The end goal of Apple’s augmented reality program is currently a mystery, particularly in light of a recent DigiTimes rumor claiming that Apple disbanded the team for responsible for its AR head-mounted display. This rumor flies in the face of a slightly earlier report from analyst Ming-Chi Kuo claiming we’d see some kind of Apple AR headset as early as next year.
There’s little doubt, though, that Apple is still championing augmented reality with a zeal we find in few other competitors, and the progress in the new ARKit 3 (and so in iOS 13 and iPadOS 13) feels like a great leap forward. That leap is so great, in fact, that the many of the features only work with iPhones or iPads running A12 chips or better. (And for that matter, that progress strongly suggests that Apple is designing a headset or glasses that will allow these features to shine, but anyway.)
