Apple hid an AR effect in its iPhone event invite
Now that speculation over the date of the highly anticipated "iPhone 13" event has been put to rest, we can turn our attention to the trail of clues Apple has left inside its announcement.
Opening the September 14 event page on an iPhone reveals a graphic that mimics the video being shared by company bigwigs on Twitter: The glowing Apple logo floating over an alpine lake. But it's when you tap on that logo that the augmented reality magic happens.
This will launch the ARKit viewer within iOS using your iPhone's camera. After moving your phone around for some quick calibration, the AR Apple logo will then appear over your surroundings. Zoom into it and you'll be able to enter the lake image from the invite. Once inside, the date of the iPhone 2021 launch event will appear.
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So what does this mean for the next iPhone? Well, under Tim Cook's leadership, Apple has made its embrace of AR very clear — the latest iPad Pro is optimized for the tech and the company's even rumored to be developing a dedicated headset. Given all that, it's safe to say we might soon see an iPhone AR.
Cecily is a tech reporter at Mashable who covers AI, Apple, and emerging tech trends. Before getting her master's degree at Columbia Journalism School, she spent several years working with startups and social impact businesses for Unreasonable Group and B Lab. Before that, she co-founded a startup consulting business for emerging entrepreneurial hubs in South America, Europe, and Asia. You can find her on X at @cecily_mauran.
