iOS 12: 3 Mind-Bendingly Creative Ways the Internet Is Using ARKit 2.0

The developer’s beta for Apple’s iOS 12 update is here to improve your iPhone and iPad experience. A standout is the new upgraded augmented reality tool kit, which is already giving enthusiasts the tools to create some seriously mind-boggling art.

iOS 12 came with a major overhaul of its ARKit platform that allows developers with creativity and technical know-how to make their own AR art, tools, and games. The major improvements are how well objects made using this feature can detect and track objects, giving creatives the power to overlay some virtual pizazz on the world.

From tricking out their credit cards to turning a basketball court into Super Mario Flash, here are some of the most innovative ways people are using this new AR platform to make everyday life a little less stale.

1. Business Cards and Credit Cards on Steroids

The age of resumes and having to check an app for your bank information might be coming to an end. With the power of ARKit 2.0, iOS developer Oscar Falmer has made his entire personal website appear when you hold his business card in front of a camera. This could change the age-old practice of handing out cards at networking events for good.

Harley Turan, a user interface developer at CloudFlare, applied a similar concept to his rewards card and parking permit. Instead of having to sign into an app or log into a website to check how much money or time he has left on his cards, he used ARKit to get him that information at a glance.

This concept could be used for credit or debit cards to quickly tell you how much credit you have left or how much money you have in your account. It could even do something like flash red when you’re about to overdraft.

2. AR iPhone Games Are Already Getting Better

The thicc plumber we came to know and love in Super Mario Flash was trapped in the 2D realm, but ARKit set him free. Animator Stuart Langfield turned the basketball court he was standing in into a Mushroom Kingdom, letting him jump on Goombas and dodge Piranha Plants IRL.

Pokemon Go was the first big AR gaming craze but since then, the genre has died down. But with ARKit’s new capabilities we could see a new dawn of independently developer AR games.

3. Harry Potter-Style Photographs and Paintings IRL

It’s a plain fact that the newspapers in the Harry Potter movies were badass. They literally had GIFs embedded into paper and ink. But now thanks to ARKit this concept is a whole lot more than just wizardry.

Twitter user Tony Morales shows off his AR postcards that play videos and GIFs, but you could also achieve a similar effect with your own video as well. Captured some sweet GoPro footage during a vacation? Send it to all of your friends via postcard. Can’t convince your friend to see Hereditary with you? Movie posters can go from static images to dynamic animations.

Newspapers and magazines have already done stuff like this, but by giving more people the ability to make AR art we could start to see even more creative uses of this technology in unexpected ways.