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ARKit

developer.apple.com

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Re: ARKit

#21

Post by cageface »

panic wrote: post #7

Most apps these days run on Android, too, which makes using a single-platform framework like this a lot harder to justify. It's the same reason you don't see many games using SpriteKit -- it just doesn't make sense when you know you'll need to support Android in the future. I wonder if it would make sense for Apple itself to support frameworks like ARKit and SpriteKit on Android. I think it would make people a lot mo…

Apple keeps doubling down on platform specific services and APIs but as their market share dwindles this becomes increasingly untenable. Porting Apple Music to Android was a step in the right direction but they have a long way to go in the new world where services are more important than devices.

Re: ARKit

#22

Post by ac29 »

IBM wrote: post #12
felipelemos wrote: post #3

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Are you sure the iPhone is the most popular game platform? It is not even the most popular phone.

It's by far the most popular phone. https://www.statista.com/statistics/276306/global-apple-ipho...

I'm not sure that link shows what you think it does. From the same site -- Android has had greater market share than iOS since 2010: https://www.statista.com/statistics/266136/global-market-sha...

Re: ARKit

#23

Post by weeks »

sidlls wrote: post #17
panic wrote: post #7

Most apps these days run on Android, too, which makes using a single-platform framework like this a lot harder to justify. It's the same reason you don't see many games using SpriteKit -- it just doesn't make sense when you know you'll need to support Android in the future. I wonder if it would make sense for Apple itself to support frameworks like ARKit and SpriteKit on Android. I think it would make people a lot mo…

Mobile apps in general seem to be a race to the bottom from a business standpoint and Android is much more so that than Apple. I strongly dislike both platforms, and generally harbor a very negative opinion of Apple in general, but if I were to venture into mobile development I'd target Apple first and worry about Android (much) later.

From what I've gathered this totally depends on your market. Creating a paid app or an app targeting US University students? iOS first. Creating an ad supported app or targeting an international market? Android first or use a framework that supports compiling to both platforms.

Re: ARKit

#24

Post by jdminhbg »

ac29 wrote: post #22
IBM wrote: post #12

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's by far the most popular phone. https://www.statista.com/statistics/276306/global-apple-ipho...

I'm not sure that link shows what you think it does. From the same site -- Android has had greater market share than iOS since 2010: https://www.statista.com/statistics/266136/global-market-sha...

GP is comparing phones, not operating systems.

Re: ARKit

#25

Post by astrodust »

daxfohl wrote: post #15
astrodust wrote: post #11

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Being iPhone only didn't stop Instagram from launching, getting huge, and branching out to other platforms. If this allows you to make a quicker prototype, it's a big deal.

That was when Steve Jobs was still alive. Things have changed. iOS isn't the gold mine it used to be.

It's still a massively popular and profitable platform, though the easy money is harder to find.

Re: ARKit

#26

Post by nxcho »

panic wrote: post #7

Most apps these days run on Android, too, which makes using a single-platform framework like this a lot harder to justify. It's the same reason you don't see many games using SpriteKit -- it just doesn't make sense when you know you'll need to support Android in the future. I wonder if it would make sense for Apple itself to support frameworks like ARKit and SpriteKit on Android. I think it would make people a lot mo…

Unreal Engine and Unity is going to have ARKit support. If your ambition is to make an AR app for both iOS and Android I suspect that one of those engines are better.

I don't believe giving ARKit to away makes sense for Apple at all. It is, from what I can see, a pretty advanced technology and widespread adoption of it on other platforms will not help them selling more iPhones.

Re: ARKit

#27

Post by IBM »

panic wrote: post #7

Most apps these days run on Android, too, which makes using a single-platform framework like this a lot harder to justify. It's the same reason you don't see many games using SpriteKit -- it just doesn't make sense when you know you'll need to support Android in the future. I wonder if it would make sense for Apple itself to support frameworks like ARKit and SpriteKit on Android. I think it would make people a lot mo…

It absolutely does not make sense for Apple to support this on Android. AR is something that uniquely leverages assets that Apple has: its various AR related acquisitions (Metaio, FlyBy Media, Faceshift, Emotient, WiFiSLAM, PrimeSense) and most importantly their prowess in chip design.

It is trivial for the Android ecosystem to replicate an Instagram for their platform, it will be much more difficult to do this for AR and thus will be a meaningful source of competitive advantage.

There are real economic barriers to having the necessary hardware for AR. High-end Android phones don't ship anywhere near the numbers of iPhones to give it the scale required to make the necessary investments in hardware and software worth it (both from OEMs and Google). And that will ultimately limit the opportunity and market for developers, disincentivizing them to invest in it.

This is an area where Apple's scale, margins and ability to deploy new technologies and see meaningful adoption from users and developers (think about how fast Touch ID rolled down into the entire iPhone/iPad installed base, setting it up for Apple Pay years later) pulls up the ladder on would-be competitors.

Re: ARKit

#28

Post by algesten »

cageface wrote: post #21
panic wrote: post #7

Most apps these days run on Android, too, which makes using a single-platform framework like this a lot harder to justify. It's the same reason you don't see many games using SpriteKit -- it just doesn't make sense when you know you'll need to support Android in the future. I wonder if it would make sense for Apple itself to support frameworks like ARKit and SpriteKit on Android. I think it would make people a lot mo…

Apple keeps doubling down on platform specific services and APIs but as their market share dwindles this becomes increasingly untenable. Porting Apple Music to Android was a step in the right direction but they have a long way to go in the new world where services are more important than devices.

How do you mean it dwindles? It seems to hold steady and increase in some countries.

This is a somewhat recent figure I found. https://9to5mac.com/2017/01/11/ios-market-share-kantar/

Re: ARKit

#29

Post by [deleted] »

cageface wrote: post #21
panic wrote: post #7

Most apps these days run on Android, too, which makes using a single-platform framework like this a lot harder to justify. It's the same reason you don't see many games using SpriteKit -- it just doesn't make sense when you know you'll need to support Android in the future. I wonder if it would make sense for Apple itself to support frameworks like ARKit and SpriteKit on Android. I think it would make people a lot mo…

Apple keeps doubling down on platform specific services and APIs but as their market share dwindles this becomes increasingly untenable. Porting Apple Music to Android was a step in the right direction but they have a long way to go in the new world where services are more important than devices.

[deleted]

Re: ARKit

#30

Post by MBCook »

cageface wrote: post #21
panic wrote: post #7

Most apps these days run on Android, too, which makes using a single-platform framework like this a lot harder to justify. It's the same reason you don't see many games using SpriteKit -- it just doesn't make sense when you know you'll need to support Android in the future. I wonder if it would make sense for Apple itself to support frameworks like ARKit and SpriteKit on Android. I think it would make people a lot mo…

Apple keeps doubling down on platform specific services and APIs but as their market share dwindles this becomes increasingly untenable. Porting Apple Music to Android was a step in the right direction but they have a long way to go in the new world where services are more important than devices.

I'm willing to bet the only reason they did that is because they already had beats customers on android.

The whole point of these APIs is to let developers make a better apps on iOS so people want an iOS device. If they port any of them to android all they're doing is making it easier for people to leave their platform.

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