Much of Apple’s upcoming ARKit 3 feature set will be available only on current-generation A12-powered iPhones and iPads.
The reveal is buried in the fine print at the bottom of the ARKit3 features set webpage on Apple’s Developer site. Advanced ARKit 3 features will be limited to devices powered by the A12 Bionic and A12X Bionic chip.
“People Occlusion and the use of motion capture, simultaneous front and back camera, and multiple face tracking are supported on devices with A12/A12X Bionic chips, ANE, and TrueDepth Camera.”
The restriction means only the iPhone XR, iPhone XS and iPhone XS Max, 11-inch iPad Pro and third-generation 12.9-inch iPad Pro will boast all of the new toolkit’s features.
ARKit 3 includes a number of exciting enhancements designed to aid developers in creating Augmented Reality apps on the iOS platform.
New features include People Occlusion, which automatically detects humans, allowing AR objects to pass behind and in front of the people. Motion Capture determines a person’s body position, translating that info into user input.
ARKit 3 also supports simultaneous use face and world tracking on the front and back cameras. For example, users can interact with AR content in the back camera view using just their face. The feature uses the TrueDepth camera systems found in iPhone X, XR, XS and XS Max, as well as the latest iPad Pro models.
ARKit 3 will debut alongside iOS 13 this fall.