iPhone running AR app

What you need to know

  • Apple has confirmed it purchased UK-based iKinema.
  • The company specializes in motion capture.
  • Apple could use the software in ongoing augmented reality projects.

Apple has confirmed that it has acquired UK-based effects company iKinema. As usual, Apple isn't saying why it made the purchase but did provide The Financial (via 9to5Mac) with the its customary response.

"Apple buys smaller companies from time to time, and we generally don't discuss our purpose or plans," Apple said, a statement it uses to confirm acquisitions.

While the name iKinema might not mean much to most people, the Financial Times does note that it is a company which has a history of working with some of the biggest names in TV and movies including Fox and Disney. It's also worked with the likes of Epic Games and Valve, too. That makes a lot of sense given iKinema's core business – software thats designed to help with motion capture.

The iKinema website is now largely unavailable and that's likely to remain the case until it shuts down completely. What Apple plans for the company isn't clear, but motion tracking technology could be used in the company's augmented reality ventures moving forward.

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Apple buys companies all the time, as its statement says, and we often have to wait years to see why. We may never really know where or how iKinema's software is used within Apple. One thing we do know is that Apple isn't in the habit of buying companies and then not using them for anything. That isn't how you build up the kind of war chest Apple posesses.