Apple Has Secret Team Working on Virtual Reality Headset

[NT1440]

Isn't it OBVIOUS? Tim Cook says VR is "cool". 2 days later a rumour comes in that says there is a secret team working on VR.
Am I the only one thinking that this is just something pulled out of thin air based on what Tim said?

They've been filing patents on their work for at least three years now....

Anyone that follows Apple patents knew about the Pencil, haptics, VR, wireless charging, the AirPods (wireless earbuds), etc

The product pipeline is pretty clear in a general sense, what's not clear is how far out the actual products are.

2014:
http://www.patentlyapple.com/patent...t-for-an-oculus-rift-like-display-system.html

2012:
http://www.patentlyapple.com/patent...-telephonic-headset-wins-a-second-patent.html


While Apple certainly starts many projects only to decide to not implement them, ones that are 1-2 years out have a tendency of receiving a wave of patent updates a few months before the product launch.

 

[DevNull0]

Not until the entire setup, headset and processing power, are under $400 total will VR see widespread adoption, and even then they may need to lower the threshold even more.

Yes, because every new expensive tech product category every made has sat and floundered around until the price dropped below a magical threshold plucked out of the air.

Color TV never saw widespread adoption until they fell below what price?

HDTV (remember those old analog CRT HD sets int he 90's?) never saw widespread adoption until they fell below what price?

Cars, Camcorders, VCRs, Digital wristwatches, laptop computers?

...Every single tech product category that has ever succeeded started out so expensive less than 0.5% of the population would even consider buying it. And over time the adoption rate slowly went up as the prices slowly fell.

----

And besides how wrong you are about that, you're also wrong that any product needs to hit widespread marketing. After 32 years, the Mac's global market share is only 5.8% of computers. Apple should really just give it up at this point. For 5.8% why should they even bother it's clearly a flop of a product. Almost as bad as Newton. Macs are just priced way out of the market and Apple needs to stop embarrassing themselves with those sales numbers.

And helicopters will only see widespread adoption when the price falls below $15,000. They've had their chance but after all these years less than 0.5% of people own a helicopter. Companies should just stop making them.

 

[godslabrat]

VR is worth pursuing, but Blu Ray is "a bag of hurt"? Bite me, Apple.

 

[_mdavenport]

I dub thee "iDork Goggles".

Obviously the product name will be " Reality Distortion Field"

 

[samcraig]

While a good chunk of VR right now is gaming - as a non-gamer and owner of the Samsung Gear VR, I can tell you that there are so many fantastic applications beyond gaming. I love watching the occasional netflix via the headset. For one - total immersion and I can shut everything out around me. I've sat in on presentations/sessions where I felt like I was actually in the room with the other people vs on the phone/video conferencing. I have been transported into fantastic 360 travel videos or vantage points (both video and photos).

Gaming - sure. Fun stuff. But I prefer the Reality part of VR

 

[TruthWatcher412]

Can't wait to try it

 

[doelcm82]

My only question is what will happen when Apple nears market saturation with their VR/AR offering. The price of their stock will really suffer. They might even drop down to less than $1 trillion market cap.

They're doomed.

 

[naeS1Sean]

Secret...

 

[satchmo]

Apple has teams working on just about everything. As a huge tech company, they have to play in every area to find new opportunities for expanding their market.

I'd love to know if this was the case back in the Jobs' era (granted, they were more of a computer company).

There's exploration, R&D, but there's also throwing things at the wall (Google is quite good at the latter).
I sometimes wonder if Cook has the vision, or simply follows trends (smartwatches, cars, and this VR)
He claims Apple is 'laser-focussed' but is it focussed on the right products.

Jobs seemed to at least, know what he wanted to build and what to say no to.
Again, I realize we're in a different time, and first to market is important. But Apple has never marched to that beat. It's has always been about doing a few things really really well.

 

[Daisy81]

This is almost certainly part of Apple's plan to create killer Mandroids. Yul Brynner anyone?

The terminator was thinking in Apple code.

 

[Michaelgtrusa]

Can't wait to see this.

 

[MNJohn]

Apple has expanded its research efforts in virtual and augmented reality, building out a large team that is experimenting with headsets and other technologies, reports Financial Times in a detailed post on the company's virtual reality work that covers recent hires and acquisitions.

Hundreds of employees are part of a "secret research unit" exploring AR and VR, with the team consisting of experts hired through acquisitions and poached from Microsoft and Lytro, the company that developed the Immerge, a Light Field power camera able to blend live action and computer graphics for a live action VR experience. Apple has also hired Doug Bowman, said to be one of the leading virtual reality experts in the United States.

In addition to recent AR/VR-related acquisitions Metaio, Faceshift, and Emotient, Apple has also just purchased Flyby Media, a startup that worked on augmented reality technologies. Flyby Media created an app that worked with Google's "Project Tango" smartphone with 3D sensors, allowing messages to be attached to real world objects that were then viewable by one of Google's devices.

Most notably, Apple's AR/VR team is said to have built prototype virtual reality headsets that are similar to the Oculus Rift and the Hololens from Microsoft. Multiple prototypes of "possible headset configurations" have been created in recent months, with Apple's interest reportedly inspired by the Oculus Rift.

It is not clear if and when Apple's work on a headset prototype will make it past the development stage into an actual product, and the company often secretly works on technologies that never see the light of day. The scope of what Apple is building is also unknown, but Financial Times says that the company's work could potentially be useful for the Apple Car project.

Apple has had a team working on virtual and augmented reality technologies since at least early 2015, when rumors suggested there were a small number of employees investigating how Apple could incorporate the technologies into its products. Apple's interest in virtual reality dates back much further, however, and Apple has filed multiple patents over the years, for products like video goggles, motion-sensing 3D virtual interfaces for iOS devices, and 3D "hyper reality" displays.

Apple CEO Tim Cook was recently questioned on whether he believed virtual reality could go mainstream. He explained that he does not see virtual reality as a niche product, describing it as "really cool" with "some interesting applications."

Article Link: Apple Has Secret Team Working on Virtual Reality Headset

Good thing Apple is working on VR as it feels like it will be necessary to visualize an update to Apple's Mac computer lineup....

 

[BruceEBonus]

Virtual Reality? The future is here now! It never ceases to amaze me how Apple keep coming with these brand new concepts. They invented the Pencil before anybody else. They're leading the world in wireless charging now and who knows. ... a pulse oximeter? A simple double press to start the camera in two seconds? No wonder the competition is worried.

Oh no. Wot am I sayin'? They're all knackered, old ideas that've been used for years or fell through due to expense and impracticality on other platforms and clearly will have no sway for potential new buyers. An' here's me thinkin' it was all exciting innovation stuff. Bloomin' Nora! Talk abaht floggin' a dead 'orse an' all. Blimey, guv'nor, jus' wait til me missus 'ears wot I've been boastin' dah'n't'pub. She's gonna kill me!

 

[Misaki]

AR and VR has a very rough road behind it. From some of the early systems twenty years ago having vertigo problems to process time to the weight of the headset and so on.

Quite interesting to see if this comes out for public demo.

According to developers, the new kit coming out has "solved" (and I mean that in a non-serious way) the motion sickness problem by increasing the frame rate. The problem, obviously is that Apple laptops and desktops are underpowered to run a VR headset at the necessary framerate.

Like the most logical thing to do is to create two independent "GPU"'s that reside in the VR visor and connect via Displayport as a PCIe link so the Mac or iOS device isn't doing the rendering. However such a VR headset would cost 3000$, so niche product, very much yes.

The counterfeits that will inevitably come out of China will be the ones that induce sickness, and that will spell the end of the VR foray as people looking for a 200$ VR headset and not wanting to pay 1000$+ for one will not know what they are getting.

In all honestly, the most obvious application for a VR headset is actually to watch film/tv (eg 3D movies, bad films, porn) privately in a space that nobody else can see. A more practical application is to have a virtual 50" monitor, however that would still leave the requirement of "typing" on an interface that doesn't have a physical property.

So the headsets will come out, but the entire "VR" experience is likely going to set back people more than 5000$ and that's just too much money for what amounts to a very gimmicky toy.

 

[JimmyHook]

Virtual Reality? The future is here now! It never ceases to amaze me how Apple keep coming with these brand new concepts. They invented the Pencil before anybody else. They're leading the world in wireless charging now and who knows. ... a pulse oximeter? A simple double press to start the camera in two seconds? No wonder the competition is worried.

Oh no. Wot am I sayin'? They're all knackered, old ideas that've been used for years or fell through due to expense and impracticality on other platforms and clearly will have no sway for potential new buyers. An' here's me thinkin' it was all exciting innovation stuff. Bloomin' Nora! Talk abaht floggin' a dead 'orse an' all. Blimey, guv'nor, jus' wait til me missus 'ears wot I've been boastin' dah'n't'pub. She's gonna kill me!

Yes!!! Because Samsung innovates /s. That advertising agency Masquearding as a tech firm Google innovates /s

 

[DoctorTech]

Really trying to figure out how virtual reality will expand beyond video games...

I guess you could design a house or something and virtually walk thru it before you build/buy it.

Clear back in 1990 I had the chance to try on an Army helmet that used an infrared camera and a 1" CRT that was mounted to be in front of a soldier's left eye. It allowed a soldier to see heat signatures of someone hiding behind thin cover while still being able to fire their weapon using their right eye. Games are the obvious application but like you, I am eager to see what else AR technology can be used for beyond gaming.

 

[Max(IT)]

Not so secret, I would say...
BTW I'm not intrigued by VR.

 

[mw360]

Really trying to figure out how virtual reality will expand beyond video games...

I guess you could design a house or something and virtually walk thru it before you build/buy it.

I other words, 'architecture'? A lot of money goes into archvis rendering already. VR builds would be 1000 times better for the purpose than those dreary flythrough animations.

There are plenty of passive entertainment applications. Plenty of professional applications in training, scientific visualisation, 3D modelling of various kinds.

 

[bommai]

They are developing a virtual car to star ala knight rider in the virtual TV show that people can use their virtual headsets to watch! What virtual reality are they living in!

 

[Arcana Art]

Let's see what WWDC 2016 brings us.

 

[Tech198]

so these ones will give u distorted vision, not improve them (they did say they it was inspired by Oculus Rift) while Oculus Rift just gives you nausea . (that's the part the article missed out)

But i'd be amazed if one product made it on the shelves...

 

[wozmatic]

Cool story bro. Get a secret team working on those MacBook Pro's

 

[Mactendo]

Don't know why everyone is so obsessed with Oculus Rift when Hololense is the future.
[doublepost=1454098761][/doublepost]

VR Clash of Clans anyone? VR Facebook?

VR Flappy Bird.

 

[mdelvecchio]

VR so far is very gaming centric and Apple as no interest in gaming.

To get framerates and image quality that don't cause motion sickness, VR needs very high end hardware. There is nothing from Apple that comes close to being able to drive decent VR.

VR seems to be the complete opposite of what Timmy's Apple stands for. So, it should be interesting to see what they come up with. Maybe a google-cardboard clone that takes 2 watches instead of a phone. People can't rave about how much better than 2 screen system is than google's one screen version.

"What if I told you..." that apple could release new hardware with new chipsets, and in fact has its own chip fab group?

 

[Yojimbo007]

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 been deep into developing actual products for a long time.