With Apple apparently on the verge of releasing its first AR/VR headset at WWDC23, an Israeli startup called Sightful has unveiled Spacetop, which it calls “the world’s first augmented-reality laptop.”
Spacetop has no dedicated display. The user dons AR glasses to view tabs across a curved, 100-inch virtual space that no one else can see. You have to wonder if this practical step into AR is the right move at the right time — or too practical for its own good.
Both Apple and Meta (formerly Facebook) are both building AR/VR headsets, but they’re going about it in dramatically different ways. Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg reportedly told Meta employees the two companies are in “a competition of philosophies and ideas.”
It’s possible the metaverse is the future of the internet. And Zuckerberg describes Meta as being a leader in creating an open metaverse with multiple companies working together, while he says Apple is creating its own closed version.
But Zuckerberg’s comments ignore another major philosophical difference between the twin companies. Apple believes in protecting user privacy, but Meta makes its money by collecting and selling information about users.
Amazon already had a try-before-you-buy program for Prime members, where you can send an article of clothing back after trying it at home. On Thursday it added Virtual Try-On, an augmented reality (AR) experience where you can try on shoes without ever touching them via iOS.
All you need it the Amazon app and an iPhone to see how a pair of kicks will look on your feet.
Another reference to Apple’s unreleased “realityOS” operating system leaked Wednesday in new open source code. It suggests the company’s highly anticipated mixed-reality headset is inching closer to its public debut.
The headset could appear this year — perhaps at Apple’s Worldwide Developers Conference — as many reports previously suggested. However, thanks to technical difficulties Apple recently encountered, we might have to wait until 2023.
While Apple is creating a VR headset, it’s reportedly not developing a complete virtual world for users. It plans on virtual reality games, video and other experiences. But these supposedly won‘t be connected into a single VR metaverse.
That sets it apart from Meta (formerly Facebook), which does hope to create a virtual world it controls.
Apple is almost ready to send the chip that’ll be at the heart of its virtual reality headset to production, according to an unconfirmed report. That’s a big step in the product reaching customers’ hands.
A respected Apple analyst just made a startling prediction about mixed reality/augmented reality: “We believe that MR/AR products could replace all display-equipped electronics in the long term,” wrote Ming-Chi Kuo in a note sent to investors Sunday.
Kuo said he expects Apple to play a big part in taking these emerging technologies mainstream. And he sees Cupertino making augmented reality contact lenses eventually, and a variety of AR products before then.
Apple’s debut virtual reality headset could arrive in the first quarter of 2022, JPMorgan Chase Securities tech analyst Yang Weilun claims in a new note to investors.
The report says Apple’s VR headset will supposedly boast six lenses, lidar and a time-of-flight sensor. It will allegedly retail for upward of $500.
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 TV+ isn’t the only department within Apple that’s snapping up Hollywood talent. According to a new report by the Wall Street Journal, Apple is among the tech giants recruiting top movie industry VFX experts and technology to help its AR and VR ambitions.
Apple’s VR and AR headset ambitions fueled a clash between Apple Technology Development Group executive Mike Rockwell and former design boss Jony Ive, who left Apple last year, a new Bloomberg report claims.
The article traces the development of an Apple VR and AR headset to late 2015. It claims Apple dedicated up to 1,000 engineers to work on a project aiming to be the first major new product since the Apple Watch. However, the project has been subject to disagreements about its direction.
Appropriately enough at a time we’re worried about touching any surface without immediately washing our hands, the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office has published an eye-tracking patent application from Apple describing a method of letting users control an interface with nothing more than a simple glance.
The application possibly sheds light on one of the features of Apple’s rumored head-mounted display for augmented and virtual reality.
Apple is testing out its rumored AR/VR headset internally using a generic controller similar in design to that of the HTC Vive, a report published Thursday by MacRumors suggests.
The report notes that, “given the basic design of the controller,” it is likely for internal testing only. A finished version is likely to be a lot more, well, Apple in its design. However, it’s enough to let Apple engineers get to grips with the technology which might allow it to launch its rumored AR/VR headset in 2021 or 2022.
Apple engineers laid the groundwork for a pair of gloves that would let users feel objects displayed by virtual reality or augmented reality.
The idea of gloves with haptic feedback isn’t new, but a newly-received patent shows Apple continues to put considerable research and development effort into cutting-edge VR and AR.
Apple has added another high-profile hire to its team of engineers developing AR and VR headsets.
Serial entrepreneur Arthur van Hoff reportedly joined Apple this month after leaving Jaunt, a VR-focused startup company that he founded that eventually scored funding from Disney
Popular open-source video player VLC is getting AirPlay support “in about a month.” VideoLan, the team behind it, also plans to make it easier for users to switch to VLC from iTunes.
The confirmation comes just as VLC celebrated a staggering 3 billion downloads — around a quarter of which came from mobile devices.
Apple just dropped a big clue that it’s planning to make a pair of augmented reality glasses with its latest acquisition.
The company confirmed this week that it purchased a Colorado-based startup called Akonia that’s focused on making lenses for wearable headset displays and it could help Apple create thin, transparent smart glass lenses with vibrant full colors.
Apple has recruited popular science YouTuber Mark Rober to work as part of its top secret special projects group, developing a VR on-board entertainment system for self-driving cars.
Rober has been working with Apple for the past several years, although he has kept news of Apple’s identity secret. In a Reddit AmA, he described it as a “large tech company in the Bay Area.” His name was revealed as part of several patent applications Apple has recently filed.
Who says Macs can’t do virtual reality? When macOS Mojave rolls out this fall, it will include plug-and-play support for HTC’s latest Vive Pro VR headset.
Apple has been working closely with HTC and Valve to make this possible. Vive Pro support isn’t yet available with the first macOS Mojave beta, but it is expected to be made available to developers and testers in a future beta release.
Apple’s next big thing could be a virtual reality headset.
According to a new report, the iPhone-maker is planning to launch its own headset in 2020 that can handle both AR and VR technology. And in true Apple fashion, it’ll pack some innovations that could finally bring VR into the mainstream.
HP is now selling Apple devices through its Device as a Service (DaaS) program.
iPhone, iPad, and Mac devices join the existing catalog of Android and Windows options available to enterprise customers.
Now that you can edit 360-degree video in Final Cut Pro, you might get the urge to shoot your very own immersive videos. The iPhone can’t do that all by itself (yet), but it can if you add this tiny gadget.
It’s called Fishball, and it’s the world’s first 360-degree lens for iPhone. All you have to do is clip it on and you’re good to go.
On the day that the long-awaited iMac Pro finally goes on sale, Apple has rolled out a big Final Cut Pro update. Its professional video editing software now supports HDR and 360-degree virtual reality content.
Apple marketing guru Phil Schiller has heard the haters saying the iPhone X wasn’t the first smartphone to get facial recognition. But according to Schiller, that doesn’t matter at all.
“They all stink,” says Schiller in a new interview discussing Apple’s new facial recognition feature. The wide-ranging interview touches on everything from AirPods to virtual reality, but what sets Face ID apart is what got Schiller the most excited.
Immersive 360-degree photos and videos are a spectacular way to showcase your best adventures… until you need to edit them. But now that’s easier than ever, thanks to VeeR Editor, the world’s first 360-degree photo and video editor for iOS.
