Oculus

Read Cult of Mac’s latest posts on Oculus:

Apple-hating programmer now swears by Mac Studio, Pro Display XDR [Setups]

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The person who uses this setup used to hate Apple.
The person who uses this setup used to hate Apple.
Photo: MutedStudy1881@Reddit.com

Some folks insist people never change, others say they often do. And proof of the latter shows up in today’s featured Mac Studio computer setup featuring Apple’s magnificent 6K Pro Display XDR.

It belongs to a Linux-loving software programmer who used to be strongly anti-Apple, according to her husband.

Furby-loving animator trades 3-monitor PC gaming rig for cozy Mac station [Setups]

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That's a refurbished Furby in the center.
That's a refurbished Furby in the center.
Photo: Jazinity@Reddit.com

Gamer and 3D animator Jazinity said she’d been a Windows user for most of her life before M1 Macs caught her eye and she made a nearly wholesale switch, going from a tri-display PC gaming station to a “cozy but productive” M1 MacBook Air situation.

The refurbished Furby in the center of the photo may or may not have been in the previous computer setup, but not much else. She has another Furby at her desk at the office, though she’s working at home for the time being, like many people these days.

Apple hires Meta AR comms chief for its rumored headset launch

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Apple’s first AR/VR headset might look like ski goggles
Information supposedly leaking from Apple indicates the Apple AR/VR headset will look a lot like this.
Photo: RendersByIan

Apple reportedly hired Meta’s AR communications chief recently, a move that fits with Cupertino’s long-rumored plan to launch an augmented reality/virtual reality headset.

Observers expect Apple to unveil its mixed-reality headset sometime in 2022. And, according to Mark Gurman’s Power On newsletter, Apple is forming a team to handle the hardware’s launch and marketing. Part of this appears to be the hiring of Andrea Schubert, chief of communications and public relations for AR at Meta, the company formerly known as Facebook.

Apple’s first VR headset could be an expensive disappointment

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Apple VR headset could look like Oculus Quest
Apple's first headset could be around the same size as Oculus Quest.
Photo: Oculus

Don’t expect too much from Apple’s first virtual reality headset. A new report warns that Cupertino’s first stab at a wearable VR system, which could come in 2022, will be expensive with a limited set of capabilities.

The device is believed to be designed primarily as a “niche precursor” to more ambitious AR/VR glasses that Apple plans to launch later.

Apple patents way to fix VR headsets’ worst problem

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Alex Heath gets down in the Oculus booth. Photo: Jim Merithew/Cult of Mac
VR headsets are still bulky AF.
Photo: Jim Merithew/Cult of Mac

Bulky virtual reality headsets may soon look like retro relics if Apple’s designers have their way.

Details of a new patent from Apple reveal the company is investigating different ways to reduce the size of bulky augmented reality and virtual reality headsets. The patents specifically mentions a tech that its rivals aren’t using, which could give it big advantage if it enters the market.

Facebook hires former iMac lead designer to work on VR

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VR may be happening soon, and Apple might want to jump in.
Can Oculus borrow some of Apple's magic?
Photo: Sergey Galyonkin/Wikipedia CC

Facebook has reportedly hired a 15-year Apple veteran to head up its Oculus VR division’s hardware team.

Michael Hillman worked on multiple major projects at Apple, including as lead designer with the iMac team. At Facebook he’s being charged with helping to take the company’s virtual reality mainstream.

Oculus has no plans to bring VR to the Mac anytime soon

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Alex Heath gets down in the Oculus booth. Photo: Jim Merithew/Cult of Mac
You still can't use the Oculus Rift on Mac.
Photo: Jim Merithew/Cult of Mac

Mac users hoping to jump into the world of virtual reality will have to wait even longer than expected.

Oculus co-founder Nate Mitchell revealed in a recent interview that the company currently has no plans to bring Rift support to the Mac. Even though Mitchell himself is a MacBook Pro user, he says Apple’s machines don’t have the resources to deliver a premium experience

Apple’s first AR product may arrive by 2018

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hololens by microsoft
All Apple has to do is making something that looks less dorky than this.
Photo: Microsoft

Apple’s stalling autonomous car project caused the company to shift its attention to augmented reality, according to analyst Ming Chi Kuo, who says the company is racing ahead of the competition when it comes to AR.

In a new note to investors, the KGI Securities analyst says Apple’s decision to develop a self-driving platform instead of an entire electric car makes sense. The company will use augmented reality to provide an incredible experience, he predicts.

Why won’t Apple build a game-worthy Mac? [Friday Night Fights]

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fnf
Tell us, Apple!
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

Mac users needn’t bother pre-ordering an Oculus Rift headset because they can’t use it. According to Oculus founder Palmer Luckey, that’s because none of the machines Apple offers are powerful enough to meet its recommended specifications.

Friday-Night-Fights-bug-2They’re not powerful enough to play the latest games at high-settings, either. Even if you spend thousands on a high-end Mac Pro, you’re going to be disappointed with its gaming prowess — especially if you want to drink in some of those sweet, sweet 4K graphics.

So, is it about time Apple built a Mac that’s good for gaming?

Join us in this week’s Friday Night Fight between Cult of Android and Cult of Mac as we battle it out over this and more!

5 tech trends you don’t want to miss at CES 2016

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Tech is taking over Vegas for the week.
Tech is taking over Vegas for the week.
Photo: Jim Merithew/Cult of Mac

Cult of Mac CES 2016 full coverage 2016 is here and that can only mean one thing: It’s time for CES.

The world’s biggest consumer electronics show, CES 2016, is getting underway this week in Las Vegas, which means nerds and all the companies that make the gadgets they love are instinctively flocking to the desert oasis like the salmon of Capistrano.

This year’s show promises to be bigger than ever, with all the latest tech trends on full display. Cult of Mac will be on the scene all week long bring hands-on looks at the coolest and weirdest gadgets CES has to offer.

Here’s what we expect to see at the show:

2016 could be the year Apple goes crazy for VR

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VR may be happening soon, and Apple might want to jump in.
VR may be happening soon, and Apple might want to jump in.
Photo: Sergey Galyonkin/Wikipedia CC

Apple might need to play catch-up on virtual reality in the coming year. Oculus, Samsung and Sony are already promoting their own brand of VR headsets and technologies.

Virtual reality is the next big thing. As such, we undoubtedly will see a ton of it at the upcoming Consumer Electronics Show. But one analyst already jumped in with his predictions about Cupertino’s chances for another hit product in the VR space.

Virtual reality is now as cheap as Cardboard on iOS

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post-324174-image-c084db0810e269c993fbe9a90e1bd198-gif

I can’t wait for the virtual reality future to finally go mainstream, but with company’s like Oculus talking about charging people over $1,500 for an entire Rift package, VR is virtually out of my price-range. Thankfully, Google is coming up with an easy-to-use VR solution that’s not only as cheap as a piece of cardboard, it works on Android and iOS too.

Oculus Rift won’t be launching on Mac

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Oculus Rift
Rift won't be launching on Mac anytime soon.
Photo: Oculus

Oculus finally revealed the recommend specs for the Rift system scheduled to launch in early 2016. The good news is that minimum hardware specs will only cost you about $800. The bad news is the company has decided to stop developing for the Mac and focus entirely on PC for the launch.

8 fantastic crowdfunding projects every techie ought to love

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SITU is an attractive Bluetooth food scale that talks to your iPad. Created by former Apple employee Michael Grothaus — who came up with the idea while sitting in Apple’s Caffè Macs cafeteria — the device lets you see the exact nutritional content of any food you place on it, based on the food’s weight and broken down into calories, sugar, salt, protein, vitamins and minerals. The device itself is beautiful, too, with a simple but pleasing design that could have come straight out of Jony Ive’s workshop.Preorders will be available on SITU’s official site next month.

SITU is an attractive Bluetooth food scale that talks to your iPad. Created by former Apple employee Michael Grothaus — who came up with the idea while sitting in Apple’s Caffè Macs cafeteria — the device lets you see the exact nutritional content of any food you place on it, based on the food’s weight and broken down into calories, sugar, salt, protein, vitamins and minerals. The device itself is beautiful, too, with a simple but pleasing design that could have come straight out of Jony Ive’s workshop.

Preorders will be available on SITU’s official site next month.


7 Awesome Companies Apple Should Buy After Missing The Boat On Oculus

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$1 trillion value
Apple is heading toward a $1 trillion market cap. But could Amazon get there first?
Photo: Pierre Marcel/Flickr CC

When Facebook snapped up virtual-reality company Oculus VR this week, it got us wondering what other interesting startups Apple might want to buy before Mark Zuckerberg can get his hands on them.

While Oculus is most well known for its Rift gaming headset, Zuckerberg sees a far more wide-ranging application for the company’s VR tech, envisioning it as a futuristic communications platform. “One day, we believe this kind of immersive, augmented reality will become a part of daily life for billions of people,” he said in his post about the acquisition.

That’s the kind of big thinking Steve Jobs brought to the table when he talked about the way the Mac, the iPod, the iPhone and the iPad would change the way people interact with technology. While Apple rarely dips into its $150 billion cash hoard to buy other hardware firms, here are seven awesome companies whose technology could help Cupertino enhance and improve its existing devices — as well as build entirely new ones.