"Pokemon Go" is moving into a different dimension on the iPhone, thanks to software that allows the game to play new tricks with its menagerie of digital critters.
An upcoming game update relies on built-in Apple software called ARKit that gives the iPhone's new ways to serve as a portal into augmented reality.
AR is a technology that projects life-like images into real-world settings such as parks and streetscapes.
The new approach, announced Wednesday, adds depth to the playing field and lets Pokemon monsters grow or shrink to fit their environment. The game's creatures will now flee when they detect sudden movement or if players approach too quickly.
John Hanke, CEO of "Pokemon Go" creator Niantic, believes iPhones equipped with Apple's AR software now offer the best way to play the game.
That's an ironic twist because Niantic spun out of Google, whose Android software powers most of the smartphones in the world. Hanke played a key role in build Google Maps, one of the most frequently used apps on Android phones.
Apple's AR technology works on iPhones dating back to the 2015 iPhone 6S, a line-up that encompasses an estimated 200 million to 300 million devices, including iPads.
"Pokemon Go" has offered an AR option since its release 17 months ago, but Apple's technology is more advanced than what the game has been using.
Apple is hoping app makers will find compelling ways to deploy its AR tools, helping to hook the masses on a technology that so far has been embraced by a sliver of smartphone users. If AR takes off, many analysts believe Apple will branch out in a few years and release a new line of devices designed specifically for AR.
Rom-Com Mainstay Hugh Grant Shifts To The Dark Side and He’s Never Been Happier
After some difficulties connecting to a Zoom, Hugh Grant eventually opts to just phone instead.
"Sorry about that," he apologizes. "Tech hell." Grant is no lover of technology. Smart phones, for example, he calls the "devil's tinderbox."
"I think they're killing us. I hate them," he says. "I go on long holidays from them, three or four days at at time. Marvelous."
Hell, and our proximity to it, is a not unrelated topic to Grant's new film, "Heretic." In it, two young Mormon missionaries (Chloe East, Sophie Thatcher) come knocking on a door they'll soon regret visiting. They're welcomed in by Mr. Reed (Grant), an initially charming man who tests their faith in theological debate, and then, in much worse things.
After decades in romantic comedies, Grant has spent the last few years playing narcissists, weirdos and murders, often to the greatest acclaim of his career. But in "Heretic," a horror thriller from A24, Grant's turn to the dark side reaches a new extreme. The actor who once charmingly stammered in "Four Weddings and a Funeral" and who danced to the Pointer Sisters in "Love Actually" is now doing heinous things to young people in a basement.
"It was a challenge," Grant says. "I think human beings need challenges. It makes your beer taste better in the evening if you've climbed a mountain. He was just so wonderfully (expletive)-up."
"Heretic," which opens in theaters Friday, is directed by Scott Beck and Bryan Woods, co-writers of "A Quiet Place." In Grant's hands, Mr. Reed is a divinely good baddie — a scholarly creep whose wry monologues pull from a wide range of references, including, fittingly, Radiohead's "Creep."
In an interview, Grant spoke about these and other facets of his character, his journey... Read More