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Jul 31 4 min read

Big AR: Android vs iOS

This is the fourth article within a series of blog posts on augmented
reality and the future of marketing. If you missed out on the first
three Big AR posts, you can begin here.

In the current world of mobile AR, there are two mainstream platforms
in which you can invest time, money, and energy: Googles Tango plat-
form on Android and Apples ARKit platform on iOS. Lets look into
Googles platform first.

Time to Tango.

Googles Tango platform was released in June 2014. It allows develop-

ers to make use of dierent AR frameworks built right into the develop-
ment platform for Android, providing devs with the opportunity to
jump on one of the biggest trends heading into the 2020s.

Considering its home is the mobile phone platform with the largest
market share, spreading Android out to over 2 billion active phone
users worldwide, Android has potential to push Tango to more house-
holds than Apples walled garden of iPhones can. But, there is a hitch.
Tango was released over 3 years ago and the number of Android de-
vices capable to run the AR platform remain few and far between in
terms of production. The platform runs on multiple camera sensors
that track position and movement in space, allowing the backend to an-
alyze what is being focused on and how to best place the information
or material over the world. This augmented reality technology cannot
be run in phones from even 2017, as many phone makers dont priori-
tize AR technology in modern phones. And that is why Googles Tango,
after three years of release, is only slowly easing its way into con-
sumers lives. Its simply not feasible with our current technology.

Android Fragmentationsource: DanSkinner.com

The issue with fragmentation in the market.

With over 2 billion active Android devices comes a problem: there are
so many brands creating Android phones, like Google, Samsung, One-
Plus, and more, its challenging to convince each brand to add augment
reality camera technology in their phone. Especially when the market is
slowly picking up, but not ready to launch into mainstream. As the
costs are too high, many developers are also not willing to jump on to
create immersive experiences until there is a market for it.

But there is a solution! Its time.

Time will drive the cost of augmented reality technology down, and
eventually, it will be viable for all of the brands within the fragmented
Android ecosystem to make use of AR as a selling point. Once that hap-
pens, Tango will be available on all new Android devices and it will be
a goldmine for innovative and creative developers.

If only something could speed up the process.

Enter ARKit.

Apples introduction to ARKit

Apple announced ARKit this past June during their WWDC conference.
Its a platform, like Tango, that will allow developers to make use of AR
sensing intuitively through the iOS devices cameras. The dierence be-
tween ARKit and Tango is that Apple has used machine learning to
push all their eorts on the software side, creating a Tango-like experi-
ence that works with current-day iOS device cameras. No need for
fancy sensors that push the costs of creating a phone and acquiring in-
terested developers through the roof. This means that all iPhone,
iPad, and iPod touch devices that will be able to run iOS 11 this fall
will be able to run ARKit apps.

Apple, during their announcement for this platform, identified that this
will immediately push iOS as the largest AR base in the world, running
past all of the devices that can run Tango and all smaller initiatives in
the mobile realm. With Apples base of 700 million iPhones worldwide,
that means a lot of people running AR apps as simply as downloading
an app theyre interested in, and that doesnt even include iPad and
iPod touch users.
 Ikea Augmented Realiysource : BrandWatch

AR for All.

Apples ARKit, in time, will push AR to the masses, providing develop-

ers and phone makers with a reason to pay attention and stay competi-
tive on all ends. This will ultimately provide Tango with the means to
thrive and push augmented reality in the hands of every mobile user
within the next five years.

When we discuss AR, its fun to think longterm and consider how well
process our lives when we have smart glasses or contact lens, but its
also important to consider where we are today and how well possibly
be able to head down that path, where one-upping the competition can
ultimately mean creating a platform that thrives for all.

Wingnuts AR demo for iOSs ARKit.

Which platform are you more interested in? Do you think Apple will push
AR into the mainstream or can Google Tangos last breath push it ahead of
the crowd with a trick up their sleeve? Let me know in the comments!