Apple is expected to announce three new smartphones this year, the anniversary iPhone 8 with exciting new features, and the iPhone 7s and 7s Plus. Rumors about the upcoming iPhone 8 have been surfacing in recent weeks, with a new report saying the phone could come with AR features.
Business Insider reported that Apple's upcoming iPhone 8 could have AR features. The report cites a research note in which UBS analyst Steven Milunovich cites multiple industry sources as saying that Apple appears to have 1,000 engineers working on a project in Israel that could be related to AR features.
Recent rumors suggest that the company is planning to launch a dedicated line of AR glasses. As with any leak, take this information with a grain of salt, as nothing is certain until the phone is officially announced.
Additionally, integrating AR into a smartphone is easier to do, considering it only requires the device's front-facing camera. The analyst says new AR products from Apple could come in the next iPhone. These could include 3D mapping tools and possibly an AR software development kit.
To support this effort, the research note pointed to some recent comments Tim Cook made about AR, saying that AR is “a core technology, not a product in itself.” He added that “augmented reality will take some time to get right, but I think it will be very useful.”
