Apple's Next Big Leap Might Be Into Augmented Reality

Apple's iPhone may be ready for its next big act-as a springboard into "augmented reality," a technology that projects life-like images into real-world settings viewed through a screen. AUGMENTING THE IPHONE At Apple, the introduction of AR gets underway in September with the release of iOS 11, the next version of the operating system that powers hundreds of millions of iPhones and iPads around the world Tucked away in that release is an AR toolkit intended to help software developers create new AR apps. WAITING FOR APPLE'S NEXT BIG THING Apple has been looking for something to lessen its dependence on the iPhone since the 2011 death of its co-founder CEO Steve Jobs, the driving force behind the company's innovation factory. MAYBE Tim Merel, managing director of technology consulting firm Digi-Capital, believes Apple's entry into AR will catalyze the field.