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Why has this comment thread devolved into comparing the number of Android OS installs versus the number of iPhones sold. They are apples and oranges and the po

Why has this comment thread devolved into comparing the number of Android OS installs versus the number of iPhones sold. They are apples and oranges and the point is that the iPhone for a few years back is a guaranteed hardware specification that you can guarantee ARKit will work on. If you think about this for Android, you'd need to slice it by the devices that are compatible - it's not going to be a guarantee by OS.

ClassyJacket 9y ago
I hope that ARKit can be a lesson in what works well and what doesn't, and spur the open source community to create something like it, but cross platform. As more phones get dual cameras, what we can do with software like this will only get better. Look at OpenCV for example.
- MBCook 9y ago
  ARKit doesn't seem to require dual cameras because it runs on iPads too. I do wonder if it uses the depth sensing second camera in the iPhone 7 Plus, or if that data isn't fast/precise enough to be useful.
  - jclardy 9y ago
    Apple added a new depth api that gives real time information from the dual cameras. I’d be surprised if ARKit doesn’t use it to enhance the experience on the 7 Plus. That said, it isn’t required. I have run the demo on my own iPad...the tracking is seriously impressive even with just the one camera.
  - lawik 9y ago
    I believe they mentioned using the dual camera specifically during the keynote.
    - madeofpalk 9y ago
      ARKit does not require dual cameras. I'm running it now on a single camera iPhone.
      - lawik 9y ago
        So I hear, but parent wondered if they used the depth data so I figured I'd mention it. Not saying it doesn't work with a single camera :)
  - trojectory 9y ago
    Where do y'all have access to the ARKit demo?
altstar 9y ago
You need to that anyway with ARKit, it only runs on A9 and A10.
- callumjones 9y ago
  Good catch, A9 isn't a few years back. My argument probably isn't as valid but I still think the guarantee of 2 iPhone generations is safer than the fragmentation of Android devices that would be "released in the past 2 years".
  - djrogers 9y ago
    By the time ARKit is shipping, the A9 will be 2 years old, and there will be 3 generations of iOS devices supported (A9-A11).
  - potatolicious 9y ago
    Agree that ARKit is likely to be more successful than an Android equivalent - it's not just version fragmentation but also hardware capability fragmentation. Not only is the install rate for the latest Android dramatically smaller than the latest iOS, but camera capabilities (and GPU horsepower to drive the AR itself) are all over the place, with no guarantee that the camera module in the phone will provide even a satisfactory experience, or that the GPU will be sufficiently capable. Camera APIs on Android are also a complete jibbering mess, which adds to the difficulty of anything that seeks to work across all (or even most) devices. One distinct iOS advantage isn't just that adoption of new versions is rapid, but also that hardware capability variance is low, so devs can be confident that their products work well, as opposed to barely working.

ClassyJacket 9y ago

I hope that ARKit can be a lesson in what works well and what doesn't, and spur the open source community to create something like it, but cross platform. As more phones get dual cameras, what we can do with software like this will only get better. Look at OpenCV for example.

MBCook 9y ago
ARKit doesn't seem to require dual cameras because it runs on iPads too. I do wonder if it uses the depth sensing second camera in the iPhone 7 Plus, or if that data isn't fast/precise enough to be useful.
- jclardy 9y ago
  Apple added a new depth api that gives real time information from the dual cameras. I’d be surprised if ARKit doesn’t use it to enhance the experience on the 7 Plus. That said, it isn’t required. I have run the demo on my own iPad...the tracking is seriously impressive even with just the one camera.
- lawik 9y ago
  I believe they mentioned using the dual camera specifically during the keynote.
  - madeofpalk 9y ago
    ARKit does not require dual cameras. I'm running it now on a single camera iPhone.
    - lawik 9y ago
      So I hear, but parent wondered if they used the depth data so I figured I'd mention it. Not saying it doesn't work with a single camera :)
- trojectory 9y ago
  Where do y'all have access to the ARKit demo?

altstar 9y ago

You need to that anyway with ARKit, it only runs on A9 and A10.

callumjones 9y ago
Good catch, A9 isn't a few years back. My argument probably isn't as valid but I still think the guarantee of 2 iPhone generations is safer than the fragmentation of Android devices that would be "released in the past 2 years".
- djrogers 9y ago
  By the time ARKit is shipping, the A9 will be 2 years old, and there will be 3 generations of iOS devices supported (A9-A11).
- potatolicious 9y ago
  Agree that ARKit is likely to be more successful than an Android equivalent - it's not just version fragmentation but also hardware capability fragmentation. Not only is the install rate for the latest Android dramatically smaller than the latest iOS, but camera capabilities (and GPU horsepower to drive the AR itself) are all over the place, with no guarantee that the camera module in the phone will provide even a satisfactory experience, or that the GPU will be sufficiently capable. Camera APIs on Android are also a complete jibbering mess, which adds to the difficulty of anything that seeks to work across all (or even most) devices. One distinct iOS advantage isn't just that adoption of new versions is rapid, but also that hardware capability variance is low, so devs can be confident that their products work well, as opposed to barely working.