Andreessen Horowitz’s AI Crusader Emerges as a Confidant of the FoundersRead more

Art by Mike Sullivan.

Apple Devising Software to Help Anyone Build AR Apps, to Drive Headset Sales

Photo: Art by Mike Sullivan.

Apple is developing software to make it easy for users of its upcoming mixed-reality headset to build their own augmented reality apps, according to four people who have worked on the headset.

With the software tools, Apple hopes that even people who don’t know computer code could tell the headset, via the Siri voice assistant, to build an AR app that could then be made available via Apple’s App Store for others to download. The tool, for example, could allow users to build an app with virtual animals moving around a room and over or around real-life objects without the need to design the animal from scratch and calculate its movement in a 3D space with obstacles.

If Apple succeeds, it would be a major advance in AR app development. AR apps are currently challenging to develop, and without fresh content, the new hardware could have limited appeal. While the tools are aimed partly at software developers, Apple hopes that consumers will be able to use them as well, just as its Final Cut Pro video editing tool can be used by both consumers and professionals.

Access on the go
View stories on our mobile app and tune into our weekly podcast.
Join live video Q&A’s
Deep-dive into topics like startups and autonomous vehicles with our top reporters and other executives.
Enjoy a clutter-free experience
Read without any banner ads.
Coatue co-founder Thomas Laffont. Photo by Juan Pinnel
Exclusive startups venture capital
‘Pressures Remain’: Coatue Prepares Tech Founders for the Road Ahead
Earlier this month, I had the opportunity to attend a founder and investor conference hosted by Coatue, called East Meets West.
Orlando Bravo, founder and managing partner of Thoma Bravo. Photo by Getty.
Exclusive enterprise Finance
Inside Thoma Bravo’s Software Playbook
Until two weeks ago, Thoma Bravo had sold just one company worth more than $10 billion in the past three years, when it offloaded Ellie Mae to Intercontinental Exchange for $11 billion in 2020.
Art by Mike Sullivan.
Exclusive enterprise ai
OpenAI Plans ChatGPT ‘Personal Assistant for Work,’ Setting Up Microsoft Rivalry
In the span of half a year, ChatGPT has become one of the world’s best-known internet brands. Now its creator, OpenAI, has bigger plans for the chatbot: CEO Sam Altman privately told some developers OpenAI wants to turn it into a “supersmart personal assistant for work.” With built-in knowledge about an individual and their workplace, such an assistant could carry out tasks such as drafting emails or documents in that person’s style and with up-to-date information about their business.
Microsoft CEO, Satya Nadella, arriving at federal court in San Francisco on June 28. Photo by Getty.
Exclusive microsoft cloud
Microsoft’s Cloud Server Business in 2022 Was Less Than Half of AWS, New Document Reveals
For years Microsoft has kept a lid on details about the true size of its Azure cloud server rental business, making it impossible for investors to know how Microsoft’s cloud operations unit stacked up against industry leader Amazon Web Services.
Jason Auerbach. Photo via Silicon Valley Bank, Getty and Foursquare.
markets enterprise
The Software Banker With Private Equity on Speed Dial
When Josh Rogers, CEO of data integrity firm Precisely, was looking for a buyer in 2021, he tapped Jason Auerbach, then a top investment banker at UBS.
Several mining companies are seeking to produce lithium from the Salton Sea in California. Photo: Marcio Jose Sanchez/AP
The Electric electric vehicles
The Electric: Inside the White House Plan to Speed Battery Metals Mining
U.S. auto and battery makers are racing to build battery assembly plants for the transition to electric vehicles.
Cookies on The Information
We use cookies for a number of reasons, such as keeping The Information reliable and secure, personalizing content and ads, providing social media features and to analyze how our sites are used.