iOS 14 reveals 'Gobi' AR commerce app, Find My app with AR user feedback

Posted:
in General Discussion edited October 2020
A new dump of data hidden within an internal iOS 14 build has surfaced online, revealing some of Apple's future plans for augmented reality on the iPhone.

Credit: Apple
Credit: Apple


A leaked version of Apple's upcoming iOS 14 update reportedly contains user interface icons, mockups and other files related to the Find My app, as well as a future AR commerce app called Gobi.

The Gobi app icon. Credit: Josh Constine
The Gobi app icon. Credit: Josh Constine


The Gobi app itself appears to use AR as a utility for commerce. Among the leaked files, which were provided to former TechCrunch writer Josh Constine, are QR codes that can be scanned in Gobi to bring up websites for products from Apple and its partners, such as Starbucks and Disney with a "Star Wars" property. Alongside more traditional QR codes are codes that feature an Apple-branded colorful and circular design.

New circular Apple QR codes, as well as more traditional QR codes, for use in the Gobi app. Credit: Josh Constine
New circular Apple QR codes, as well as more traditional QR codes, for use in the Gobi app. Credit: Josh Constine


There are also references to a shopping comparison tool in Gobi, as well as a 3D render of an Apple Watch that users can interact with. When used in-store, there are also files that suggest Gobi can be used to net discounts at partner retailers like Starbucks via geo-fencing.

Interestingly, one of the files provided to Constine appears to be a placeholder pagoda render with a filename of "Sbux_Preview." Constine theorizes that it could "show how AR might spruce up the decoration of the cafes while giving visitors something to play with."

An AR pagoda titled
An AR pagoda titled "Sbux_Preview" in iOS 14's code. Credit: Josh Constine


The iOS 14 leaks also contain some information that corroborates past rumors of AR integration in the Find My app.

Constine received several audio files and haptic feedback codes that reveal how the Find My app can give cues to a user when they're attempting to locate a missing device. Bringing up the AR view in Find My, the app could play encouraging tones when a lost device is Nearby, and discouraging tones when the user moves away from it. The former TechCrunch reporter has included those audio files in a YouTube video detailing the leaks, which you can see below.





The video above opens with an introduction that's supposedly meant for the Find My app. The clip features a spinning retro Apple logo while the song "Awaken" by Slyrax plays in the background.

Apple is largely expected to release a first-party AR headset or glasses by 2022, but these new leaks also reveal that the company's AR ambitions also extend to its current flagship product as well. The use of AR in the Find My app are also tied to rumors of an upcoming Bluetooth and Ultra Wideband tracking device called "AirTags."

Comments

  • Reply 1 of 10
    swat671swat671 Posts: 154member
    The 4 "regular" QR codes scan just fine in my iPhones camera app. The 2 "colorful" ones in the middle don't do anything...
  • Reply 2 of 10
    XedXed Posts: 2,822member
    The round codes have 64 points with 8 different lengths and 4 colors, each, but I can't be sure if the color is used (as that could fade in sunlight in a window), how that translates into a value system, or if the inside area is used.

    I also can't discern positioning markings, which is one of the features that makes QR Codes so great. I'd say that it's not necessary if the data was high enough or there was a common thread in the two circular patterns so that a starting point could be assessed; maybe there is, but I'm not yet seeing it.
  • Reply 3 of 10
    crowleycrowley Posts: 10,453member
    So Gobi is Apple’s answer to Google Shopping, with an added QR code reader?  

    Don’t see why they needed to give it a silly name.
    williamlondon
  • Reply 4 of 10
    XedXed Posts: 2,822member
    crowley said:
    So Gobi is Apple’s answer to Google Shopping, with an added QR code reader?  

    Don’t see why they needed to give it a silly name.
    What issue do you have with the name? 
  • Reply 5 of 10
    crowleycrowley Posts: 10,453member
    Xed said:
    crowley said:
    So Gobi is Apple’s answer to Google Shopping, with an added QR code reader?  

    Don’t see why they needed to give it a silly name.
    What issue do you have with the name? 
    It's a desert.  What is there worth buying in a desert?
    williamlondon
  • Reply 6 of 10
    XedXed Posts: 2,822member
    crowley said:
    Xed said:
    crowley said:
    So Gobi is Apple’s answer to Google Shopping, with an added QR code reader?  

    Don’t see why they needed to give it a silly name.
    What issue do you have with the name? 
    It's a desert.  What is there worth buying in a desert?
    So you had an issue with Apple naming a version of macOS Mojave? Do you have any issue with it being named after a location in China?

    I think both names sound nice, and a least with Gobi it sounds like "go be" which could have some marketing potential. I guess I'm also a fan of using natural location as codenames.

    There are countless beautiful pics of the Gobi desert and it's a place I'd love to one day visit.


    edited May 2020
  • Reply 7 of 10
    crowleycrowley Posts: 10,453member
    Xed said:
    crowley said:
    Xed said:
    crowley said:
    So Gobi is Apple’s answer to Google Shopping, with an added QR code reader?  

    Don’t see why they needed to give it a silly name.
    What issue do you have with the name? 
    It's a desert.  What is there worth buying in a desert?
    So you had an issue with Apple naming a version of macOS Mojave? Do you have any issue with it being named after a location in China?

    I think both names sound nice, and a least with Gobi it sounds like "go be" which could have some marketing potential. I guess I'm also a fan of using natural location as codenames.

    There are countless beautiful pics of the Gobi desert and it's a place I'd love to one day visit.


    Sure it's beautiful, but it doesn't scream AR shopping to me, and Apple with bare few exceptions give their products functions names, not flowery ones.

    Perhaps more pertinently, I'm just joking around, not sure why you've taken so seriously against a flippant comment.
    williamlondon
  • Reply 8 of 10
    XedXed Posts: 2,822member
    Does Amazon scream shopping to you? It didn’t to me until Amazon.con was popular. How many brand names meant what they meant before and after they are popular? Should Piggy Wigly have used the name Wonky Shopping Cart Wheel to indicate my typical grocery store experience? 
    williamlondon
  • Reply 9 of 10
    MarvinMarvin Posts: 15,443moderator
    crowley said:
    Sure it's beautiful, but it doesn't scream AR shopping to me, and Apple with bare few exceptions give their products functions names, not flowery ones.
    Maybe they'll pronounce it 'go buy' instead of 'go be'. Even if it's the latter, I think it works ok. It's hard to come up with short product names that can be trademarked and work well in conversation.
    williamlondon
  • Reply 10 of 10
    crowleycrowley Posts: 10,453member
    Xed said:
    Does Amazon scream shopping to you? It didn’t to me until Amazon.con was popular. 
    Me neither.  It wasn't a great name, and became popular in spite of it.  Maybe Gobi wiill be the same.
    williamlondon
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