ARKit Roundup: Tesla Customization, Spatial Audio Recording, and Friend Locator [Updated]

ARKit demos have been popular over the summer, showcasing the features that iOS 11 users will gain on their iPhones once the new software update rolls out worldwide later in September. Today we've rounded up some of the latest tech demos of the software development kit, which you can check out below.

In the first ARKit demo, augmented reality and user experience designer Jelmer Verhoog has created an app that lets users design and customize a Tesla Model 3 car. This extends to the wheels, paint, and interior of the vehicle, and even includes driving controls. While Verhoog's demo is focused on the Model 3, it's easy to imagine other carmakers using Apple's ARKit to help customers when they're on the hunt for a new vehicle.


The next demo, by Zach Lieberman, shows off an interesting use of augmented reality and ARKit -- it allows users to record audio through the app, which is then visually represented by waveforms in an AR space. To play back the audio, users can physically move through it, with the ability to listen to the recorded audio both forwards and backwards. Check out the video below with audio to see Lieberman's demo in action.

An app called "Neon" was showcased recently, and it allows friends to find one another in the midst of overcrowded festivals. The app's Twitter page says it'll be out "this fall," and it appears to use its own social network to add close friends, find them through their own iPhones, and present their location to users as augmented reality chevrons that are easy to track down.


Augmented reality games will likely be a big part of the ARKit app market after the launch of iOS 11, and the developer of the new game Euclidean Lands is already working on an AR version of the puzzler. Since the iOS game's puzzles already float in space within the regular app, the developer has simply translated that concept into the real world with its ARKit demo, allowing players to walk around the puzzle, move characters, and rotate blocks.

Measuring apps continue to be consistently popular in the ARKit demo space, with a new app called MeasureKit having confirmed its launch for later in September alongside iOS 11. MeasureKit includes a bunch of detailed tools, including the ability to measure angles, make sure objects are hanging at the same level, and automatically detect someone's height. Watch a video of MeasureKit on the app's Twitter page here.

For more ARKit demos and roundups, check out our previous coverage in the articles below:

- Major App Developers Show Off ARKit Apps Ahead of iOS 11 Launch
- Latest ARKit Demos Include Sculpting, Food Ordering, Virtual Pets and Zombies
- Latest ARKit Demo Showcases Virtual Cosmetics Boutique
- Latest ARKit Demo Showcases Virtual Drawing
- Apple's ARKit Used to Recreate Classic A-ha 'Take On Me' Video
- ARKit Roundup: Turn-by-Turn Directions, Precise Room Measurements, and Pac-Man

Update: Tenor and digital studio Dift have partnered to create an ARKit-enabled GIF app, where users can place live GIFs in the real world.


Tenor said that its new SDK "is the first to let developers using Apple’s ARKit insert GIFs into AR experiences on iOS devices."

Tag: ARKit
Related Forum: iOS 11

Popular Stories

iOS 26

iOS 26.4 and iOS 27 Features Revealed in New Leak

Friday December 12, 2025 10:56 am PST by
Macworld's Filipe Espósito today revealed a handful of features that Apple is allegedly planning for iOS 26.4, iOS 27, and even iOS 28. The report said the features are referenced within the code for a leaked internal build of iOS 26 that is not meant to be seen by the public. However, it appears that Espósito and/or his sources managed to gain access to it, providing us with a sneak peek...
Apple Logo Top Half

Early iOS 26 Software Leak Uncovers Dozens of Upcoming Apple Features

Monday December 15, 2025 3:05 pm PST by
Software from an iPhone prototype running an early build of iOS 26 leaked last week, giving us a glimpse at future Apple devices and iOS features. We recapped device codenames in our prior article, and now we have a list of some of the most notable feature flags that were found in the software code. In some cases, it's obvious what the feature flags are referring to, while some are more...
apple beta 26 lineup

Apple Leak Confirms Work on Foldable iPhone, AirTag 2, and Dozens More Devices

Monday December 15, 2025 2:05 pm PST by
Last week, details about unreleased Apple devices and future iOS features were shared by Macworld. This week, we learned where the information came from, plus we have more findings from the leak. As it turns out, an Apple prototype device running an early build of iOS 26 was sold, and the person who bought it shared the software. The OS has a version number of 23A5234w, and the first...
Apple Foldable Thumb

Leak Reveals Foldable iPhone Details

Monday December 15, 2025 9:09 am PST by
The first foldable iPhone will feature a series of design and hardware firsts for Apple, according to details shared by the Weibo leaker known as Digital Chat Station. According to a new post, via machine translation, Apple is developing what the leaker describes as a "wide foldable" device, a term used to refer to a horizontally oriented, book-style foldable with a large internal display....
iOS 26

iOS 26.3 Beta 1 Features: What's New So Far

Monday December 15, 2025 4:23 pm PST by
Apple is testing iOS 26.3, the next version of iOS 26 that will launch around January. Since iOS 26.3's testing is happening over the holidays, it is a smaller update with fewer features than we've seen in prior betas. We've rounded up what's new so far, and we'll add to our list with subsequent betas if we come across any other features. Transfer to Android Apple is making it simpler...
iOS 26

Apple Releases iOS 26.2 With Alarms for Reminders, Lock Screen Changes, Enhanced Safety Alerts and More

Friday December 12, 2025 10:10 am PST by
Apple today released iOS 26.2, the second major update to the iOS 26 operating system that came out in September, iOS 26.2 comes a little over a month after iOS 26.1 launched. ‌iOS 26‌.2 is compatible with the ‌iPhone‌ 11 series and later, as well as the second-generation ‌iPhone‌ SE. The new software can be downloaded on eligible iPhones over-the-air by going to Settings >...
iOS 26

iOS 26.2 Coming Soon With These 8 New Features on Your iPhone

Thursday December 11, 2025 8:49 am PST by
Apple seeded the second iOS 26.2 Release Candidate to developers earlier this week, meaning the update will be released to the general public very soon. Apple confirmed iOS 26.2 would be released in December, but it did not provide a specific date. We expect the update to be released by early next week. iOS 26.2 includes a handful of new features and changes on the iPhone, such as a new...
airpods max 2024 colors

AirPods Max 2 Likely to Offer These 10 New Features

Monday December 15, 2025 7:41 am PST by
Apple released the AirPods Max on December 15, 2020, meaning the over-ear headphones launched five years ago today. While the AirPods Max were updated with a USB-C port and new color options last year, followed by support for lossless audio and ultra-low latency audio this year, the headphones lack some of the features that have been introduced for newer generations of the regular AirPods and the ...

Top Rated Comments

MartinAppleGuy Avatar
108 months ago
God I really hope the Tesla Model 3 one comes out. Only way us on the UK will get to drive it before 2019 haha
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Shlooky Avatar
108 months ago
The possibilities are endless!! I am amazed at the concepts that are being designed so far.

Good work!
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
MRrainer Avatar
108 months ago
That car demo... wow.
We've seen the future of online-shopping.
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Art Mark Avatar
108 months ago
The audio in space is really intriguing. Not that I know what exactly to do with it - but I hadn't thought of stuff like that at all.
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Unami Avatar
108 months ago
wow, the reflections on the tesla look great. and the "neon" app is one of the few examples so far (besides measurekit), that seem to make the awkward experience of up holding your phone as a lens for reality worth it.
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Blacknight10s Avatar
108 months ago
('https://www.macrumors.com/2017/09/07/arkit-roundup-tesla-friend-locator/')


ARKit demos have been popular over the summer, showcasing the features that iOS 11 users will gain on their iPhones once the new software update rolls out worldwide later in September ('https://www.macrumors.com/2017/09/06/apple-ios-11-tips-app/'). Today we've rounded up some of the latest tech demos of the software development kit, which you can check out below.

In the first ARKit demo, augmented reality and user experience designer Jelmer Verhoog ('https://twitter.com/jelmerverhoog') has created an app that lets users design and customize a Tesla Model 3 car. This extends to the wheels, paint, and interior of the vehicle, and even includes driving controls. While Verhoog's demo is focused on the Model 3, it's easy to imagine other carmakers using Apple's ARKit to help customers when they're on the hunt for a new vehicle.



The next demo, by Zach Lieberman ('https://twitter.com/zachlieberman'), shows off an interesting use of augmented reality and ARKit -- it allows users to record audio through the app, which is then visually represented by waveforms in an AR space. To play back the audio, users can physically move through it, with the ability to listen to the recorded audio both forwards and backwards. Check out the video below with audio to see Lieberman's demo in action.



An app called "Neon ('https://twitter.com/neonapp')" was showcased recently, and it allows friends to find one another in the midst of overcrowded festivals. The app's Twitter page says it'll be out "this fall," and it appears to use its own social network to add close friends, find them through their own iPhones, and present their location to users as augmented reality chevrons that are easy to track down.



Augmented reality games will likely be a big part of the ARKit app market after the launch of iOS 11, and the developer of the new game Euclidean Lands ('http://appshopper.com/games/euclidean-lands') is already working on an AR version of the puzzler. Since the iOS game's puzzles already float in space within the regular app, the developer has simply translated that concept into the real world with its ARKit demo, allowing players to walk around the puzzle, move characters, and rotate blocks.



Measuring apps continue to be consistently popular in the ARKit demo space, with a new app called MeasureKit ('https://twitter.com/MeasureKit') having confirmed its launch for later in September alongside iOS 11. MeasureKit includes a bunch of detailed tools, including the ability to measure angles, make sure objects are hanging at the same level, and automatically detect someone's height. Watch a video of MeasureKit on the app's Twitter page here ('https://twitter.com/ARKitweekly/status/905747033067270144').

For more ARKit demos and roundups, check out our previous coverage in the articles below:

- Major App Developers Show Off ARKit Apps Ahead of iOS 11 Launch ('https://www.macrumors.com/2017/08/29/big-companies-show-off-arkit-apps/')
- Latest ARKit Demos Include Sculpting, Food Ordering, Virtual Pets and Zombies ('https://www.macrumors.com/2017/08/28/arkit-sculpting-food-virtual-pets-zombies/')
- Latest ARKit Demo Showcases Virtual Cosmetics Boutique ('https://www.macrumors.com/2017/08/23/latest-arkit-demo-shows-virtual-cosmetics-boutique/')
- Latest ARKit Demo Showcases Virtual Drawing ('https://www.macrumors.com/2017/08/09/latest-arkit-demo-showcases-virtual-drawing/')
- Apple's ARKit Used to Recreate Classic A-ha 'Take On Me' Video ('https://www.macrumors.com/2017/07/26/apple-arkit-aha-take-on-me-video/')
- ARKit Roundup: Turn-by-Turn Directions, Precise Room Measurements, and Pac-Man ('https://www.macrumors.com/2017/07/21/arkit-roundup-directions-pac-man/')

Article Link: ARKit Roundup: Tesla Customization, Spatial Audio Recording, and Friend Locator ('https://www.macrumors.com/2017/09/07/arkit-roundup-tesla-friend-locator/')
[doublepost=1504801137][/doublepost]At first I thought magic leap would be the leader in Mixed Reality/AR (or even Microsoft with Hololens), but the fact apple Introduced ARkit it looks like this could be huge and can leverage these apps for future glasses/headsets

Follow @mixed_reality_hub on instagram for updates :)
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)