Ahead of the launch of iOS 11, developers have been busy experimenting with ARKit, Apple's upcoming augmented reality platform, to see how it could be used in various everyday scenarios and contexts.
The latest demo to catch the eye comes courtesy of ModiFace (via 9to5Mac), which specializes in creating augmented reality apps for the beauty industry. The company recently uploaded a video showcasing a lipstick previewer and virtual "beauty gallery" in a cosmetics store.
The video demonstrates a person looking into the front-facing camera of their iPhone and trying out various shades of lipstick, minus the faff of having to actually apply it, enabling the user to quickly choose their preferred color.
Later in the video, the woman browses a virtual aisle of images of herself with various cosmetics digitally applied, making her selection a much simpler process than the traditional hassle of physical application.
ModiFace envisions further uses for ARKit in the cosmetic space, some of which it demonstrated in a second video that showcases a "virtual beauty counter".
"Users start with trying on different beauty products on their own video through ModiFace's iOS app. From there, once a selection of products have been made, they can then instantly see their products, product reviews, and product simulations on their own photo rendered as a virtual beauty counter. Users can walk close to the counter to zoom and view specific product visualizations or features. For example, to see the details of a lipstick, they simple walk closer to their photo and move their devices closer to a virtual lip."
ModiFace says it will be testing virtual beauty counters with a variety of different partners over the coming weeks, but the first apps with ARKit won't be available until iOS 11 is officially available to the public in September.
So far, developers have demonstrate everything from live filter applications in a recreation of A-ha's Take On Me video to live measurements of furniture and room spaces, and we can surely expect many more to come. Check out the links below for more ARKit demos.
- ARKit Roundup: Turn-by-Turn Directions, Precise Room Measurements, and Pac-Man
- Apple's ARKit Used to Recreate Classic A-ha 'Take On Me' Video
- Apple Users' Mixed Reality Future Teased in Latest ARKit Demo
- Latest Apps to Showcase Apple's ARKit Include Simple Measuring Tape and Minecraft
- Developers Share First Augmented Reality Creations Using Apple's ARKit
Top Rated Comments
Who’s the audience of MacRumors? Mothers of teen-aged girls?
There's another 'problem' which I think is real although some might think it's a complot theory, control over energy is a fact, I think certain technologies are 'bought' to then vanish/never heard from again.
I can see the argument for holding it up in front of your face to quickly select makeup or whatever. But these floating panes everywhere just seems like the wrong idea. IDK. Maybe I just haven't seen it implemented properly yet. The primary problems are arm fatigue and how weird it looks. I have a theory that Apple is starting out on the iPhone to get people and companies interested with small little demo apps and some useful utilities, and will then blow them away with a discrete wearable at some point several years down the road from now. These apps will serve as a foundation for that platform and allow it to take off quicker once Apple has the hardware nailed down properly.
The other obvious problem is battery life. Having your display turned on—especially if you're outside or in another brightly lit area—running complex visual analysis of the environment while drawing 3D objects on top of it sounds like a huge battery drain. Just recording video quickly drains the battery on my iPhone 7.