They have billions. The problem is that it doesn’t feel like they have sp by a penny in developing computers in the recent past.
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 Working on AR/VR Headset With 8K Displays and No Smartphone or Computer Tether
- Thread starter MacRumors
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
Have you actually tried AR?
Personally I think VR is overrated but AR is incredible and has endless possibilities both for home users and in industry (I actually work in oil and gas and we have been using hololens on site already on our latest project). I absolutely think it will be the next revolution in computing.
I'm excited about this and hope they really develop something special here. I got a PSVR about 9 months ago and thought it was amazing, though I admit that I haven't used it in a while. That's mainly because I'm mid-40's and have other hobbies (and a job) that have taken up more of my time the last 6 months or so, not because I got "bored" with VR. One of my biggest complaints with the PSVR is the big heavy cable from the headset to the box. I really think that building a headset that doesn't require a tether is the way to go.
Key word here is “only”.
That’s why you need Apple, a company who gets both technology and aesthetics, to show them how it’s done.
There’s a reason why today, there is only the Apple Watch market. Because only Apple has the design and technical chops to make a smartwatch worth wearing.
Care to give me a few examples of other tech analysts who actually have a proven track record when it comes to dissecting Apple thus far?
General tech analysts have been getting Apple wrong since time immemorial. I am getting very frustrated by how they don’t seem to understand business in general, or Apple. And as a result, completely and utterly fail to see the bigger picture.
There is a reason why I finally settled on Aboveavalon, even though it costs me $100 a year.
I subscribe to Aboveavalon not because he is necessarily pro-Apple, but because he has been dead-on when it comes to analysis on Apple, especially financial predictions. This is a man who, while enthusiastic about Apple products, is clearly not so emotionally attached that they start moaning and groaning about the absence of an updated Mac mini, thus rendering them utterly incapable of evaluating Apple in any objective light.
I don't think it will succeed. Not because it won't be a technical marvel. Not because it won't be a beauty to behold. Not because Apple won't market the hell out of it.
But because I doubt Apple will let go enough control of the content for it, to let porn and erotic gaming content be played on it. Other VR/AR makers will (or won't be able to prevent it), and those makers will win the market.
I'd be happy to be mistaken, though.
But because I doubt Apple will let go enough control of the content for it, to let porn and erotic gaming content be played on it. Other VR/AR makers will (or won't be able to prevent it), and those makers will win the market.
I'd be happy to be mistaken, though.
They will pull it off by NOT pulling it off. You do NOT have to render at 8K just because you are using 8K screens. Running 2K-4K content on an 8K HMD will look MUCH BETTER than running 2K-4K content on a 2K-4K HMD.
Current generation VR headsets are useless because of narrow FOV, and a horrible screen-door effect (I want a VR headset, I've used a Vive, it did not inspire me to buy one). Both of these things could be solved right now by using 4K or 8K screens. And to say it again, you STILL get these benefits if you are running 2K-4K content on them, it will just be a bit blurry.
[doublepost=1524965223][/doublepost]
Considering the context of the rumour, if Apple really are planning on doing reliable dual-8K screens without upscaling with a custom Apple VR box, the most logical way for them to do this is running Metal-optimised apps, probably designed for the device. That would suggest closed ecosystem, although we can hope the HMD could be used on its own with standard PC/Mac inputs too.
What track record are you talking about? Neil Cybart has only been writing Apple articles since 2014 and is described as pro-Apple. The only thing he got right is riding the train. I would've loved to see his articles when Apple was struggling to find themselves. Check out Ben Thompson, who has worked at Apple and various tech companies unlike Neil. You won't see financials, but you will at least see a fair perspective.
I think if their renderer is good enough, I imagine they can get the 2K-4K content to be fair if they clone and alias the right pixels. I've seen upscalers do wonders on TV, so I would imagine there should be something similar for VR.
Apple doesn't use good hardware though. If they want to even output 2k per eye, they will need to start putting good GPU's in their devices. They have always lacked in this department, and it doesn't look like they are trying to improve on it either by locking out Nvidia.
There are headsets with a FOV of 200, instead of the standard 90-110 FOV. I just don't see this working wirelessly with high bandwith and fidelity, and to mix in low latency/high fps as well.
I agree up to a point, Apple don't put great graphics hardware in their notebook and desktop computers. That doesn't mean that they can't, in a device that's sole purpose for being is to push ~2 Trillion pixels per second (possibly after upscaling, point still stands). Apple do have great graphics hardware when it comes to iOS, so they could be looking at putting a stack of iPad Pro 4 hardware systems in a box instead.
That said, we also need to keep things in perspective, and recognise that we are probably not talking about a device that will play 2020's latest AAA games at highest settings, on dual 8K 90-120Hz. It is a completely different story if we're looking at a device that can run VR Angry Birds or Google Earth VR Tourist at those resolutions and frame rates.
My main hope is that we get a device that can keep up with technology improvements, and can be used to play AAA games (in Win10 or OSX) when GPUs can push that many pixels, instead of a locked-in device that will only ever be able to play VR Angry Birds.
Can people not make up their damn minds? It’s either “Apple isn’t innovating enough. They need to take risks” or “they’re doing too much!”
And it’s not even like Apple just decided to start making toasters or some stupid irrelevant crap. No. It’s within the technology sector that Apple could do well. But “noooo. If they try something new, they’re definitely gonna fail”
Cue the reactions when people heard a computer company named Apple was gonna go into the cell phone business
If they design it so that you have to get VR content through an Apple VR-App Store, they'd make more money. So that's what they'll do. And of course there won't be any erotic VR-Apps there, as that would tarnish Apple's image.
Hence, they'll cede one of the main drivers of VR hardware adoption to their competitors.
But then perhaps VR systems will be like gaming, where a significant portion of the market is served by stand-alone consoles, and only some will require a computer. It'll be interesting to see things develop, at leas.t
You can be pro-Apple and still be right. It’s hard for me to reference articles he has written that are subscriber-only, but by and large, he has been pretty accurate when it comes to analysing Apple’s strategies and their financial results.
Apple is not a very hard company to read. They have a certain idiosyncrasy in the way they view and do things, and it can annoy the people around them, but that doesn’t make them wrong. It’s just part and parcel of what makes them uniquely Apple, and it’s predisely what I love about Apple.
https://www.aboveavalon.com/notes/2017/8/15/apple-has-the-best-business-model-for-generating-cash
Here is one of his articles. While it does touch on the matter of profits (a very taboo and sensitive topic here, it seems), it goes to explain just why Apple is as profitable and as successful as they are. Precisely because Apple is a design-led company who focuses on the user experience first and foremost. That’s why you find no lack of people willing to buy Apple products despite their comparatively higher price tags.
I maintain that the main problem here is that Apple continues to be misunderstood by the majority of the critics here. They appear to be stuck in this 2010 era where Apple had only the iPhone, iPad and Mac and seem incapable of acknowledging that Apple has moved on, and perhaps they should too.
And seeing that Apple will announce their earnings call next Tuesday, want to bet what the general sentiment of this forum will be, since I am expecting Apple to announce higher revenue (13% increase) on the back of slightly higher iPhone sales and higher ASPs?
Seems the more people complain and wail about Apple, the more successful Apple becomes. And the more successful Apple becomes, the more they double down on their criticism of Apple and continue to find all manner of excuses as to explain away Apple’s success.
That to me is the real problem. People unwilling to acknowledge Apple’s successes, much less make an effort to understand Apple.
”Innovation is saying ‘no’ to 1,000 things." - Steve Jobs
I've always seen this quote in context of a particular device. The quote makes perfect sense when you take a device such as the MBP, and consider what Apple has refused to put into it, such as touchscreens, mobile communications with SIM cards, gaming class graphics cards, compatibility with older tech like normal USB, etc. Sometimes we don't like what they don't put in, but it's clear why they are doing it, because they need to compromise other areas to make it work. Hence the quote.
I do not see this quote as being relevant to the development of new devices. Apple can afford to hire teams dedicated to a blue-sky project, without impacting on existing devices. I think people who see Apple's work on projects like this, or Apple's marginal political efforts as the reason for delays in hardware or buggy software are completely deluded. It's preposterous to think that a company as large and profitable as Apple can't competently do multiple things at once. If Apple's not spending enough on traditional hardware development or quality control, then that's the problem. It's silly to try and find some other unrelated issue to blame.
Could it not be argued that Apple is also focusing by having the “courage” to say no to the airport router, the Mac mini and the MacBook Air so that they can direct these resources to work on other projects such as the AR glasses or Apple Car? Or is this quote only relevant when you want Apple to focus solely on projects you care about, at the expense of products you aren’t passionate about?
What if one day, Apple decides to say “no” to Mac computers altogether? Who is to say that this isn’t all that unreasonable a move in the greater scheme of things?
Is it fear that is driving all these negative responses? You have these people who bought into the Apple ecosystem in a particular point of time, have a certain fixed setup which works for them, and now their workflow risks being upended because Apple will no longer update the products they have come to rely on, forcing them to have to source for alternative solutions. Concerned that they had no place in this new world order?
Nail its coffin closed, more like. They might get the tech right, but who‘s going to develop content for yet another closed ecosystem OS? There is hardly any VR content today.
This is going to drive Apple revenues after iPhone.
[doublepost=1524985069][/doublepost]
[doublepost=1524985069][/doublepost]
Nintendo for a start.
This could be big for the same clients who also bought into iPads in droves for the purposes of general public usage such as in exhibits and museums. Not sure who else would really benefit though, considering it hasn’t exactly taken off in the public sphere, and the price will probably not help, either.
I think it's worse than that. The only people intertested in AR are those in advertising. You look at a billboard it shows you the latest deals, gives links to a webpage, directions to shops etc Once it's linked in to your social media and "it" knows what you like oh boy the skys the limit...
What makes this “leak” believable for me is when they say they have plans for a second faster version before the first one is even released. That is very typical Apple behaviour; withholding technology from the first version specifically to sell an upgraded seconded generation.
Of van be integratiedebat in a portable device that you always carry around(iPhone ?), tech is just too big now to fit.