Apple

Tim Cook on how Apple champions the environment, education, and health care

Written by

Adam Lashinsky, Fortune:

We’re here to put a dent in the universe,” Steve Jobs once famously said. “Otherwise why else even be here?”

And:

For Jobs the dent that he intended for Apple to make in the universe revolved almost totally around creating new products that would change people’s lives. Those products would be gorgeous and useful and fun and surprising, but rarely “good” in and of themselves. Despite a hippie-dippie veneer and earnest marketing, Apple under Jobs was a ruthlessly efficient moneymaker that largely left social programs to others.

I just love that intro. That said, this is an interview with Tim Cook.

Terrific read, lots to process. Way too much to quote out here, but take the time to dig in. Be on the look out for Tim’s comments on how he sees Apple changing the world (products, education, environment, human rights), a discussion of high margins, the Apple economy, health and research, and a lot more.

It’s about to get tougher for cops, border agents to get at your iPhone’s data

Written by

Cyrus Farivar, Ars Technica:

According to security experts who have reviewed early developer versions of the forthcoming iOS 11, law enforcement will soon have a harder time conducting digital forensic searches of iPhones and iPads.

And:

Prior to this latest version of the firmware, in order for an iOS device to be “trusted” by a computer that it was physically connected to, that device had to be unlocked first via Touch ID or passcode. Next, the device would prompt the user: “Trust This Computer?” Only then could the entire device’s data could be extracted and imaged. Under iOS 11, this sequence has changed to also specifically require the passcode on the device after the “Trust This Computer?” prompt.

While the change may seem minor, the fact that the passcode will be specifically required as the final step before any data can be pulled off the phone means that law enforcement and border agents won’t have as much routine access to fully image a seized device.

Subtle change, interesting.

[H/T, The surreptitiously supercilious Not Jony Ive]

Jean-Louis Gassée on the “hiccuping coexistence” of pedestrians and cars

Written by

Jean-Louis Gassée, Monday Note:

Imagine the 1 pm Sunday scene with crowded sidewalks and sticky car traffic. In today’s world, pedestrians and drivers manage a peaceful if hiccuping coexistence. Through eye contact, nods, hand signals, and, yes, courteous restraint, pedestrians decide to sometimes forfeit their right-of-way and let a few cars come through. On the whole, drivers are equally patient and polite.

That’s the current picture. But with self-driving cars, what then?

Can we “algorithmicize” eye contact and stuttering restraint? Can an SD car acknowledge a pedestrian’s nod, or negotiate “turning rights” with a conventional vehicle?

No, we can’t. And we don’t appear to have a path to overcome such “mundane” challenges.

Great post by Jean-Louis, per usual. Read the whole thing.

Apple product that lived its entire life without once being in stock

Written by

Great observation from Benjamin Mayo:

https://twitter.com/bzamayo/status/907371511354404865

A simple, but profound observation. To a business like Apple’s, inventory is the enemy. Inventory is sunk cost with the possibility of zero revenue in return. Yes, the AirPods did spend brief moments in stock, but this is as close to zero moments on the shelf as Apple products get.

Do the AirPods represent the future of Apple’s inventory management? Interesting.

Apple Watch vs Android Wear: Why most smartwatches still suck for women

Written by

Serenity Caldwell, iMore:

When I first heard about Android Wear last year, I thought the folks behind the OS were doing a lot of things right. And I still do: the approach to notifications is smart, custom watch faces are neat, and Google Now — while creepy — works exceptionally well at providing smart information for your day.

There’s only one problem: There’s not a single Android Wear device designed to fit a small-wristed person.

Read the post, check out the pictures. If there are new Apple Watch models, I hope they continue to each ship in both 38mm and 42mm sizes. Great design sense on Apple’s part.

Why talk of a $1000 iPhone is overblown

Written by

Jan Dawson, Tech.pinions:

There’s been a lot of talk about Apple releasing a $1,000 iPhone next week, and a lot of pushback from financial analysts in particular on the idea that people would actually buy such a thing.

And:

In the US, the vast majority of premium smartphones are sold through the major wireless carriers, with the largest four being AT&T, Sprint, T-Mobile, and Verizon Wireless. Each of those companies has been through a transition over the past few years away from the traditional subsidy model, under which customers paid a portion of the price of a phone up front, to a combination of installment and leasing models, where the cost of the phone is broken up into monthly payments.

And:

Compare that to current monthly prices for the base model iPhone 7 Plus, a phone that costs roughly $200 less to buy outright, which run from $25 to $36, and you’ll see that the real difference in price between a $770 phone and a $1000 phone isn’t $230 for most customers but a monthly price difference of anything from zero to $15.

Most interesting to me:

On top of that, bear in mind that the new iPhones are likely to be the biggest carrier switching event the US market has seen since 2014, so we’re going to see a lot of discounts, offers, and other promotions which lower the effective price even further.

A massive carrier switching event. Subtle point, big business. Keep that in mind as you explore your iPhone options next week.

Get your Marvel, Star Wars fill now. In 2019, they’ll move exclusive to Disney streaming

Written by

CNBC:

Marvel and Star Wars titles will be streamed exclusively on the new Disney streaming platform when it launches in late 2019, according to Disney CEO Bob Iger.

“I have described a very rich, treasure trove of content for this app,” Iger said at the Bank of America Merrill Lynch 2017 Media, Communications & Entertainment Conference in Los Angeles on Thursday. “We’re going to launch big, and we’re going to launch hot.”

This is a chess move. More than anything else, it will impact Netflix, who have made waves with Marvel series such as Daredevil, Luke Cage, and Jessica Jones. Presumably, Netflix will lose the rights to carry these series once the Disney platform goes live in 2019.

It’d be interesting to see if Apple can make a deal with Disney to carry the Disney stream on Apple TV. After all, Apple has long had a historically close relationship with Disney, with Steve Jobs as the funder of Pixar and, before his death, as one of Disney’s largest shareholders.

[Side note: Even with the recent sale of half her Disney stock, Laurene Powell Jobs still owns a hefty chunk of the company.]

Hacking Siri

Written by

[VIDEO] FastCoDesign:

Chinese researchers have discovered a terrifying vulnerability in voice assistants from Apple, Google, Amazon, Microsoft, Samsung, and Huawei. It affects every iPhone and Macbook running Siri, any Galaxy phone, any PC running Windows 10, and even Amazon’s Alexa assistant.

Using a technique called the DolphinAttack, a team from Zhejiang University translated typical vocal commands into ultrasonic frequencies that are too high for the human ear to hear, but perfectly decipherable by the microphones and software powering our always-on voice assistants. This relatively simple translation process lets them take control of gadgets with just a few words uttered in frequencies none of us can hear.

First things first, this is not terrifying. But it is interesting.

You can watch a demo in the video embedded in the main Loop post. Not sure there’s a software fix to prevent this. Seems to me the audio in processor would have to have access to the frequency of the audio coming in, then filter it if it was outside some specified audible range.

Not sure this threat, which seems relatively minor, is worth the effort.

Also, DolphinAttack, cool name.

Hacking an iPhone 7 to add a fully functioning headphone jack

Written by

[VIDEO] Scotty Allen:

I’ve spent the past four months in Shenzhen, China, modifying an iPhone 7 to add a fully functional headphone jack. To the best of my knowledge, this is the first time anyone has done anything like this.

In April, I decided to finally upgrade my iPhone 6s to an iPhone7 to get better camera quality for the videos I was shooting when I was out on adventures in the industrial markets and manufacturing world. But I was super annoyed that it doesn’t have a headphone jack! I already have headphones I really liked, and I didn’t like the idea of having to keep track of an adapter just to use them.

So I figured I’d add my own – after all, how hard could it be?

It turns out, really really hard. But possible.

Great self-interview. This is the guy who made his own iPhone 6s from scrounged parts. He’s open-sourced his design, if you are of a mind to do this yourself.

My favorite question:

Q: How much did it cost?

A: I haven’t kept perfect track, but I’ve spent easily thousands of dollars on this project. I’ve bought 3 iPhone 7s to take apart, a handful of new screens, several handfuls of backs I mutilated, and countless other parts I broke. I paid a factory to do 7 manufacturing runs of circuit boards. And oh god the headphone adapters. I bought lots and lots of official Apple headphone adapters to take apart.

Love it. Watch Scotty doing his magic in the video embedded in the main Loop post.

Apple reaches music deal with Warner, eyes Sony pact

Written by

Bloomberg:

Apple Inc. has secured a deal for songs from Warner Music Group, the technology giant’s first agreement with a major label since introducing its on-demand music service two years ago, according to people familiar with the matter.

Warner will provide Apple a catalog spanning Ed Sheeran, the Red Hot Chili Peppers and Bruno Mars for both iTunes, the online store, and Apple Music, the streaming service. Apple plans to pay record labels a smaller percentage of sales from Apple Music subscribers than it did under its first deal for the streaming service, the people said, asking not to be identified discussing private information.

And:

Sony Music Entertainment, owner of the second-largest record label, is also on the verge of a deal with Apple, one of the people said. A deal between Apple and Universal Music Group, owner of the top label, is further off.

This is a renegotiation of an expiring deal to a lower rate.

New York Times review of Samsung’s Galaxy Note 8: “Poor Biometrics and a Subpar Assistant”

Written by

Brian X. Chen, New York Times:

There is as much to love about the new Samsung Galaxy Note 8 as there is to hate.

Let’s get the bad stuff out of the way. For unlocking the phone, the eye scanner barely works and the fingerprint sensor is in a lousy place. Samsung’s Bixby, which is included, is the most incompetent virtual assistant on the market. And — need I remind you — this phone line has a reputation for gadgets that spontaneously combust.

There are superlatives that follow. Brian loves the screen (“It has the best smartphone display — as bright and vivid as a screen on a high-end television set — that I have ever tested.”) and the camera is fast. And it doesn’t explode.

But:

Some of the biometrics, including the ability to unlock your phone by scanning your face or irises, are so poorly executed that they feel like marketing gimmicks as opposed to actual security features.

And:

The iris scanner shines infrared light in your eyes to identify you and unlock the phone. That sounds futuristic, but when you set up the feature, it is laden with disclaimers from Samsung. The caveats include: Iris scanning might not work well if you are wearing glasses or contact lenses; it might not work in direct sunlight; it might not work if there is dirt on the sensor.

And, best of all:

When you set up the face scanner, Samsung displays another disclaimer, including a warning that your phone could be unlocked by “someone or something” that looks like you.

This is an actual warning on a shipping high-end phone? I do love

The new iPhone mockups alongside existing and old iPhones

Written by

Oliver Haslam, writing for Redmond Pie, gathered every iPhone made and shot them next to the mockups of the iPhone 8 Edition X Pro (or whatever next week’s highend phone will be called).

Odd, yet fascinating.

[H/T, Loop reader George Lancer]

The coming iPhone selfie revolution

Written by

Mike Rundle, Medium:

Much has been said about the huge updates in iOS 11 (huge for iPad, less so for iPhone) but few articles have really dug into what face unlocking would mean, beyond the obvious that you’ll be able to verify your identity and unlock your phone with your face.

I think this will be the flagship feature of the new iPhone, and will let Apple leapfrog competitors with futuristic face-scanning sensors that will have a gigantic impact on the future of augmented reality.

Mike digs into face scanning and AR, interesting stuff, but my favorite part of his post occurs when he digs into the evolution of the selfie.

Over the last 2 years, the consumer tech world has gone crazy over selfie lenses that superimpose objects and effects over your picture, or distort it directly like a funhouse mirror.

And:

When the new top-end iPhone comes out, it’s rumored that both the front and rear cameras will support the recording of 4K resolution video at 60FPS, which is an incredible leap beyond today’s FaceTime HD camera that records at half the resolution and half the framerate.

And:

Because this new high resolution camera will sit right next to an incredible infrared face-scanning sensor, developers won’t have to sift through mountains of image data to figure out where someone’s face is, they’ll just use the data coming off the 3D sensor to know unequivocally where someone’s most minute facial details are in 3D space, which will blow the doors off what is possible with augmented reality today.

The point here is that selfie AR is about to undergo an evolutionary quantum leap. Imagine putting hyper-accurate scary clown makeup on your face that looks painted on, even as you turn your face. Think realism, vs the look of standing behind a cardboard cutout, moving and squinting until the overlay looks kinda in place.

There are some terrific images that go along with this story, so go read it as Mike laid it out. Great observations.

Apple Park drone footage shows Steve Jobs theater near completion

Written by

[VIDEO] The video is embedded in the main Loop post. Apple Park looks tantalizingly close to completion, more like a massive landscaping effort than a project built from scratch.

The Steve Jobs theater looks complete, at least from the outside. The best view is about 1:52 in.

Amazing progress.

Guilherme Rambo: “What if the lock button becomes the home button?”

Written by

https://twitter.com/_inside/status/903788364054368257

The concept of the iPhone lock button as the new home button has been floated around for quite some time. But Guilherme is not just guessing here. He is reacting to this particular string he encountered:

https://twitter.com/_inside/status/903093716814102529

In a nutshell, that code at the top of that second tweet refers to a gesture to launch Siri from the lock button. Interesting.

Apple’s localization problem

Written by

Andrew Marinov:

7 years ago.

That’s the last time that Apple added support for a new language in iOS.

It’s been years since I’ve started filing radars and hoping that Apple would add my native Bulgarian language to iOS and with each new release, the release notes are the first thing I pour through, looking for any new language editions.

Unfortunately, though, not only is Apple seriously behind on language support, with each year new features come that are geolocked and exclusive.

And:

So how many languages does Android support, compared to Apple’s 32?

A quick research comes up with 188 as of Android 7.0 Nougat and that’s not even counting the dozens of different variations that most languages have.

With six times more languages supported, no wonder Android is so prevalent, especially in poorer countries, where people might not speak one of the languages that iOS supports.

There’s a lot more detail in the post, including similar localization takes on Apple Maps and Siri support.

I’d love for this to be wrong, but Andrew backs up his take with a lot of detail. Has it really been 7 years since Apple added a new language? That just seems hard to believe.

UPDATE: Thought so. From this GadgetsNow post [H/T @spacefork_] on a bit of new iOS 9 language support:

The new software version also introduces new keyboards for Hinglish, Punjabi, Telugu, and Gujarati in addition to a new Hindi transliteration keyboard. It already supports Tamil, Begali, Marathi and Urdu.

And:

iOS 9 also brings support for a number of other Indian languages in apps and websites including a number of Hindi dialects such as Angika, Awadhi, Kurukh, Magahi, Maithili, Newari, and Santali.

To be fair, the article does make some salient points. But this does seem to discredit the lede.

Apple axes annual music festival in London after 10 years

Written by

Music Business Worldwide:

Apple has confirmed to MBW that it will no longer be hosting the annual Apple Music Festival at London’s Roundhouse.

And:

However, the cancellation of the festival doesn’t signal a move away from live events by Apple Music completely.

The brand was recently a partner of shows by Haim and Skepta in London and Arcade Fire in Brooklyn and it had a heavy presence at SXSW in Texas earlier this year – where it backed shows from Lana Del Rey, Vince Staples and DJ Khaled.

In addition, Apple Music also sponsored Drake’s 32-date Summer Sixteen Tour in 2016 and it supports regular live sessions from its ‘Up Next’ artists.

The closure of the Apple Music Festival is likely because Apple is concentrating its resources on one-off events like these, in addition to its original content efforts in video – which have recently included a Carpool Karaoke spin-off series and a behind-the-scenes documentary on Harry Styles.

This feels like a shift in marketing focus, not a shift away from music. As always, Apple is still learning, adjusting their business model. No doubt, music is still deep in their DNA.

Apple AirPods dominate wireless earbud sales

Written by

NPD Group:

2017 has been a great year for headphones. Through July, U.S. dollar sales and average prices increased 22 percent, and 18 percent, respectively, over the same period a year ago.

And:

Since launching in December, Apple’s AirPods have accounted for 85 percent of totally wireless headphone dollar sales in the U.S., according to NPD’s Retail Tracking Service. With a use case centering on frictionless access to Siri and other tasks initiated by voice, AirPods really act as an extension of the iPhone. Apple’s path to leadership in the category is helped by disruptive pricing, brand resonance, and excitement over the W1 chip, which significantly eases Bluetooth connections to iOS and Mac devices.

85% is an incredibly large slice of the pie. Removing that headphone jack was crazy, right? Crazy like a fox.

UPDATE: Gary Riches questioned the use of the term “totally wireless” in the report. Not sure if NPD’s numbers excluded headphones like the BeatsX Wireless headphones, which are “wireless”, but have a wire connecting left and right ears so are not considered totally wireless. If so, that’s a much smaller set of competitors. Still big market share, but would be good to know the full story.

iOS 11 beta hits uncharted territory

Written by

Two things about this detailed chart of iOS beta releases since the days of iPhone OS:

  1. The chart itself. Great work by Will Hains pulling this together. He’s been doing it for quite some time.

  2. Yesterday’s iOS 11 beta 9 release was uncharted territory, the first iOS release to hit this lofty beta territory. So new, Will had to add a new color to the chart. Will iOS 11 hit a beta 10?

Fun chart, Will. Great job.

Smartphone’s future: It’s all about the camera

Written by

New York Times:

Next month, Apple plans to hold a special event to introduce a set of new iPhones, including a premium model that can scan 3-D objects — including your face.

Side note, I’m seeing this next month reference a lot. True, but it’s less than two weeks from now. Next month sounds a lot further away.

But I digress.

When Apple shows its new iPhones next month, including a premium model with a starting price of $999, the company will introduce infrared facial recognition as a new method for unlocking the device.

“Next month”. Oy.

Qualcomm’s Spectra, a so-called depth-sensing camera system, is one example of how face scanning works.

The Spectra system includes a module that sprays an object with infrared dots to gather information about the depth of an object based on the size and the contortion of the dots. If the dots are smaller, then the object is farther away; if they are bigger, the object is closer. The imaging system can then stitch the patterns into a detailed 3-D image of your face to determine if you are indeed the owner of your smartphone before unlocking it.

And:

Because of the uniqueness of a person’s head shape, the likelihood of bypassing facial recognition with the incorrect face is 1 in a million, he added. That compares with a false acceptance rate of 1 in 100 for previous facial recognition systems, which had very poor security.

I can only imagine that likelihood dropping with each generation. I wonder what the odds are on a false positive for Touch ID.

UPDATE: From this Apple knowledge base article, hat tip Chuck Skoda:

Every fingerprint is unique, so it’s rare that even a small section of two separate fingerprints are alike enough to register as a match for Touch ID. The probability of this happening is 1 in 50,000 with a single, enrolled finger.

Back to the Times article:

There are, however, limitations to infrared-scanning technologies. For example, objects that you wear, like a hat or a scarf, might throw off the camera, according to Qualcomm. In addition, experts said infrared light can get drowned out by bright sunlight outdoors, so face scanning might work less reliably on the beach.

And on the use of the camera for AR, this interesting note:

the limitations of the Ikea Place app underscore what’s missing from ARKit. For placing virtual objects, the app can detect horizontal surfaces, like a table surface or the ground, but it cannot yet detect walls.

This may be me misunderstanding the issue, but wall detection in AI is not a new problem. It stems from the corner detection problem (finding a corner in a room, then classifying it to determine how the walls emerge from that corner). Regardless, I suspect that ARKit will evolve to solve any and all room geometry problems.

Can’t wait. Less than two weeks to go.

Group of 17 Apple auto engineers leave to join startup Zoox

Written by

Alex Webb, Bloomberg:

A group of automotive engineers has left Apple Inc. for self-driving car startup Zoox Inc. after the world’s most valuable technology company backed off plans to build its own vehicle, according to people familiar with the situation.

The 17 engineers specialize in designing elements present in both traditional and autonomous vehicles, such as braking and suspension systems, said the people, who asked not to be identified because the moves aren’t public. Many of them originally joined Apple from Detroit carmakers and suppliers. A Zoox representative declined to comment. An Apple spokesman declined to comment.

My two cents: Apple has moved on from phase one of their experiment. They dedicated resources to learning about autonomous tech and the marketplace it represents. As they got smarter about their capabilities and as the marketplace numbers crystalized, Apple laid out plans for phase two. Different learning focus, different market direction requires different personnel.

Lots of ways to spin this story. I see it as R&D-based business as usual.

Adam Engst: Why I switched from Spotify to Apple Music

Written by

Adam Engst, TidBITS:

Spotify worked well for me for a while, but in May 2016, the lyrics feature disappeared.

And:

Losing lyrics was a blow, but the straw that broke the camel’s back was when I ran headfirst into Spotify’s 10,000 track limit. You read that right — despite the fact that Spotify is a streaming service that contains over 30 million tracks, you cannot add more than 10,000 to your collection.

I had no idea any of the streaming services put limits on the number of tracks you can add. Turns out, Google Play has a limit of 50,000 tracks, and Apple Music a limit of 100,000 tracks.

In response to complaints, instead of raising the limit, Spotify said:

At the moment we don’t have plans to extend the Your Music limit. The reason is because less than 1% of users reach it. The current limit ensures a great experience for 99% of users instead of an “OK” experience for 100%.

Um, that logic seems arbitrary. Read the rest of Adam’s post. Interesting stuff.

Tim Cook’s Hurricane Harvey email to employees

Written by

Yet another reason I appreciate Tim Cook. He runs a tight ship, but has enormous empathy, compassion. And it’s not empty words. For example:

At our Austin campuses, we are kicking off a donation drive in partnership with the Central Texas Food Bank and Caffè Macs to collect food, diapers and personal hygiene items — all things that are critical in the aftermath of a storm of this magnitude.

Tone matters. Actions matter even more. Reading this, it’s clear to me that Tim cares, and that Apple wants to help.

You can read the entire email here.

Apple’s TV plans still stuck in neutral

Written by

Peter Kafka, Recode:

Apple and Hollywood studios are wrangling over pricing for “4K” movies Apple plans to sell on a new version of its Apple TV box.

And:

As The Wall Street Journal reports, the studios want a higher price and Apple wants a lower one. That is: This is the same fight Apple continually has with its media partners, whether it’s music, books or TV channels.

But the bigger story for Apple is that this used to be a fight that Apple would ultimately win, because Apple was the dominant player in digital media. That’s not true anymore.

Apple has played from behind plenty of times. This is another example of that. But, as Peter points out, this is a much more crowded playing field and the model Apple brings to the table is already commoditized. Amazon, Google, et al, already do streaming, 4K is more of a wrinkle in an existing model than a new twist.

Supposedly, the 4K pricing is still not in agreement. It’ll be one of many things to watch for on September 12th.

How Apple plans to change the way you use the next iPhone

Written by

Mark Gurman, Bloomberg:

Apple Inc. plans to transform the way people use its next high-end iPhone by eliminating the concept of a home button and making other adjustments to a flagship device that’s becoming almost all screen, according to images of the new device viewed by Bloomberg News and people familiar with the gadget.

And:

Apple is preparing three new iPhones for debut next month. One of the models, a new high-end device, packs in enough changes to make it one of the biggest iPhone updates in the product’s decade-long history. With a crisper screen that takes up nearly the entire front, Apple has tested the complete removal of the home button—even a digital one—in favor of new gesture controls for tasks like going to the main app grid and opening multitasking, according to the people and the images.

Are we about to enter the buttonless era?

With cameras capable of scanning sophisticated enough to verify your face, there’s a world of possibilities for hands free gestures. Imagine unlocking your phone, starting a podcast, scrubbing forward a few minutes, and adjusting the volume, all without touching your screen.

Fascinating article, lots of design details said to be in the about to be released iPhones.

Cortana and Alexa join forces, Microsoft and Amazon form partnership

Written by

New York Times:

For the past year, the two companies have been coordinating behind the scenes to make Alexa and Cortana communicate with each other. The partnership, which the companies plan to announce early Wednesday, will allow people to summon Cortana using Alexa, and vice versa, by the end of the year.

Important to note that both companies have tried to take on Apple, Google, Samsung, et al, in the smart phone marketplace. And both companies have failed to make a dent. Without a major smartphone partner, not sure this partnership will have much of an impact.

Get ready for APFS

Written by

From a new Apple knowledge base article spotted by 512 Pixels:

When you upgrade to macOS High Sierra, systems with all flash storage configurations are converted automatically. Systems with hard disk drives (HDD) and Fusion drives won’t be converted to APFS. You can’t opt-out of the transition to APFS.

From everything I’ve heard, the transition to macOS High Sierra was easy and rock solid. But, even with that said, the transition of a file system makes it especially critical that you have a reliable, up-to-date backup of your Mac before you give High Sierra a try.

If you are planning a move to High Sierra, read the knowledge base post for specifics. It’s not long.

Google introduces ARCore, plays catch up with Apple and ARKit

Written by

Back in May, just before Google I/O, Google released this blog post, updating developers with the latest on their Augmented Reality project, known as Tango:

With Tango, devices can track motion and understand distances and their position in the real world. For VR, we’ve used technology from Tango as the foundation of WorldSense. For AR, it can be used to enable smartphone AR experiences by placing digital objects in real spaces. The next phone with Tango technology will be the ASUS ZenFone AR, available this summer.

That last sentence is key. Tango was a device specific technology.

A month later, at WWDC, Apple rolled out ARKit, as part of their iOS 11 announcement. Though there is a minimum hardware requirement (requires A9 or later), it will run on any devices that meet the spec.

This is a huge difference. Tango plays to an audience limited to a few specific phones, while ARKit plays to a vastly broader audience, anyone with a relatively recent iOS device.

Google has now leveraged their Tango investment with their own ARKit-like SDK, known as ARCore.

From Google’s official announcement:

We’ve been developing the fundamental technologies that power mobile AR over the last three years with Tango, and ARCore is built on that work. But, it works without any additional hardware, which means it can scale across the Android ecosystem. ARCore will run on millions of devices, starting today with the Pixel and Samsung’s S8, running 7.0 Nougat and above. We’re targeting 100 million devices at the end of the preview.

Just how many A9 chip or later has Apple sold to date? Not sure. But I’d bet it’s closer to 500 million than 100 million (please Tweet at me if you have an actual number).

We know they sold 11 million iPads last quarter and about 41 million iPhones. That’s more than 50 million qualifying devices in just the last quarter. As a reminder, ARKit will run on the iPhone 6s and 6s Plus, both released in September 2015.

For Google, feels like ARCore was a direct (and seemingly hurried) response to ARKit’s wave of adoption and publicity. Interesting developments.