Oculus Rift Won't Support Mac Until Apple Releases a 'Good Computer'

[MisterK]

VR is not ready yet. I have no doubt that Apple will release a good VR computer when the time is right, but I think they're seeing all the signs of a technology being prematurely released. No less than 6 VR headsets are coming out this year, all the majors require at least a $1500 investment (headset + powerful PC + controllers) and we have nothing but tech demos. No one wants to miss the next version of the "mobile revolution" so they're all throwing their chips and staking their reputations in the pre-blackberry equivalent stage of this tech.

There's a bigger picture here – you're asking a heck of an investment when we haven't properly explored the controllers, facial/gesture recognition and voice elements that will end up changing the interaction models. Early adopters, the general public, and the press (especially) is going to decry VR as a flop because it's coming out 3 years before fully baked. The mass disappointment will put companies off releasing the "real" versions for maybe 7-10 years.

The potential of this technology is so immense that it's worth holding off. Where is the "Facebook" social component of Oculus? Where are the demos that explore all the possibilities outside of your head simply being used as a camera control stick? These should all be there or announced before pre-orders go up.

 

[Zaft]

I just got a PS4, that's where my gaming is now

 

[samcraig]

I guess it's OK for Apple to say only their most current device can run Siri or have 3D touch or whatnot - but when another company limits what devices can use its tech - they're completely misguided.

 

[thefredelement]

I think VR is a bust if it can't work from a mobile device.

 

[Nunyabinez]

Wow. This just leaves me speechless.

That's because you are obviously not a gamer. It's a running joke about how PC gamers look down on platform gamers as not being "real" gamers. So, as I said, since you didn't get the joke you obviously don't belong to the club.

 

[carrrrrlos]

Apple is now engineers for the masses. Pro is a misnomer, unless they hand back the ability for users to upgrade components.

 

[paul4339]

I'm using my son's hand me down computer. The oculus test says it's fast enough.

Your son's hand me down computer must have one sweet video card! NVIDIA GTX 970, AMD 290 are generally regarded good cards.

.

 

[aarond12]

The specs on the Oculus are incredibly high. Store-bought PCs won't do. Neither will many (most?) gaming systems. Instead, you will have to completely trick out a very high-end PC to run this VR headset.

Or, you can get the Samsung Gear VR (which uses the phone as its display), or the upcoming Sony PS VR headset (which renders just fine on the PS4's lower-powered hardware).

 

[Ishayu]

Finally somebody says it like it is. I can't believe how many arguments I've had on this board over this very point. I'm so sick of the ****** GPU's in Apple computers and all the apologists for it as well.

Of course not every Mac needs a high-end GPU, but come on... Apple literally doesn't have machines that can drive modern games. It's honestly a tragedy.

 

[drumcat]

Remember when graphics cards were going to be external thunderbolt add-ons?

 

[Fuchal]

My 8-year old Mac Pro with 970 GTX will be just fine then. Strange that a new Mac Pro isn't. Unbelievable actually. Unbelievable of Oculus.

Same here, 2008 Mac Pro with 970 runnin' smooth. But I don't blame them. OS X is a nightmare scenario for gaming, even with a good card. The drivers are abysmal. Half the users would boot into Windows anyway. Anyone can do that as long as they buy Windows. So just boot into Windows and enjoy!

 

[jclardy]

As always, no love for the Hackintosh community

The hilarious thing is that this thing should be designed with an iPhone/iPad as a minimum specification not some high end PC that no one in a retail environment owns.

Eventually it will be, but right now it is just not feasible. Just a millisecond of input lag is enough to take you from a good experience to getting motion sickness. Then there is the issue of display quality - these things are right next to your eyeball's, so they have to be ultra high resolution. I've used my 6S+ with google cardboard and the quality is terrible because 401PPI just isn't good enough when you put it under a magnifying lens.

 

[jlo1158]

Gamers do. They love building rigs. I don't see this product being widely adopted by casual players, but gamers and competitive players for sure.

My son just finished building a $6,000 computer. I just helped him do the tubing for the water cooling.

 

[nagromme]

With Metal I'm quite sure far less than D700 can handle VR.

I know because I do VR myself on Mac, running only ONE of the D700s, and in less-efficient OpenGL, and it's terrific. The first Oculus Rift DK1 supported this very well, and the res difference on the final product isn't enough to bog down the GPU(s).

With the shipping, non-Mac product, I suspect Mac Pro users with Boot Camp will do just fine, even if not officially sanctioned.

That said, I don't think Oculus made the wrong call. VR is young and vulnerable--aiming TOO high on specs is smart for Oculus. Better fewer people experience VR as early adopters, than have bad experiences for them. I hope they bring the specs down in time, but if not, mainstream GPUs will rise!

(I also think Oculus wanted to simplify things by offering only one OS for starters, though they don't say so. Windows makes sense as a starting point for a gaming product, and developing for more platforms WOULD have slowed them down. That too can change. And then we have the engine makers, like Unity and Unreal, who can weigh in with Mac support too.)

Meanwhile, if you want VR on Apple... look to Google Cardboard. It works.

 

[Zaft]

Finally somebody says it like it is. I can't believe how many arguments I've had on this board over this very point. I'm so sick of the ****** GPU's in Apple computers and all the apologists for it as well.

Of course not every Mac needs a high-end GPU, but come on... Apple literally doesn't have machines that can drive modern games. It's honestly a tragedy.

The question is why? Does apple feel its users dont play modern games?
I dont get it.

 

[VulchR]

You sound like someone who does not know what he is taking about. Hilarious.
Mac GPU's are crappy ESPECIALLY FOR THE MONEY YOU HAVE TO PAY FOR THEM!!!!

Most software does not begin to scratch the surface of the capabilities of hardware.

 

[zone23]

I agree with the others, we pay a premium and basically get a premium exterior the guts are average. The engineering that goes into getting the average parts is exceptional but its still average (C-). Like others a 5400 RPM hard drive is a joke that isn't funny. Apple needs to wake up. Now with the article saying you need a good GPU then I would say that most laptops are out then.

 

[swajames]

The graphics capabilities of most Macs are mediocre at best. He's telling it like it is. Macs are great for what they do but they are lacking in this area. I just bought a new 27" iMac, the highest end stock config, and my boys games consoles absolutely run rings around it from a graphics perspective.

 

[turbineseaplane]

Most software does not begin to scratch the surface of the capabilities of hardware.

In this case we have Apple hardware that won't scratch the surface of powering the capabilities of the Oculus software (and hardware)

 

[unplugme71]

Way to fragment your market before you even get started. Also, if VR won't work on your average joe's high end computer, good luck with mass adoption.

LOL -> THIS!

I love how companies try and produce a product and reduce their market share immediately by saying Mac users can't use it, average PC users can't use it, etc...

You can be three things: one that markets to MOST people, one that markets to a SELECT FEW people, and one that never gets to market. This company sounds like the latter.

A business who caters to SELECT FEW wouldn't even waste their dollars on advertising. There are alternative ways to spread the word for keeping your market share tiny and for the elite.

 

[teslo]

i haven't had a windows PC since the late 80s. looks like i'm on the market once again.. SO pumped for VR. whoever gets it right, i don't care. oculus seems to have an edge with their touch controllers, but i'm not as well versed on the other options yet - vive looks good on the whole.

i'm actually kind of concerned my internet addiction might actually be a precursor to what becomes my REAL addiction..

 

[Ishayu]

Same here, 2008 Mac Pro with 970 runnin' smooth. But I don't blame them. OS X is a nightmare scenario for gaming, even with a good card. The drivers are abysmal. Half the users would boot into Windows anyway. Anyone can do that as long as they buy Windows. So just boot into Windows and enjoy!

Actually my experience says otherwise. The OpenGL on modern macs isn't particularly feature complete, no, but the drivers seem fine. I installed the NVIDIA web drivers on my Mac Pro 5,1 with a GTX 680 in it, and the card runs pretty much the same as it does on Windows. I think I lose around 5-6% FPS, i.e. 2-3 FPS. It's pretty much not noticeable.

It's mostly in the feature department we've got problems. No variable refresh rates, no GPU hot plugging, etc.
In terms of actual performance, though, I really think it's the hardware itself. Mac GPU's are just godawful and it's honestly beyond a joke now. One of the founders and leaders of Oculus, John Carmack, has been on WWDC's stage multiple times and he loves OpenGL, practically made it commonplace in gaming, and he was a big fan of Apple's support of it way back in the day. Now, though? Even he considers the current situation to be ridiculous.

 

[Nunyabinez]

The question is why? Does apple feel its users dont play modern games?
I dont get it.

Part of the problem is that GPUs are constantly getting faster and games are constantly getting more demanding. Apple would have to open up their systems to allow replacing the GPU on a regular basis and that introduces lots of problems. They would also have to support more products meaning more driver updates and they currently don't have skill in writing good drivers. So, to support the small number of people who would want these powerful machines, they would have to do lots more work.

 

[JackANSI]

The question is why? Does apple feel its users dont play modern games?
I dont get it.

It's because Apple fanatics will still buy it even if it is "average" as long as the is on it. Why try to match the refresh cycle of component hardware makers in the PC realm if they can sell the same thing over and over for 3 years.

 

[okboy]

Reminder that these scam artists took Kickstarter backer money while promising Mac support then cancelled that promised feature just before announcing a partnership with Microsoft.

Only now that they've been bought by Microsoft-friendly Facebook and have a "partnership" with MS do is there suddenly a Mac hardware issue. iMac's push 5K screens and some have dual graphics cards.

Remember all those videos of people freaking out at demos of Oculus games? Those were mostly running on laptops so people could take those demos out. Most of the Youtubers demoing Oculus games seem to be doing it perfectly well on laptops too. These artificial limits are put in place to benefit Oculus' partners.

But not to worry. Companies like Sony, Nintendo and Apple will come up with better, cheaper alternatives. It's pretty early days for the industry. But it's off to a sour start with liars like these.