Apple hosted the iPhone event on Tuesday and introduced its latest iPhone models, the iPhone 12 Pro and 12 Pro Max. Amongst other features, the latest smartphones sport the new LiDAR Scanner, which has been specifically designed for enhanced and more immersive Augmented Reality experiences. 

In The Spotlight showcases the best innovations from across the Augmented Reality industry landscape. We point the spotlight on the industry pioneers, the forward-thinking companies and the wizard-like developers who step outside the box to create groundbreaking Augmented Reality experiences. In The Spotlight is 8th Wall, a cross-platform development solution for building AR experiences with their brand new, first-of-its-kind Curved Image Target technology. 

Amazon has found an innovative way to entertain their customers with the boxes that arrive on their doorstep. The company has transformed their packaging which now comes to life with the help of their Augmented Reality app. 

Hyundai Mobis, the 7th largest automotive supplier in the world, has announced this week that it has awarded a significant investment in UK based Augmented Reality Heads-Up Display (AR HUD) company Envisics. 

Snapchat have launched the new feature, Local Lenses, which is one of the first large scale, persistent and collaborative uses of Augmented Reality to date.

The US Army has showcased the first Augmented Reality goggles designed for service dogs, which will allow them to receive orders from a distance. The Augmented Reality technology was developed by the company Command Sight, which is managed by the US Army Research Laboratory. 

In this week's weekly round up of Augmented Reality news, we look at world renowned k-pop group BTS’ upcoming online concert which plans to feature Augmented Reality throughout the performance, Facebook Messenger’s new Augmented Reality experiences which aim to make your messages and video calls spooktacular throughout the month of October as well as Google’s recent launch of Persistent Cloud Anchors. All of this and more. Here's what happened, this week in AR.

Last year, Google previewed persistent Cloud Anchors which can be tied to a specific location and allow information to be permanently overlaid over the real world. With the recent upgrade ARCore 1.20, it has officially launched with a number of apps already taking advantage. Meanwhile, Google has recently showcased Earth Cloud Anchors.