Apple’s iOS 11.3 code base has been studied and some interesting stuff has been found.
Per iOS developer Steve Troughton-Smith, assorted strings of code in iOS 11.3 that contains a mysterious display output codenamed “Tatl.” The CoreUI framework can now request UI assets in meters, leading some to speculate that this might be referring to Apple AR glasses.
There is one possible reference for it:
Tatl
Tatl refers to a fairy in the game The Legend of Zelda: Majora’s Mask. In the game, Tatl helps the main character Link interact with the environment. She can provide information when you look at certain objects, people, and enemies.
Such a feature could possible be used for augmented reality and provide information when you look at things like landmarks, people, products in stores, etc.
The specific code looks like this:
isTatlDisplay (mysterious device)
isCarDisplay (CarPlay)
isExternal (AirPlay)
isMainDisplay (main display of iOS device)
None of this code was found in iOS 11.2, but had been added to iOS 11.3, suggesting that Apple could be allowing for new functionalities and the possibility of augmented reality glasses. The could could also be part of ARKit 1.5 that has been added to iOS 11.3. Sizes in meters are used for ARKit reference images in asset catalogs, as Guilherme Rambo noted on Twitter.
Via The Mac Observer and @stroughtonsmith