Apple is (almost definitely) working on a virtual reality headset

The Apple car and TV set are two projects the Cupertino tech giant has long been rumoured to be working on, but we haven’t seen so much as a glimpse from either of them. And we can probably now throw a VR headset into the same mysterious category.

The Financial Times reports that Apple has snapped up Virginia Tech computer science professor Doug Bowman, who has previously won a grant for Microsoft’s impressive HoloLens research project. His expertise appears to lie in designing 3D user interfaces for both VR and AR systems, so it’s very unlikely that he was hired to design the next set of EarPods.

Apple has previously acquired augmented reality firm Metaio, so it’s clear the company is, at the very least, dipping its toes into the world of AR and VR headsets to see if it can add a dash of patented Apple magic to the whole thing.

None of this actually means that we’ll be seeing an iHeadset any time soon (or indeed ever), as Apple could choose to scrap the project after deciding that it’s not an area with pursuing.

One analyst also points out that Apple could be working on a 3D and gesture-controlled interface for its Titan car project.

With the rise of homemade 360-degree video cameras and headsets like the Oculus Rift and HTC Vive however, it’s definitely an area which we expect to see Apple make a grab for.

[via Engadget]