The fact that Apple is interested in virtual and augmented reality is no secret, however, it seems that the tech giant has been secretly prototyping a Virtual Reality headset.
According to the latest reports, Apple has employed a team of experts, who are working to develop this device that would compete with the HoloLens and the Oculus Rift.
Of course, the whole virtual and augmented reality effort that the company is making is kept a secret by Apple.
The news was first reported by the Financial Times, which said that Apple is focusing on creating a successful team of experts in the field of virtual and augmented reality. This team has been testing the VR headset prototype for a few months now, but the stage of its development remains unknown.
If Apple plans to release such a product on the market, the famous company has to make sure that it would be able to compete with the interesting devices that its main competitors are willing to launch, including the Oculus Rift, the HTC Vive and naturally Samsung’s Gear VR. Of course, the HoloLens is one of the most interesting such products that are in development stage.
Actually, it is a well-known fact that Apple has shown interest in the domain for quite some time, as well as in specialists from other companies, including experts who have previously worked on the HoloLens project.
Now, its focus on this project seems to have increased, as the popular company has also on boarded a top virtual reality researcher, the former director of Virginia Tech’s Center for Human Computer Interaction.
As imagined, Apple denied to comment on this rumored project, so it remains widely unclear what type of VR accessory the famous company plans on developing. Some have claimed that it would just be an accessory for the iPhone, to make this device even more attractive on the market, while others said that it will be a fully-integrated headset such as the ones that Facebook or Microsoft are said to be working on.
How new is Apple’s interest in virtual reality?
Well, actually it can be traced back to the mid-2000s, when no other company thought of this. At that time, Apple’s CEO, Steve Jobs, considered that the technology was still immature.
However, things have evolved since and Apple wanted to secure a patent, as the tech giant predicted that its interest in VR will grow.
So, in 2008, the Cupertino firm filed a patent for what seemed to be a VR headset for the iPhone. Apple’s work in this technology is said to have intensified in 2014, when a rival tech giant, Facebook, purchased the Oculus Rift. Now, many other companies are working at this possibility on the market and Apple could make no exception.
Some analysts have claimed that the tech giant will most likely also make some new acquisitions to be able to improve its technology in this area. Naturally, there is no word on when Apple might be releasing its first product in this domain of virtual or augmented reality, but such a release is definitely expected.
