WebXR Proponents Say Apple “Holding Back” Web AR

10 MAY 2022 - There’s a piece out there that says Apple is holding back augmented reality on the web. You may think Apple is holding back AR by holding back whatever AR hardware everyone expects the company to make. That is not the argument presented by industry insiders in a Protocol piece, though. Apple Insider highlights that. According to the insiders, Apple is holding back AR on the web by not adopting WebXR. The report defines that, saying:

WebXR was created by a coalition of companies that included Meta, Google, Samsung, Mozilla, and Magic Leap. The format enables augmented reality experiences in a web browser, but only where it is supported.

It is not supported in Safari, and that - the insiders argue - is holding back mobile AR. It is worth noting though, Apple does have a solution for folks who want AR on iPhone. Apple Insider reminds its readers about “the Apple-Pixar sourced USDZ format introduced with ARKit 2.0” way back in 2018. Sort of seems like, if they wanted to reach iPhone users, maybe they could also develop in a coding language that works on that platform. It kind of reminds me of Apple's Flash fight.

Apple Insider seems to take umbrage. The way that site sees it:

While an argument can be made for Apple to support the competing standard, it can't be based on the idea that Apple is holding web-based AR back, because it simply isn't true.

The piece goes on to say:

Apple is one of the driving forces behind promoting augmented reality and its benefits, and Safari's USDZ format is part of pushing that narrative forward. The competing WebXR standard may yet appear in a future Safari update, driving competition innovation for web-based AR.

Until then, it seems Apple has chosen a side in yet another format war.