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According to a paid report by Wayne Ma of The Information, Apple is working on new software tools that will allow developers and customers to create augmented reality (AR) apps for the mixed reality headset.
Interestingly, the reportthat customers will be able to create and share AR apps for the headset via Siri, even if they have no programming knowledge:
With the software tools, Apple hopes that even people who know nothing about computer code will be able to tell the headset, via the voice assistant Siri, to create an AR app, which can then be made available for others to download through Apple's App Store. The tool could, for example, allow users to create an app with virtual animals that move around a room and over or around real objects, without having to design the animal from scratch, program its animations and calculate its movement in a 3D space with obstacles.
Apple Mixed Reality Headset: Users can distribute their own AR applications in the App Store
The report compares Apple's tool to Minecraft and Roblox, which allow anyone to easily create 3D tools and worlds. Apple is said to be using technology it acquired in 2017 from Montreal-based startup Fabric Software, which would allow customers to co-publish their own AR applications with developers on the App Store. The Apple headset is expected to launch later this year and will offer an iOS-like interface with a range of apps, advanced eye and hand tracking, and the ability to act as an external display for a Mac. The software tools for the headset could be revealed at Apple's annual WWDC developer conference in June, giving developers time to develop AR and VR apps for the headset before it launches later in the year. (Photo by berya113 / Bigstockphoto)
