Skip to main content

Apple reportedly hiring augmented reality team to work on Maps app

apple-logo
Image used with permission by copyright holder

Apple has made some investments and a big bet on AR in recent years, and we’ve seen some of its early work in this space on products like Animoji, Memoji, and the Measure app on the iPhone. Now, according to recent job postings, it looks like the next Apple product that could get transformed by augmented reality will be the Maps app.

An examination of Apple’s career site by Thinknum reveals that Apple is looking for a number of AR applications engineers at various levels, along with a technical artist, FX artist, and UI artist. These AR-related job postings span from August 10 through August 22, and Thinknum posited that these jobs may have been created to support the Apple Maps team. In July, the Apple Maps team was searching for a product architect, and interestingly, augmented reality was one of the areas highlighted in that job description.

“Digital maps have become essential tools of our everyday lives, yet despite their ubiquity, they are still in their infancy,” Apple said of the Apple Maps product architect job. “From urban mobility to indoor positioning, from Lidar to augmented reality, advances in technology and new kinds of data are powering innovations in all areas of digital mapping. If you love maps and are passionate about what is possible, you will be in great company.”

Another Apple job posting from June for the position of iOS/MacOS engineer may give Thunknum’s hypothesis even more weight. Among some of the requirements for this job, Apple is looking for someone with a “familiarity with maps” and “familiarity with augmented reality APIs.” The mention of mapping and AR connects this June position to Apple’s efforts in AR and maps in the job postings for July and August.

Earlier this year, it was reported that Apple was looking at completely rebuilding Apple Maps. Apple is striving for better accuracy in this new version of Apple Maps, and the company has been collecting its own mapping data as part of this effort. If Apple adds augmented reality to Maps, it will  be able to compete against Google Maps and others in this space with more accurate maps. On phones, AR could help tourists get acquainted, navigate, and understand a new city better.

Editors' Recommendations

Chuong Nguyen
Silicon Valley-based technology reporter and Giants baseball fan who splits his time between Northern California and Southern…
Apple shares new Vision Pro ad just days before launch
A woman wearing the Vision Pro on a flight.

Hello Apple Vision Pro

Apple has dropped a new Vision Pro ad just a few days before the launch of the new device. You can watch it above.

Read more
The Apple Vision Pro app situation: the good, the bad, and the ugly
A man wearing the Vision Pro using floating keyboard while looking at virtual screens.

With Apple’s Vision Pro headset almost upon us, a lot of questions are being asked about the apps it will have when it launches. How many there will be? What will they be like to use. Are big-name developers are getting on board? We’ve all been wondering what Apple has got in store for us.

It’s not all a total mystery, though. With just a week before the Vision Pro starts arriving in people’s hands, we’re starting to get a clearer picture of the headset’s app situation. Some of it sounds exciting and some of it could be downright ugly -- but if Apple hopes to build a new platform out of the Vision Pro, app support will be key.
The good: 3D movies, iPad apps

Read more
Apple plans ‘living room’ atmosphere for Vision Pro demos
Apple's Vision Pro headset.

As Apple makes final preparations for the release of the Vision Pro on February 2, more details have been emerging about how the company plans to present the mixed-reality headset to people visiting its retail stores.

With the Vision Pro being the most important product release for Apple since the launch of the Apple Watch nearly a decade ago, the tech giant is leaving nothing to chance. Staff at Apple Stores in the U.S., where the Vision Pro will launch first, have been given special training on how to give shoppers the best possible experience with the headset right from the off.

Read more