Apple has recently announced the latest iPad Pro tablet version featuring a LiDAR scanner for AR. It is the very same technology utilised by driverless cars for road and obstacle navigation. According to Apple, the latest model will further consolidate the iPad Pro as the best AR device in the world.
The new tablet is the first Apple device featuring dual rear-facing cameras and is considered more powerful and faster than the majority of Windows PCs. Apple also claimed that a development like this is completely new to mobile computing.
LiDAR or Light-detection and Ranging technology detects depth by measuring its distance with surrounding objects at up to five metres away. The new technology will work in synchronicity with a 12MP wide camera and a new 10MP ultra-wide secondary camera, computer vision algorithms, and motion sensors. It is powered by the faster and newer A12Z Bionic processor for generating improved blueprints of outdoor and indoor environments.
Based on Apple’s claims, the new technology will aid the tablet to offer improved augmented reality experiences, by layering digital components amidst real-world surroundings. This creates more dynamic and realistic gaming experiences and also enhances the precision of applications overlaying digital furniture in indoor settings to create real-life appearance representations.
Apple has been making substantial investments in augmented reality in recent years. One of the most remarkable examples of successful AR investments is the widely-popular Pokémon Go game. Back in 2016, Apple Chief Executive Tim Cook had remarked that Apple was enthusiastic about the long-term prospects of AR technology. This was a year before the launch of Apple’s ARKit, the framework utilised by developers to design augmented reality applications for the iOS operating system.
Cook had remarked back then about the company envisioning how technology already in existence is revolutionising the way people connect, work, play and learn things. He had concluded that augmented reality can be a major driving force for transforming how technology is utilised in the future.
The latest Apple iPad Pro model will hit the markets with 11 and 12.9-inch screen size variations, available across 128, 256, 512 GB and 1 TB storage variants. The smaller model will retail from a starting price of £769, whilst the larger screen version will go for £969. Apple also has plans to launch a new Magic Keyboard model featuring a trackpad for the iPad Pro sometime in May. It will come with a backlit keyword and a tilting stand, both incorporated to make tablet user experiences more familiar to those on computers.
The company has also made an announcement recently about a new and more affordable MacBook Air laptop variant. The latest MacBook Air variant will cost buyers £999 and offer twice the speed of its earlier version, along with twice the storage. Featuring a 13-inch screen size, the new model is the first to feature quad-core processors. These processors enable improved and remarkably faster performances.
Apple has recently announced the temporary closure of all stores across the globe in light of the recent coronavirus pandemic. It released a statement stressing the importance of social distance to reduce the chances of transmitting the disease.
