Apple invests another $410 million to build an AR ecosystem, which may be combined with autonomous driving in the future

Apple recently announced on its official website that it will invest $410 million from its Advanced Manufacturing Fund (AMF) in optical materials and semiconductor manufacturer II-VI. This is Apple's second investment in the company after 2017, when it invested $390 million.

II-VI produces a variety of optical components for Apple. The Face ID on the iPhone is derived from the semiconductor laser instruments manufactured by the company. At the same time, the lidar on the iPhone 12 Pro series and iPad Pro is also produced in cooperation with the company.

LiDAR is currently used mainly in the AR field on Apple devices. It enables the device to interpret indoor space environment data in more detail, thereby achieving accurate measurement and modeling. The most typical manifestation is Apple's built-in distance measurement application, and LiDAR significantly improves its measurement accuracy.

Last year, Apple equipped the iPhone 12 Pro series with LiDAR. In this announcement, Apple also mentioned that the cooperation with II-VI will accelerate the delivery of future iPhone components, which may mean that LiDAR will be promoted to the entire iPhone product line. So far, Apple's determination to accelerate the construction of the AR ecosystem through mobile phones has been fully demonstrated.

At present, AR is mainly used in professional fields on Apple products, but Apple's layout in the AR field has already begun. In 2017, Apple launched the ARkit development kit to help developers develop AR applications. In the future, as the number of devices that support AR increases, more lightweight AR applications and games will emerge, and that will be the time when Apple's efforts in the AR field will bear fruit.

It is also worth noting that II-VI has also launched lidar firmware for automobiles and related technologies for high-energy and high-power lithium batteries. Combined with the long-standing rumors about Apple making cars, the two parties may further cooperate in this field.

As a winner of Toutiao's Qingyun Plan and Baijiahao's Bai+ Plan, the 2019 Baidu Digital Author of the Year, the Baijiahao's Most Popular Author in the Technology Field, the 2019 Sogou Technology and Culture Author, and the 2021 Baijiahao Quarterly Influential Creator, he has won many awards, including the 2013 Sohu Best Industry Media Person, the 2015 China New Media Entrepreneurship Competition Beijing Third Place, the 2015 Guangmang Experience Award, the 2015 China New Media Entrepreneurship Competition Finals Third Place, and the 2018 Baidu Dynamic Annual Powerful Celebrity.