Apple in their WWDC 2022 has talked about many things related to their products’ software and hardware updates. Here let’s have a look at a new feature of IOS 16. iOS 16 will integrate Apple’s U1 chip with ARKit. Moreover the new OS will have APIs which will give the developers the access to expand the ability of their apps.
Apple’s U1 Chip
The new Apple’s U1 Chip are for lock screen widgets, walkie-talkie, interactive maps, weather data, and more. Added to that rumours say that Apple has updated the Nearby Interaction API to integrate the U1 chip into ARKit.
With IOS 14 in iPhone 11 Apple introduced the Nearby Interactions. With the help of U1 chip available in iPhone 11, devices are enabled for detecting precise locations and spatial awareness. This can be used for things like detecting the distance between one iPhone and another. This feature is also available in Apple Watch series 6 as it has a U1 chip in it.
Apple’s AR/VR headset
Though there was no announcement, some rumors say that Apple is going to launch a new mixed reality headset either in late 2022 or early 2023. The device is expected to have multiple cameras and advanced sensors, including an ultra-wideband chip. It seems clear that it will have precise spatial awareness. In the WWDC opening keynote, there was a discussion about AR and VR. All these point out towards the announcement of a mixed reality headset in future. Apple didn’t officially announce anything about this. It means they really want developers to prepare their apps for this kind of interaction ahead of the headset announcement.
More about U1
Apple’s U1 chip was first introduced with a promise of faster experiences like faster AirDrop in the beginning. U1 is now used for things like car keys in the Wallet app and finding AirTag. So it is expected that the chip will definitely play a major role in Apple’s mixed reality headset.
