Opinion: ARCore proves Google's major backlog on Apple's ARKit
Although Google has been publicly augmenting augmented reality for years, the company is still following Apple's ARKit . How did Google give such a big edge?
ARKit vs. ARCore: Google has given it away
This week , Google revealed ARCore , Android's response to ARKit. The announcement is good news for the AR market, which will grow at a rapid pace in the coming months. At one glance, developers can develop their apps for both iPhones and Android devices. At the same time, ARCore makes something painful: Google had to respond to Apple, while the company had every chance to do the opposite.
The announcement felt rushed: Google sent a press release and posted some demonstration videos online. Meanwhile, there is not even a clear logo for ARCore. Compare this to the way Apple ARKit presented: on the WWDC stage in a full-featured audience, featuring demonstrations of well-known names from industry and with a clear story.
And that's crazy. With Project Tango, Google has been trying to bring augmented reality to the smartphone for years, but it always requires pricey and special smartphones. Only now does the company come up with a software package that can theoretically be installed on many more phones. Starting with the Google Pixel and Galaxy S8 , but later on Android phones from other major brands. And if ARCore was always on schedule, why did not the company reveal the technology at its own developer conference Google I / O ?
Who sells AR the best?
For the time being, it does not matter which technique is better. Both ARKit and ARCore bring augmented reality to an audience in an accessible way, with software that impressively captures digital objects in the real world. Most people will not soon see a big difference between the two.
Augmented reality is still in its infancy, and both ARKit and ARCore will take major steps over the years to optimize and expand the technology. For now, the one who demonstrates the technique convincesly as a winner of the bus. Also in this area, Apple has a head start: all iPhones running iOS 11 running next month can get started with ARKit, while Android owners are still asking if and when their device is in turn.
Google has given ARCore Apple the opportunity to do what Cupertino's business is like: developing and making available an existing technology so that many people eventually believe that Apple is the one who invented it. While Google inform developers of the platform's capabilities, Apple shows at its headquarters how children's books and furniture purchases change forever.
No comments