Apple Harnesses the Power of the iPhone 12 Pro LiDAR Scanner for Its New 'For All Mankind' AR App

The realm of science fiction isn't all lasers and cute green toddlers, sometimes alternate science history is sci-fi, too, as exampled by the Apple TV Plus series For All Mankind.

Now, in a bid to promote the second season of the space-based series, Apple has launched a new augmented reality app that tells more of the backstory of the characters on the show.

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If you haven't had a chance to see the show, it depicts a world in which the United States "did not" win the space race to the moon. Instead, in this fictional account, it turns out that the Americans lost out to the efforts of the USSR.

Apple

Although much of the series features space action shots and enough historic NASA tech to feed any space nerd, much of the show is driven by the drama of interpersonal relationships. Apple's new For All Mankind: Time Capsule app captures some of those relationships by taking you through a seven-chapter exploration of artifacts that you can explore in AR.

Apple

After scanning your real world space, the app places various virtual items in front of you that can be examined in detail, including handwritten letters, old school '80s cassette tapes, and even an Apple II computer.

Apple

In addition to these experiences, which are available to any ARKit-enabled iPhone or iPad, users who have the new LiDAR versions of the iPhone 12 Pro, iPhone 12 Pro Max, and the latest iPad Pro can also experience a virtual slide show that can be virtually "projected" onto one of the walls in your real-world space.

These kinds of immersive AR stories are usually reserved for higher end, wearable devices like the Magic Leap One, but it looks like Apple is priming the pump by setting an example for other AR developers to follow on the way toward making Apple AR the most promising new arena to tell immersive stories.

The For All Mankind: Time Capsule, which is a free download on the App Store, comes just a week before the premiere of the next season of the streaming show on Friday, February 19, 2021.

Cover image via Apple TV Plus