Apple is rumored to be working on an advanced augmented reality headset. Its latest patent filing offers a glimpse into how accurate and reliable gaze tracking could permit users to interact with a computer-generated environment more easily than with hands.
VR
Apple hires Jaunt’s founder Arthur van Hoff for its AR/VR team
Apple is rumored to be building an augmented reality headset that should release sometime next year, and now it has been revealed that the tech giant recently hired Arthur van Hoff, one of the co-founders of Disney-backed Jaunt VR, for its growing augmented reality team.
Apple hires a developer who built a painting app for VR headsets as its prototyping researcher
In yet another sign that some kind of an augmented or virtual reality headset with a shiny Apple logo may be in the works, Apple has reportedly hired developer Sterling Crispin who previously built a virtual reality painting app for mobile headsets, called Cyber Paint.
$199 Oculus Go lets anyone jump into virtual reality, no PC or wires attached
Facebook yesterday unveiled a new Oculus GO headset at the F8 conference in California.
Apple working on wireless AR/VR headset with dual 8K displays
Apple is currently working on a headset with dual 8K displays that will be capable of both virtual and augmented reality, reports CNET. The outlet says the device, codenamed T288, is wireless—meaning it doesn't require a tether to a Mac or iPhone—and it's slated to launch in 2020.
HTC’s new Vive Pro boosts graphics, integrates headphones, dual mics & front cameras
Taiwanese handset maker HTC today at CES 2018 unveiled an upgraded edition of its Vive virtual reality headset that Apple recommends for VR content development on macOS.
AR startup Vrvana acquired by Apple for $30 million
First reported by TechCrunch, Apple has quietly acquired the Canadian startup Vrvana behind the Totem AR headset for $30 million.
Apple’s ARKit replicates A-ha’s “Take on Me” music video in real time
ARKit, Apple's new framework in iOS 11 for building augmented reality experiences for iPhone and iPad, has been used to recreate the music video for the 1980s hit song “Take on Me” by Norwegian band A-ha in real-time, highlighting ARKit's potential for film-making.
Here’s award-winning PCalc scientific calculator app in augmented reality, because why not?
If the awesome ARKit-powered measuring tape hasn't knocked your socks off, how about PCalc, the best scientific calculator available on App Store, in augmented reality?
Brilliant ARKit demo renders virtual robot commandos into video taken with iPhone 7
There's certainly no shortage of impressive demos of awesome augmented reality apps made possible by Apple's new ARKit framework in iOS 11, but this new proof-of-concept app from independent game developer Duncan Walker certainly takes things up a notch.
Facebook to respond to Apple’s AR efforts with untethered $200 Oculus VR headset in 2018
Apple's new ARKit framework for building augmented reality experiences for compatible iPhone and iPad devices is off to a great start and already Facebook is taking notice, according to a new report Thursday from Bloomberg's Mark Gurman.
The author claims that Facebook has been hard at work developing an inexpensive headset, code-named “Pacific”, that is expected to bring virtual reality experiences to the masses without requiring a beefy computer or a compatible smartphone.
“The idea is that someone will be able to pull the headset out of their bag and watch movies on a flight just the way you can now with a phone or tablet,” reads the article.
It should be priced aggressively at $200 and release at some point next year, representing “an entirely new category”. According to people familiar with the plans, the device will provide a similar interface to Samsung’s VR Gear that users could control by a wireless remote.
The headset should be powered by Qualcomm's Snapdragon mobile chip that would make it superior to Samsung's Gear VR headset in terms of gaming in virtual reality. Unlike the current Oculus Rift hardware, the upcoming gizmo won't include positional tracking technology.
An excerpt from the article:
This means that the device won’t be able to tell where its user is spatially, which is useful for tasks like virtual rock climbing. A future version of the product will have that technology, according to a person familiar with the plans.
According to sources, the headset will let users play immersive games, watch video, use social networking apps and so forth. It resembles a more compact version of the current Oculus Rift and will be lighter than Samsung’s Gear VR headset.
Handset maker Xiaomi and its manufacturers are said to build 2018's Oculus-branded device.
And later this year, Facebook allegedly plans to announce a more affordable wireless headset that it is betting will popularize virtual reality “the way Apple did the smartphone”.
Oculus spokesman Alan Cooper said via email:
We don’t have a product to unveil at this time, however we can confirm we’re making several significant technology investments in the standalone VR category.
Facebook's said it’s also working on yet another device, code-named “Santa Cruz” and best described as a wireless Oculus Rift “with the full power of the original device sans PC.“
Facebook acquired Kickstarter-funded Oculus startup in 2014 for about $2 billion.
IDC estimated that Samsung leads the pack in terms of VR device shipments with 22 percent of the global market for VR devices, followed by Sony, HTC and Facebook's Oculus Rift with about five percent of the market, or less than 100,000 units sold.