This won't be ready for YEARS! the cpu power needed is not ready yet. (only high end Desktop class GPUs)
Got a tip for us?
Let us know
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
Apple Has Secret Team Working on Virtual Reality Headset
- Thread starter MacRumors
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
I don't doubt that Apple has been working on it. After all, keeping future products a secret is standard procedure for manufacturers.
Yet that said it comes across that Apple is no longer the cutting edge leader. Instead they languish three years behind the market before finally eating their own words and admitting iPhones were just too tiny. Before finally including a contemporary size display.
It's no wonder that iPhone 6 models were so popular, Apple was years behind. Their customers were desperate for a more usable iPhone.
Apple is going to have to do much better than their current practice of following and being years behind the competition.
Yep.
It will be as revolutionary as the GUI was to computing.
VR is the killer app.
[doublepost=1454128590][/doublepost]
No, even laptops can do it well now.
I just speced out an MSI gaming laptop.
Latest Skylake, 32GB memory, 2-256GB SSDs raid 0,
2 980Ms SLI. Blu-Ray, 4K display $4,000.
How is it a secret if I am reading about it... right now... literally right here in front of my eyes. really...
Interesting, but strikes me as an extremely niche application....... not all that excited about this at all.
Well, Apple is looking into AR and VR and bought quite a few companies in the field recently. That's all we know.
I think the MR article got the title wrong. Nowhere does it actually say (fully immersive a la Oculus) "VR headset". Apple is just looking into AR and VR in general.
The original FT article linked in the MR article only says:
It is unclear when Apple plans to release a headset, or whether its device will compete with the likes of Google’s Cardboard and Samsung’s Gear VR in mobile virtual reality, or push for a more ambitious augmented-reality device akin to Microsoft’s forthcoming Hololens and Magic Leap.
The skills and technologies it has assembled in imaging and positioning might also be useful for its secret car project. People familiar with the company’s plans say that the VR/AR project is a separate unit.
Although its latest VR efforts are said to be much more advanced than those of 10 years ago, Apple might again decide not to release a headset.
The skills and technologies it has assembled in imaging and positioning might also be useful for its secret car project. People familiar with the company’s plans say that the VR/AR project is a separate unit.
Although its latest VR efforts are said to be much more advanced than those of 10 years ago, Apple might again decide not to release a headset.
Last edited:
It will be interesting to see if this phantom project works with anything outside of a Mac Pro.
Laser focus or not, VR is a must if you want the apple reality distortion field work perfectly
It's absolutely enraging to read this topic.
Here are what I assume are a bunch of smart people,
but all I'm hearing, for the most part, is naysaying & bashing of VR.
Plus, a whole lot of VR misconceptions.
1] VR ISN'T POPULAR
It's 20 years too late, but it's here to stay.
It's not a fad. It's not a craze. It's HERE. TO. STAY.
This is an unbelievably exciting time!
VR is a whole new medium with which to create art.
Radio, movies then TV all bought new ways to present escapism.
VR will blow the doors off of all of those things.
2] iOS CAN'T DO VR
The conventional wisdom goes thusly ....
MAJOR PREMISE: HMDs like Rift need the latest whizz-bang GPUs to be immersive.
MINOR PREMISE: Apple doesn't, nor will they ever, use whizz-bang GPUs.
CONCLUSION: Apple will never get into VR.
All that being said, please do me, and yourselves, a small favor & download this
on your iPhone or iPod Touch: "VR SpaceShip" [82MB]. Go ahead, it's free! lol
If you have a phone HMD, use it or a "Google Cardboard" analogue. Whichever costs the least.
Now, walk around for a bit.
Look up. Look down. Look all around you ....
Pretty immersive, huh?
Sure, the graphics aren't "BlackOps 3" with all the sliders maxxed.
But it s pretty darned close!
And are they bad? Are they "unsatisfactory"?
Even if the graphics were NES-level 8-bit, that simply would be
the asthetic you're in: an 8-bit virtual world.
"Imagination Technologies", the company that makes
iDevice's "PowerVR" (heh ....) GPUs do fantastic work.
Look at "Modern Combat 3" [MC3], a 5 year old game,
with 5 years being an epoch in graphics technology.
Would you turn your nose up at a virtual world with MC3-level graphics? I don't think so ....
Want a more recent example at just what kind of graphics iHardware's capable of?
Then have a look-see at this: "afterPULSE" Trailer
Not too shabby, eh?
Add to this, Apple's said to be making there own custom GPUs,
so God only knows how cool those are gonna be!
Look, the bottom line is this:
there seems to be too many folks here brainwashed by consumer VR hyperbole.
Mostly because they haven't been following it from the beginning like I have.
To say Apple, even now, is just not graphically up to the task of
producing convincing, immersive VR is complete & utter shortsighted nonsense.
Here are what I assume are a bunch of smart people,
but all I'm hearing, for the most part, is naysaying & bashing of VR.
Plus, a whole lot of VR misconceptions.
1] VR ISN'T POPULAR
It's 20 years too late, but it's here to stay.
It's not a fad. It's not a craze. It's HERE. TO. STAY.
This is an unbelievably exciting time!
VR is a whole new medium with which to create art.
Radio, movies then TV all bought new ways to present escapism.
VR will blow the doors off of all of those things.
2] iOS CAN'T DO VR
The conventional wisdom goes thusly ....
MAJOR PREMISE: HMDs like Rift need the latest whizz-bang GPUs to be immersive.
MINOR PREMISE: Apple doesn't, nor will they ever, use whizz-bang GPUs.
CONCLUSION: Apple will never get into VR.
All that being said, please do me, and yourselves, a small favor & download this
on your iPhone or iPod Touch: "VR SpaceShip" [82MB]. Go ahead, it's free! lol
If you have a phone HMD, use it or a "Google Cardboard" analogue. Whichever costs the least.
Now, walk around for a bit.
Look up. Look down. Look all around you ....
Pretty immersive, huh?
Sure, the graphics aren't "BlackOps 3" with all the sliders maxxed.
But it s pretty darned close!
And are they bad? Are they "unsatisfactory"?
Even if the graphics were NES-level 8-bit, that simply would be
the asthetic you're in: an 8-bit virtual world.
"Imagination Technologies", the company that makes
iDevice's "PowerVR" (heh ....) GPUs do fantastic work.
Look at "Modern Combat 3" [MC3], a 5 year old game,
with 5 years being an epoch in graphics technology.
Would you turn your nose up at a virtual world with MC3-level graphics? I don't think so ....
Want a more recent example at just what kind of graphics iHardware's capable of?
Then have a look-see at this: "afterPULSE" Trailer
Not too shabby, eh?
Add to this, Apple's said to be making there own custom GPUs,
so God only knows how cool those are gonna be!
Look, the bottom line is this:
there seems to be too many folks here brainwashed by consumer VR hyperbole.
Mostly because they haven't been following it from the beginning like I have.
To say Apple, even now, is just not graphically up to the task of
producing convincing, immersive VR is complete & utter shortsighted nonsense.
Last edited:
But when? Why won't it take another decade until VR matures and becomes popular beyond niches and vertical markets?
VR today to me still looks like a promise, similar to 3D television with glasses a few years ago: Everybody in the industry and some early adopters are bullish before mainstream consumers actually had a chance to experience the product and give feedback.
Apple doesn't jump into new
markets heads first - and that's good.
I only see three markets today (2016-2020) and none of them are core for Apple:
- Military and business simulation/training/
R&D... (vertical markets, this is already a market today)
- Hardcore gaming (still a niche given that headsets and a new graphics card costs well above $1000)
- Adult Entertainment (usually first adopter of new tech, history will likely repeat itself with VR)
Later on (about 2020-2030):
- Virtual experiences beyond AE (travel, architecture, live sports, concerts, meetings...)
I think Apple will only enter (if at all) the VR market later on, that is next decade. Hardware has to get mich lighter and wireless, that will be years off for VR.
I however see AR (used in a car and iDevices) as a more interesting market for Apple.
Last edited:
Once we had Job's Vision. Now we have Cook's Broth. Symbolised with ...
Virtual 3D. Featured in a film called The Lawnmower Man is coming out soon, you say? Stuff and nonsense!
A small plastic box that can display streaming movies and music. Really? Is that really do-able?
A car. Powered by electricalised battery pods? Not possible. Surely?
A pressure sensitive phone screen that calls up secondary menus? Imagine the possibilities!
A Pencil sized hand held tool that simulates a Pencil. For a computer? Instead of a Mouse? No!
A massive screen without a keyboard. Or a mouse. That sits across your entire lap that you "type" into and carry under your arm from room to room that is neither portable or practical? But is called a 'Pro' model? Wow! It's is like your phone. And your pad. But just ... Ridiculously big!
An extremely powerful, top of the line, unexpandable computer packed into the size of a pedal dustbin? Nice. Inaccessible perhaps. But. Nice!
Futuristic cables, invisible headphone sockets, laptops with teensy storage, optical drives a thing of the past and interfaces that are so specialised that even the competition never use them. Thinner is good.
Is it really any surprise why New Apple continue to be the market leaders in futuristic innovation?
They'll be inventing 3D televisions next. As if that was ever considered imaginable ten years ago.
Will they be brave enough to invent the next big thing which surely has to be ... the next small thing. That's right .... Smaller versions of the stuff they made bigger last year. In a hand held form. Fingers crossed! Reimagining the past IS the future of technology of tomorrow!
Virtual 3D. Featured in a film called The Lawnmower Man is coming out soon, you say? Stuff and nonsense!
A small plastic box that can display streaming movies and music. Really? Is that really do-able?
A car. Powered by electricalised battery pods? Not possible. Surely?
A pressure sensitive phone screen that calls up secondary menus? Imagine the possibilities!
A Pencil sized hand held tool that simulates a Pencil. For a computer? Instead of a Mouse? No!
A massive screen without a keyboard. Or a mouse. That sits across your entire lap that you "type" into and carry under your arm from room to room that is neither portable or practical? But is called a 'Pro' model? Wow! It's is like your phone. And your pad. But just ... Ridiculously big!
An extremely powerful, top of the line, unexpandable computer packed into the size of a pedal dustbin? Nice. Inaccessible perhaps. But. Nice!
Futuristic cables, invisible headphone sockets, laptops with teensy storage, optical drives a thing of the past and interfaces that are so specialised that even the competition never use them. Thinner is good.
Is it really any surprise why New Apple continue to be the market leaders in futuristic innovation?
They'll be inventing 3D televisions next. As if that was ever considered imaginable ten years ago.
Will they be brave enough to invent the next big thing which surely has to be ... the next small thing. That's right .... Smaller versions of the stuff they made bigger last year. In a hand held form. Fingers crossed! Reimagining the past IS the future of technology of tomorrow!
Last edited:
Well if Apple can make it thinner... I really don't want a bulky headset for VR, I wonder if they are more interested in AR as presumably that's something that could use your phone as a brain and slimline glasses or mini projector on glasses or the like. A maps overlay straight on my eye? Perfect.
Apple isn't putting a Nvidia 980M - and mobile Phone CPU are not up that par yet - anytime soon. And you need to each 90FPS for each eye in order an minimum to reduce motion blur. The Samsung VR is terrible because it causes motion sickness from the lower FPS.
Also, this is apple we are talking bout here. Unless it's perfect, they won't release it.
1, It was reported in the Financial Times and becomes a "secret." That makes as much sense as a MacMini with only 2 cores.
2, Has nobody in Appleland noticed that wearers of this "device" look complete dorks.
2, Has nobody in Appleland noticed that wearers of this "device" look complete dorks.
Last edited:
I love the way all these articles say "hundreds of workers on a secret project". Hundreds of worker can not keep a project secret. More likely would be "a hand full of workers in a secure area" would be correct.
I think this is relatively unsurprising. I think VR and AR have amazing potential and while it's been awkward/un-feasible up until now, we're starting to see some really compelling applications and products. My wish would be for Apple to enter the AR realm with a Hololens type device. Honestly, if the Hololens had a better field of vision it would be a pretty killer device. I think if Apple could release a device similar to the Hololens, expanded the field of vision to be at the least to the edge of a persons peripheral vision it would be a sell for me. When watching the Hololens demo's I can see the future of computing is one where we blend our digital world right in with our real world. When I look up reviews and people show examples of the Field of Vision and how it's a rectangle in the center of your vision it loses almost all of its appeal.
But if Apple expanded the FOV in a similar device it could change how I interact with pretty much anything in my house, it could even replace the need for alot of devices. If I imagine a product where the Hololens Demo's are exactly how the "holograms" would appear to me, I think it would be a game changer particularly for home computing. It makes me imagine coming home and putting on a headset (hopefully reduced in size with time and progress) and essentially living inside my computer. I could have virtual TV's stuck to a wall in every room without having to actually purchase a single TV. I could have a music player icon virtually attached to my record player allowing me to start playing a digital song or album virtually. I could have a virtual "newspaper" that is always up to date laying on my coffee table. I could have a bookshelf filled with virtual books alongside my physical books. Or heck even the ability to pick up a physical book and then continue reading the virtual version in hand after I place it back. I could look at my wrist and there be a virtual watch, hold out my hand and have a virtual copy of my iPhone, sit at my desk with a physical keyboard but the screen and everything else are virtual. Then there would be the ability to "virtually decorate" your house by pinning pictures or art in various spots. Obviously we're not going to lose the physical realm of furniture, paintings, books, shelves, etc. But it would be interesting to customize beyond that and complement it where you could. Beyond plastering your house with physical screens galore, AR is the only way to be that immersed.
I'm not saying we're going to be living like this tomorrow or anything, I'm just saying I think AR could really change the way we interact with our digital lives in our homes. I also think Apple knows the potential of it down the line and that's why they're researching VR, possibly AR, and I would dare to say both are inevitable. They really need to just come along in Apple fashion and fix the problems of AR and VR devices in the past. Google Glass was a compelling concept but it was severely lacking and Hololens looks promising but is lacking in practicality if it's essentially a a rectangle screen in your vision rather than putting virtual 3D objects all around you. I'm interested in what's about to happen to gaming with the major VR headsets coming and since Apple isn't really in the gaming world beyond iOS freemium games I'm not sure how they could compete. All I know is the release of the iPhone really excited me, but everything since then hasn't been all that exciting. I'd really like them to make me excited about some kind of technology again, and really change the way I do things without me having to adjust. That's been my favorite thing about Apple. I pick up a product and there's really no learning curve, no adjustment period, nothing. I just get it and suddenly I don't know how I was doing things another way. That's how I felt with my first iPhone at least.
I'd like to apologize for the shear length of this post. Also for the gratuitous use of the word "virtual" there for a bit. Sometimes I get to thinking and I can't streamline my thoughts. TLDR version: I think AR and VR are cool and I can't wait for them to be mainstream.
But if Apple expanded the FOV in a similar device it could change how I interact with pretty much anything in my house, it could even replace the need for alot of devices. If I imagine a product where the Hololens Demo's are exactly how the "holograms" would appear to me, I think it would be a game changer particularly for home computing. It makes me imagine coming home and putting on a headset (hopefully reduced in size with time and progress) and essentially living inside my computer. I could have virtual TV's stuck to a wall in every room without having to actually purchase a single TV. I could have a music player icon virtually attached to my record player allowing me to start playing a digital song or album virtually. I could have a virtual "newspaper" that is always up to date laying on my coffee table. I could have a bookshelf filled with virtual books alongside my physical books. Or heck even the ability to pick up a physical book and then continue reading the virtual version in hand after I place it back. I could look at my wrist and there be a virtual watch, hold out my hand and have a virtual copy of my iPhone, sit at my desk with a physical keyboard but the screen and everything else are virtual. Then there would be the ability to "virtually decorate" your house by pinning pictures or art in various spots. Obviously we're not going to lose the physical realm of furniture, paintings, books, shelves, etc. But it would be interesting to customize beyond that and complement it where you could. Beyond plastering your house with physical screens galore, AR is the only way to be that immersed.
I'm not saying we're going to be living like this tomorrow or anything, I'm just saying I think AR could really change the way we interact with our digital lives in our homes. I also think Apple knows the potential of it down the line and that's why they're researching VR, possibly AR, and I would dare to say both are inevitable. They really need to just come along in Apple fashion and fix the problems of AR and VR devices in the past. Google Glass was a compelling concept but it was severely lacking and Hololens looks promising but is lacking in practicality if it's essentially a a rectangle screen in your vision rather than putting virtual 3D objects all around you. I'm interested in what's about to happen to gaming with the major VR headsets coming and since Apple isn't really in the gaming world beyond iOS freemium games I'm not sure how they could compete. All I know is the release of the iPhone really excited me, but everything since then hasn't been all that exciting. I'd really like them to make me excited about some kind of technology again, and really change the way I do things without me having to adjust. That's been my favorite thing about Apple. I pick up a product and there's really no learning curve, no adjustment period, nothing. I just get it and suddenly I don't know how I was doing things another way. That's how I felt with my first iPhone at least.
I'd like to apologize for the shear length of this post. Also for the gratuitous use of the word "virtual" there for a bit. Sometimes I get to thinking and I can't streamline my thoughts. TLDR version: I think AR and VR are cool and I can't wait for them to be mainstream.
Great more virtual unreality graze to feed the masses who are so detached from reality already... Sociopath Nation, yeee haw.
keep'm numb. keep'm dumb.
drink Snapple.
keep'm numb. keep'm dumb.
drink Snapple.
I just hope Apple also has a secret team still working on Macs...
And yet - Samsung Gear VR uses their high end phones. Granted it isn't at the resolution and lacks some sensors (important ones) compared to the more expensive Rift. But it's definitely a fantastic immersive experience. Does it have flaws, yes. But every time I use mine I truly feel like I'm living in the future.
So the next time you hear that a phone is being released in 4k or 8K - don't wonder whether or not it matters to everyday use. The advantage will be when that phone is slipped into a Gear VR, Apple VR or whatever accessory.
It will be interesting to see if Apple intends to build an all-in-one device or if it goes the accessory route. Arguments could be made for either. And perhaps they will offer low and and high end units. One that leverages iOS and the other a standalone that either has everything built in - or tethers to a mac.
Time will tell.
VR. As though thousands aren't sufficiently disconnected from reality as it is, all enmeshed with their iPhones and watches, reading them while they walk, reading and texting in their own bubble among humanity.