Apple has bought AR headset startup Vrvana for $30 million

[HEXUS]

Canadian firm built the prototype Totem mixed reality headset which garnered rave reviews.

Read more.

[ik9000]

Canadian firm built the prototype Totem mixed reality headset which garnered rave reviews.

Read more.

With both sides being tight lipped its uncertain about what Apple will do with Vrvana

So presumably now apple will ruin it and limit its use base to the apple ecosystem while presumably suing other competitors under novel interpretations of "patent infringements".

[peterb]

So presumably now apple will ruin it and limit its use base to the apple ecosystem while presumably suing other competitors under novel interpretations of "patent infringements".

And why would you presume that? More likely that Apple will put the capital in to develop it (and more to the point, the applications) further.

[EvilCycle]

I think he would presume that because it is exactly what they will do, develop it and its applications further in a closed ecosystem that prevents a plethora of possible usage scenarios, and they will market it as if they have just invented the whole thing themselves. Apple fans will be jumping for joy and throwing money into the fire, whilst everybody else says "meh" yet again.

[peterb]

As far as I know, none of the current AR systems work particularly well with Apple products so this is Apple catching up. However there is no evidence about how Apple will develop this further or whether it will be cross platform or not.

And even if they do, it is no different from the closed UWP ecosystem for Microsoft's Hololens.

[DDY]

I'm not a huge fan of VR, not because I have anything against it, I'm just not that interested.

But, I feel that this could be a boon for consumers of VR. Hopefully this will promote competition and as we know Apple like to close themselves in, this may also promote greater cohesion between the existing VR stakeholders which at the moment is quite fragmented, for example there is scope for improved cross-compatibility and the creation of a definitive 'non-Apple' standard.

[Kato-2]

Apple will use the technology but they wont release a bulky headset like the totem to market, very un-Apple and would require extensive shrinking to meet Apple's criteria so another 2-3 years away inline with what Apple have already been saying.

As to why Apple AV/VR will succeed, simple they have all the people who make quality apps in their corner, Android gets the hand me downs and the PC is at worst irrelevant & at best a tech demo showcase.

[3dcandy]

Apple will use the technology but they wont release a bulky headset like the totem to market, very un-Apple and would require extensive shrinking to meet Apple's criteria so another 2-3 years away inline with what Apple have already been saying.

As to why Apple AV/VR will succeed, simple they have all the people who make quality apps in their corner, Android gets the hand me downs and the PC is at worst irrelevant & at best a tech demo showcase.

But you can say tha Apple gets the apps because Apple fans PAY for them in higher quantities... horses for courses and all that

[Percy1983]

Good job, I was waiting for apple to invent AR/VR as we don't have any tech up to that yet...

...or that just how they will promote it.

[shaithis]

I can only imagine how much Apple will change for a VR/AR capable Mac and headset.....and people think its expensive now!

[cheesemp]

As far as I know, none of the current AR systems work particularly well with Apple products so this is Apple catching up. However there is no evidence about how Apple will develop this further or whether it will be cross platform or not.

And even if they do, it is no different from the closed UWP ecosystem for Microsoft's Hololens.

And this (apart from cost) is what puts me off VR/AR - closed systems. As far as I'm aware they are preparatory at the moment? What's the point in a Hololen's that doesn't work with my steam library...

I seriously hate closed systems - it will kill innovation dead...