The next bad matter . Everybody ’s looking for it , and nobody ’s sure what it will be until the mainstream consumer weighs in . Apple , more than most of its competitors , bears the intemperate weight of expectation when it comes to innovation , and that ’s one ground it plays its poster notoriously close to its chest . Still , every once in a while , we get a peek behind the curtain to see what Tim Cook and company might be thinking about .
One such intimation came during the financial results league call in the first place this calendar week , when analyst Gene Munster — new off his passion of teasing an Apple telecasting set that was never go to materialize — decided to strike out in a young direction , and quizzed Cook on what he thought about virtual reality .
“ In terms of virtual realism , uh , no , I do n’t think it ’s a corner , ” Cook said . “ I think it can be … it ’s really coolheaded , and has some interesting applications . ”
“ Interesting ? ” That ’s right : interesting .
Cook’s in the kitchen
Okay , admittedly that ’s not much to go on , but hey , if you ’re looking for a new tympan to beat , it cater a trivial more fuel to the “ Apple ’s act on VR ! ” statement . And it ’s not so implausible , because this is hardly the first time that Cook has provided hints about areas that Apple might be investigating .
Back in May 2013 , the Apple CEO , speaking at the D11 conference , bode the Apple Watch bydiscussing wearablesand commenting that “ I consider the wrist is interesting . ”
There ’s that word again . Interesting .
Over the old age , the Apple head teacher honcho also talked frequently about the company ’s exploration into the television market , repeatedly mentioningthat Apple was move to “ keep pulling this twine ” on the Apple video . Back in 2012 , he also confound out the parole “ interesting ” to describe the potential ofgaming on the television .
So , clearly , this isgold , right ? Take it to the bank ! Apple’sobviouslygoing to occur out with a holodeck this year .
Slow your cast , folk .
HTC ’s Vive Pre .
Everybody in
After class of aborted attempt at VR , the last few years have seena flurry of activityin the virtual / augmented world space from important companies . Besides the much hype Oculus Rift , which will finally be on sales event to the public this twelvemonth , there are VR plays fromSamsung , HTC , andGoogle , with Microsoft also investing heavily in assorted realism withHoloLens . Everybody wants a small-arm of that other realness , because another reality intend a whole new place to sell things , right ? ( Pretty sure that ’s how that works . )
Now , Apple ’s not one to hop onboard a gear just because all its rivals are doing so , but at the same metre , it probably does n’t want to miss that train , just in case it end up being the money train . ( If only they label those trains better . ) So while it has yet to intrust substantial resources to VR , it has made a few small moves in the area , such as sooner this month when it hired information processing system scientist Doug Bowman , who ’s done some notable work in VR and 3D user interfaces .
And , of course , there are the requisite letters patent filing for everything fromvideo gogglesto3D display . This workweek , there was also a paper that the approaching iPhone 7 may incorporate a dual - lens television camera system , which number as part of the company ’s attainment of LinX Imaging last year ; one employment of that technology is capturing 3D image . ( right smart back when , the company also experiment withVR using QuickTime , an telling technology at the time , but one that did n’t really go anywhere . )
So , it seems unclouded that Apple islooking intoVR — if you ’ll excuse the bit of phrase — but do n’t get your hopes up for a full - fledge Apple holodeck anytime shortly . Because , as Cook also cue us on this quarter ’s league call , Apple ’s all about creating great products , and at the moment , despite Cook ’s contention that VR is n’t a niche product , it ’s unclear how it fits into Apple ’s architectural plan .
The $ 99 Teleport VR Camera is a double - lens of the eye gimmick you may confiscate to an iPhone today , but succeeding iPhones could have this kind of television camera build in .
Virtual real estate
I ’ve late been playing Elite Dangerous , a blank computer simulation secret plan for the microcomputer and Xbox One . It ’s been widely lauded as one of the perfect titles to show off virtual world , and after only a week or so with it , I can see why . This is a cosmos that cries out to be experience in three - dimensional glory . Last fall , my girlfriend also try out out a VR artistry project calledBirdly , where you feel flight as a bird via a practical reality setup , and she promulgate it howling .
These are the kind of experience where today ’s VR applied science seems aimed , and it ’s hard to imagine that they ’re the ones Apple is most interested in . The party ’s human relationship with play has always been try at best , and it ’s always favour more virtual program : It ’s not hard to ideate Apple , say , building a camera equal to of lead 3D panoramas into the next iPhone , perhaps even along with aGoogle Cardboard - like spectator . Imagine being able to register a practical scene — Christmas morning , for example , opening up presents while surrounded by family — and play it back as though you were really there . That seems like the form of affair I could see an Apple commercial message about .
