<a href="http://9to5mac.com/2016/01/05/speck-pocket-vr-viewer/" target="_blank">Speck’s VR solution on the iPhone</a>
During this week’s earnings call, Apple CEO Tim Cook answered a question on virtual reality by saying “I don’t think VR is a niche…It’s really cool and has some interesting applications.” It looks like Cook’s statements have some background to them. According to a new Financial Times report, Apple had reportedly been prototyping VR headsets in the past under Steve Jobs in the mid-2000s, but the project was eventually abandoned once the technology was found to still be immature. With new acquisitions and a dedicated VR team, the effort is said to be once again a new focus.
Apple has been going on a hiring spree in the world of virtual reality as of 2013 with their acquisition of PrimeSense. Reportedly the VR/AR research unit at Apple has hundreds of staff from multiple previous acquisitions including past employees from Microsoft’s HoloLens team as well as Lytro.
With their latest acquisition reportedly being Flyby Media, a company that worked with Google in developing some of the 3D positioning software for Project Tango, it looks like Apple is reinvigorated to taking this new direction seriously.
This has been an interesting two-weeks behind Apple’s VR news as Doug Bowman, a top virtual and augmented reality researcher, was recently hired by Apple to help expedite the efforts for the platform. Although Apple’s Jony Ive told the New Yorker that the face was the “wrong place” to put technology, the secret research unit at Apple is said to have been building prototypes of possible headset configurations in the past several months.
In regards to the face being the wrong location for the technology, it’s worth noting that Apple was also hiring hardware engineers to work on display and projection systems for VR environments. Although consumer VR has relied on headsets in the past few years, there’s no reason pieces of these technologies can’t be brought to other environments that implement VR in smaller ways. A year ago Apple was also reported to have been developing a 3D iPhone display.
The report goes on to claim that Apple is moving foward by building out the secret VR/AR team at the company. Earlier this week, 9to5Mac’s Chance Miller opined about the state of VR and how Apple should increase its role in the space. Now it looks like that may actually be a reality. You can read the full report here.
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Interesting. I’m looking forward to seeing what Apple comes up with. I’m sure it won’t look like the dorky “ViewMaster” glasses shown in the article. I’m also sure Apple learned a lot from the GoogleGlass fiasco. It could be very interesting.
GoogleGlass was not the right product. No one will ever want to wear glasses when they don’t have to, or contact lenses. VR is 100% at the home or in the car. AR is anywhere, through holding your iPhone’s camera up and seeing information, not to put something on your head.
It’s to go along with the car. You put the VR goggles on and then you are in the car driving along in the Apple Car.
Now you will be able to sit in your armchair while you drive to get the kids from practice. You’ll be able to pick them up and NOT have to listen to their whining or smell them.
I LIKE IT!
:lol:
Yeah that is likely over autonomous. Not. Haha…
Apple has been researching vr and ar since mid 2000… I know it for a fact through jobs listings then.
Apple is not develpoing a team.. Apple has deep into developing actual products for a long time.
We mentioned something along those lines in the article. In the mid-2000s it seemed like Apple was focused on it but soon abandoned the project. Looks like it’s picking back up.
Yes Greg ….
But i doubt the r&d ever stopped. They have been hiring in the field constantly throughout the years……… Too late to start putting team together now…. I doubt apple has been blind to the massive impact vr/ar can have throughput the years….
I feel we are very close to seeing a vr/ar product from apple. 👍✌️
Jony Ive was talking specifically about wearables (in the sense of technology/fashion items you’d wear walking down the street) when he said that the face was the wrong place for technology. If Apple is working on an immersive operating system or gaming system it would constitute a different category to his reference I’d say.
Good point. I’m curious to see what implementation Ive would sign-off on in regards to VR and AR. I’d wager he’d like a “hands-off” experience as much as possible. Whether that means a headset or otherwise will remain to be seen.
It will be in the home, and outside will be AR through the iPhone’s camera (you see info on the screen).
You mean that people don’t use computers around others people where fashion matters? why would someone want to strap on a headset on in their office? What problem does it really solve? Will it help me animate or code better? Do I need more immersion for editing an excel doc? Most of the time work involves a combination of working on a computer and social interactions with people face to face. I don’t see how strapping something to your head will improve either for most people.
There are very niche situations where it would be useful but the cost won’t be worth it.
Microsoft came up with some cool stuff but honestly a lot of it depended on everyone just having one of these things and no one minding wearing a computer on their head.
Lets say it’s something intended for the living room. How will this be different than 3D tvs that require you to use glasses? Those fell completely flat. It’s one thing to go to a movie theater where you sit in the dark and don’t really interact with people and really really want to be immersed in the film but at home it’s very different. People aren’t generally looking for a fully immersive experience. We watch tv socially and in the background while doing other stuff and interacting with people. We play games together and like to watch people playing games.
I wouldn’t say it’s antisocial because you could be very social in a multiplayer game. It’s just anti personal. It’s not something a casual user would be interested in.
It takes a long time to research and develop VR technology. A Mac equivalent to Oculus Rift is not coming out anytime soon unless Apple tries to make Oculus Rift work with a Mac. I can see Apple doing a Gear VR like device for iPhones but as powerful as the iPhone is it will start to buckle when you bump up the resolution (very high dpi is required to counter screen door effect) and peg the processors at 100%. Gear VR can bring a 8 core exynos processor and 4gigs of ram to it’s knees after 20 minutes of use.
But I do hope Apple can pull it off. I can see Apple making a very stylish headset and with Apples ecosystem it has the potential to bring in new customers. If you ignore VR people won’t even look in your direction “if” it hits big in the next few years.
I can see Apple using augmented reality on the windscreen of the Apple Car to alert about potential dangers and other vital traffic information. Who needs a VR helmet when the whole car can function as one? Just add an eye-tracking camera in front of the driver and you are good to go. The main reason Google Glass failed was because most people were reluctant to put a device on their face.
Yep! My thoughts exactly.
Most of these technology buys could be used for the car’s ability to see the environment and to see you. Faceshift now makes sense… It’s face tracking for seeing if you are falling asleep at the wheel or distracted and/or for changing the angle on augmented reality being projected on the road.
I think if they are using headsets right now, it’s for the UX team to prototype UI and design features without needing the hardware of the car’s interior to be done.
Apple is zagging while everyone else zigs towards headsets. Apple’s like “headsets aren’t going to sell but they do cool things, lets take that and put it in something that’s going to sell.”
Who needs face tracking when cars will be able to drive autonomously? By the time the Apple Car will be released (2020?) the technology will probably be ready to let cars drive themselves (Tesla and Google are getting close already), so that drivers can do other things, like falling asleep. I can’t imagine Apple stepping into this car market without incorporating the technology of the future. Maybe you can wear a VR helmet in the Apple Car, so you can project your bedrooms ceiling before falling asleep :)