5 ms·

I know Tim Cook has mentioned VR as something "interesting" in the recent past, so they may be waiting for it to become a little more mainstream.

by oddevan 10y ago

monk_e_boy 10y ago
Amazing new graphics cards from Nvidia, Apple have all the bits to make a nice VR headset and laptop / ipad that will drive it. I'm surprised they haven't dropped any hints yet. So, they've thought it through and decided now is not the time... why? Why not get in there while Playstation is getting in there. I guess they aren't really a games company, yet the iPhone and iPad are both great for casual games. So maybe that's not the reason. Could be that there is something better in the pipeline (hololens) or that VR isn't consumer ready yet.
- erikpukinskis 10y ago
  There's no way Apple would make a VR headset tethered to another device. To be on-brand it has to be elegant, which means all-in-one. It probably needs a new OS... certainly none of the UI from iOS can be reused, and it needs VR-specific heat and power optimizations, probably with a new low level graphics toolkit. From Tim Cook's statement it seems pretty clear that they're going to wait until they can do AR glasses, which also fits their anti-nerd brand strategy. AR is more social, more human. Although when the standalone Google/Oculus headsets hit next year I suspect people will be surprised how well they sell. The mobile VR app ecosystem should hit puberty around then. Assuming Oculus/Google can hit a $600 price point I think we'll see an iPod-like growth curve in that category, which would lure Apple into the market for sure.
  - petra 10y ago
    Isn't AR less immersive, less good as means of escapism ? And less "Addictive" ? and that means VR will have a larger market ?
    - icebraining 10y ago
      Immersion is nice for "experiences", but AR has the potential to be used all day, just like smartphones. Besides, they'll eventually converge.
    - flogic 10y ago
      The problem is that while potentially more immersive, VR is more exclusionary. By definition it's not an experience that shares well with meatspace. So it's easy to cut off and be cut off from other people in the same room. That's fine for a teenager in their room but not so much someone living with a significant other or children.

I know Tim Cook has mentioned VR as something "interesting" in the recent past, so they may be waiting for it to become a little more mainstream.

by oddevan 10y ago

I know Tim Cook has mentioned VR as something "interesting" in the recent past, so they may be waiting for it to become a little more mainstream.

monk_e_boy 10y ago

Amazing new graphics cards from Nvidia, Apple have all the bits to make a nice VR headset and laptop / ipad that will drive it. I'm surprised they haven't dropped any hints yet. So, they've thought it through and decided now is not the time... why? Why not get in there while Playstation is getting in there. I guess they aren't really a games company, yet the iPhone and iPad are both great for casual games. So maybe that's not the reason. Could be that there is something better in the pipeline (hololens) or that VR isn't consumer ready yet.

erikpukinskis 10y ago
There's no way Apple would make a VR headset tethered to another device. To be on-brand it has to be elegant, which means all-in-one. It probably needs a new OS... certainly none of the UI from iOS can be reused, and it needs VR-specific heat and power optimizations, probably with a new low level graphics toolkit. From Tim Cook's statement it seems pretty clear that they're going to wait until they can do AR glasses, which also fits their anti-nerd brand strategy. AR is more social, more human. Although when the standalone Google/Oculus headsets hit next year I suspect people will be surprised how well they sell. The mobile VR app ecosystem should hit puberty around then. Assuming Oculus/Google can hit a $600 price point I think we'll see an iPod-like growth curve in that category, which would lure Apple into the market for sure.
- petra 10y ago
  Isn't AR less immersive, less good as means of escapism ? And less "Addictive" ? and that means VR will have a larger market ?
  - icebraining 10y ago
    Immersion is nice for "experiences", but AR has the potential to be used all day, just like smartphones. Besides, they'll eventually converge.
  - flogic 10y ago
    The problem is that while potentially more immersive, VR is more exclusionary. By definition it's not an experience that shares well with meatspace. So it's easy to cut off and be cut off from other people in the same room. That's fine for a teenager in their room but not so much someone living with a significant other or children.