposedly create a big step up from Apple’s current system.

Pokemon Go was used to demonstrate the new AR system and a video was shown of a player tossing PokeBalls at Pikachu. While the game looked the same on the surface, two big differences were noted. Pikachu was standing on the ground as opposed to hovering in the air and a missed Pokeball bounced along the ground, following the general curve of the ground. While they were subtle changes, they speak to an improved AR system that actually incorporates the visuals it receives from the iPhone’s camera instead of just using it as a glorified backdrop.

There’s no word on when the ARKit will roll out or how else it will impact Pokemon Go and other games that use AR. Still, this is a pretty big sign that augmented reality-based games and apps are going to be around for a long, long time.

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