Apple will allow anyone to create apps for their mixed reality headsets using Siri, which is an additional way to easily expand the app ecosystem.
Apple’s long-rumored mixed reality headset can help you create apps even if you don’t know how to code. The Information sources say the Cupertino-based company is working on a tool that will allow anyone to create augmented reality apps using Siri. Just tell the voice assistant what you want. So you can have virtual animals all around you without the need for any modeling, animation or programming software.
Apple will let anyone create apps for their mixed reality headset using Siri.
This augmented reality tool will be based on technology from the Canadian company Fabric Software, which Apple acquired in 2017. Its Fabric Engine allows developers to automatically create environments and objects using procedural generation, a technique used in games like No Man’s Sky. Peter Zion, one of Fabric’s co-founders, will lead the development of this tool. In 2016, the Apple brand also acquired DigitalRune, which is working to make 3D game development easier.
Apple can also save you the hassle of creating every object for headset apps. You can scan and import objects that, if all goes well, will look exactly like what you see. You wouldn’t have to just use Apple’s catalog of existing models. Tools such as Object Capture, which creates 3D models from iPhone photos, and RoomPlan for virtual plans fit right into this vast initiative.
An additional way to easily expand your app ecosystem
The company clearly did not want to comment on this topic. The development progress of this Siri-based tool is not exactly known, but American blog sources suggest that Apple’s original plan was to launch it at the same time as the helmet. According to current rumors, said helmet will appear this spring.
According to previous rumors, the first version of this mixed reality headset, which could be called Reality Pro, will be very expensive and aimed more at professionals than the general public. That being said, the leaks suggest that Apple is still working on developing features that will only appeal to this core audience, such as FaceTime calls with avatars with arms and legs, and health and fitness apps, including meditation. With this simple development tool, Cupterino could lay the groundwork for a less expensive device, highlighting a rich app ecosystem – and there will already be plenty of apps when an affordable headset hits the market.