iOS 11 AR Apps: Update Brings Augmented Reality To Your iPhone

The recently released iOS 11 update opens up augmented reality experiences to millions of users.

Apple CEO Tim Cook went on ABC’s Good Morning America to talk about augmented reality, a topic he has previously talked about excitedly.

“Well this is huge because it's the first time that hundreds of millions of customers will be able to use AR for the first time,” Cook said in the interview. “So we're bringing it to mainstream, if you've got an iPhone 6s or later, you have augmented reality today."

Cook said the release of iOS 11 and its introduction of AR to iPads and iPhones is a “day to remember, this is a profound day." He pointed out that people can shop and learn with AR apps when sitting at home.

"We want everybody to be able to use AR, and so we've taken the complexity that developers would normally have to do in their apps, and made it simple for them to convert all of their apps to an AR experience,” he said. “And the thing that is very different about Apple is that, in one day, we can make AR available for hundreds of millions of people.”

The App Store now supports augmented reality apps with iOS 11 and features a “Get Started with AR” section to discover new apps. Here are some AR app to check out on iOS 11:

Sky Guide AR, $2.99

Don’t know how to tell which stars are which? This app lets users find constellations, planets, satellites and more objects in space by holding an iOS device up to the sky. The app includes different levels and is good for ages four and up.

Thomas & Friends Minis, Free

Kids can create their own Thomas & Friends train sets and bring them to their living room floor with the Thomas & Friends Minis AR app. The app is available for children four and up.

Human Anatomy Atlas 2018, $0.99

The Human Anatomy Atlas AR app allows users to convert any room in their home into an anatomy lab. This means iOS device owners can dissect virtual cadavers in their home. The app includes thousands of 3D anatomy parts in male and female models, from the nervous system to the reproductive system. The app also features encyclopedic references and study content in English, French, Spanish, Italian, Japanese, Chinese and German.

Fitness AR, $2.99

With iOS 11, users can workout in augmented reality worlds. iOS device owners can visualize their Strava bike rides and runs by bringing up 3D maps of their activity to explore their past workouts.

Dinosaurs Everywhere, Free

Dinosaurs walking around our planet is no longer a thing of the past with the app Dinosaurs Everywhere. Users can point their device and see dinosaurs roaming around the street or at home in 3D. The app includes 10 types of dinosaurs: Triceratops, Diplodocus, Spinosaurus, Allosaurus, Quetzalcoatlas, Compsagnathus, Parasaurolophos, Stegosauras, Velociraptor and Tyrannosaurus Rex. All dinosaurs are shown in real life scale.