10 Best iOS Apps to Experience Augmented Reality Now
With iOS 11, and the addition of ARKit, Apple's mobile operating system has officially entered the augmented reality revolution. The first wave of ARKit-powered apps has hit the App Store this week, and there are a lot of them. Use the right arrow to view 10 of the best AR apps available now so you can try out iOS 11's new augmented reality capabilities.
10 ARise
For those looking to get into the augmented reality gaming sphere (without resorting to Pokemon Go), ARise is a great choice. It’s a relatively simple platformer and 3D puzzle game that lets users explore a scalable environment that can be projected onto a tabletop or other flat surface. There aren’t any controls, meaning that users will have to actually physically move around the landscape to complete the various tasks. ARise is $2.99. Get it here.
9 Stack AR
Admittedly, Stack AR is not the flashiest or most comprehensive augmented reality app. Really, the only thing it does is allow users to place and stack blocks using AR. But its simplicity is its main strength, as it happens to be one of the best ways to show off ARKit’s capabilities to your non-tech savvy friends and family. Just hand them your phone or tablet and watch the resulting amazement. Stack AR is free to download and use. Get it here.
8 MeasureKit
Of course, AR would be strictly be a fun distraction without practical and useful apps like MeasureKit. This hefty and powerful platform lets users leverage augmented reality to measure a wide variety of real-world objects — from flat surfaces to angles to a person’s height. It even features 3D cubic measuring and a built-in level. Its brings AR thoroughly into the useful spectrum. The basic ruler function is free. The rest of the tools are included with a one-time $2.99 purchase. Get it here.
7 Strava Fitness AR
Strava has long been a big player in the social-fitness app market, and the company has now moved into the augmented reality game. The app lets cyclists, runners and athletes visualize their fitness activities and custom routes via 3D maps provided by Mapbox. Fitness AR even lets users explore famous, real-world environments like the Mont Ventoux cycling route and the trails of Yosemite Valley. Fitness AR is $2.99. Get it here.
6 GIPHY World
If you’re like much of the internet, you probably like GIFs. GIPHY world, brought to the App Store by the GIF search engine, lets you place moving stickers on basically anything in your environment. These moving GIFs can then be captured in a photo or video. As seen in a recent video demo, it’s a great and fun way to leave little notes or reminders to friends and family. GIPHY World is free to download. Get it here.
5 IKEA Place
IKEA was one of the first major companies to announce plans for an ARKit app, and they’ve delivered. Place lets users visualize how over 2,000 IKEA items would look like in their own homes, and even share their virtually decorated spaces to social networking sites. Perhaps best of all, you won’t have to read their notoriously difficult instructions (unless you buy something, of course, which you can do through the app). IKEA Place is free to download and use. Get it here.
4 Sky Guide
Sky Guide, demoed during Apple’s fall announcement event, is a great way to bring the magic of space to your iPhone. Just point at the app at the sky, and Sky Guide will let you know exactly which celestial bodies are there in real-time — including constellations, planets and stars. Just tap on any of those sky-based objects, and the app will bring you to a page with more information. Sky Guide is $2.99 on the App Store. Get it here.
3 World Brush
World Brush is an app that lets you decorate your physical world using 3D shapes and designs. That may sound like a pretty basic concept, but one of the cooler features is that objects or drawings don’t disappear (unless you delete them), so other users can see your works of art in public spaces — it’s like street art without the illegality. World Brush is a free download. Get it here.
2 Holo
You may not be able to hang out with celebrities and fictional characters, but Holo may just be the next best thing. The new ARKit-enhanced version of the app lets you “place” holographic models in real-world environments. Those 3D models range from real-life personalities like astronaut Buzz Aldrin, actor Jon Hamm, and R&B singer Jhené Aiko, to a range of animals and mythical creatures. Holo is free to download and use. Get it here.
1 Complete Anatomy 2018
Showing off the education potential of ARKit, the new version of Complete Anatomy features an AR mode that lets users place a 3D anatomical model on any flat surface using their iPad or iPad Pro running iOS 11. For medical students, anatomy majors and curious learners, it’s a great way to bring human anatomy lessons out of the textbook and (basically) into the real world. The app is free to download, but the full unlocked version costs $24.99. Get it here.