Apple announces augmented reality app for AppleTV + series For All Mankind
Apple TV + series For All Mankind gets an augmented reality app: Time Capsule. The iOS app uses Apple’s ARKit framework and includes exclusive experiences for the latest iPad Pro, iPhone 12 Pro and iPhone 12 Pro Max.
For All Mankind: Time Capsule is a standalone app, so it won’t work within Apple TV +, 9to5Mac explains . The science fiction series For All Mankind is about an alternate timeline that shows what would have happened if the arms race between the US and the Soviet Union never ended after the Soviet Union successfully brought a man to the moon. The series, starring actor Joel Kinnaman, who is also known as Takeshi Kovacs in the first season of Netflix series Altered Carbon and Alex Murphy in the RoboCop remake, has been on Apple TV + since 2019 and now has two seasons. . For All Mankind: Time Capsule is set in the decade between the two seasons and is meant to fill out the story of the ten years between the two seasons.
The app uses real-world objects through the iPhone and iPad camera lens, showing virtual objects. Users with a new iPad Pro, iPhone 12 Pro or 12 Pro Max also receive additional content that uses the LiDAR sensor in the devices. You see the world through the eyes of teenage Danny Stevens, played by actor Casey W. Johnson, son of astronauts Tracy and Gordo Stevens in the series. In season two Danny gets a more prominent role, the AR app is a step towards that. According to 9to5Mac, the app is also fun for people who are not completely up to date with the series. For example, you can play with an Apple II computer via the app and play a text adventure game on the Apple II.
It was recently announced that former CEO Dan Riccio will be working on AR and VR headsets for Apple, as upcoming AR and VR hardware has suffered from slowdowns. Riccio’s entry created the impression that Apple is serious about augmented reality and VR. The investment in an app for AR for Apple TV + series reinforces this suspicion. The app is already available in the US and is expected to come to the European countries soon.