Skip to main content

Apple shows off iPhone 8’s augmented reality features at September 12 event

At WWDC 2017, Apple lifted the lid on its ARKit augmented reality development tools. At the company’s September 12 event, AR apps were given major spotlight as part of the iPhone 8 and iPhone X reveal.

Apple is billing the iPhone 8 and iPhone X as the first smartphones designed with AR in mind. Their cameras have been calibrated for the technology, and the phones are capable of delivering crisp, 60fps visuals even in low-light conditions, and they are outfitted with a new gyroscope and accelerometer to track motion accurately — something that developers have been eager to see.

Recommended Videos

The A11 Bionic is the jewel in the crown of these AR capabilities. Its CPU handles world tracking and makes sure that the scenes virtual objects are placed in are rendered consistently, its GPU outputs realistic graphics, and Apple’s custom-designed ISP handles lighting.

A few examples of apps developed to take full advantage of the AR hardware were shown off. Major League Baseball’s At Bat app layers player stats over a live view of the game while you’re at the stadium, which seems like a great way to merge the best aspects of broadcast coverage with the appeal of being in the crowd.

Sky Guide overlays a star map over the night sky, making it easy to spot individual constellations. We only saw brief glimpses of these apps, but if they work as flawlessly as they seemed to, they’ll go a long way toward demonstrating that AR is something of a gamechanger and not just a gimmick.

Directive Games demonstrated its new title, The Machines. It’s a multiplayer game where a landscape is virtually implanted on a flat surface in the real world, with players invited to move around the environment to gain a tactical advantage over the opposing force.

The Machines looks like an action-centric take on real-time strategy with a focus on the land grabs that make MOBA games so compelling. It’s set to be released via the App Store later this month.

Pre-orders on the iPhone 8, 8 Plus, and iPhone X are set to open on September 15, with the devices arriving a week later on September 22, while iOS 11 launches on September 19.

Brad Jones
Brad is an English-born writer currently splitting his time between Edinburgh and Pennsylvania. You can find him on Twitter…
iPhone 17 price looks more certain to rise for first time since the iPhone 12
Apple might be preparing its first iPhone price increase in five years
iPhone 16 Pro Max next to the 16 Plus, 16 Pro and regular iPhone 16

For years now, Apple has launched the base model iPhone at $799 - but in 2025, more and more signs are pointing towards prices being increased for the introduction of the iPhone 17.

The likelihood of an iPhone 17 price increase was raised by the Wall Street Journal in May, and now Counterpoint Research notes in its recent 2025 shipment forecast that "cost increases are expected to be passed on to consumers" by not only Apple, but Samsung as well.

Read more
Why you shouldn’t care what number Apple puts on your iPhone’s software
The Apple iPhone 16 Pro Max's screen.

One number may change to another number at an important industry event on June 9, and despite some of the headlines that have been circulating around the news, this succinct explanation of what may happen allows you to guage its real importance. Apparently, Apple may use the WWDC 2025 keynote presentation to announce a change from the expected iOS 19 software’s name to iOS 26, and here’s why you shouldn’t worry about it. 

Many people won’t even know

Read more
20 iPhones elevate Danny Boyle’s 28 Years Later scene
A camera rig with 20 iPhones being used to shoot part of 28 Years Later.

We already know that the iPhone is a versatile piece of kit with a powerful camera capable of capturing highly impressive video.

That quality, coupled with the phone’s small size compared to conventional movie cameras, has been inspiring a growing number of filmmakers to use Apple’s handset for at least some of the shots in their grand productions.

Read more