Apple's work on virtual reality may be ready for public consumption as early as 2018, according to a well-known industry analyst. Gene Munster of Piper Jaffray apparently believes Apple's various VR and augmented reality (AR) hires in recent times suggests Apple could make iOS more accommodating to the computing platform within a few years, and even introduce support for VR accessories under its
Made For iPhone program.
The research note received by
AppleInsider advises that there are at least 141 Apple employees with a background in AR on LinkedIn. In comparison, Google has 267 with AR knowledge, and Microsoft has at least 425 through a similar search, with some likely to be working on the
HoloLens headset.
The number of employees with an AR background could increase further, given the company's collection of intellectual property for mixed reality computing that it created, as well as those picked up in acquisitions such as from
PrimeSense in 2013. Munster suggests more acquisitions by Apple could occur to bolster its efforts, with candidates including
Magic Leap, Movidius, and Occipital.
Despite the acquisitions, Munster seems to think that Apple will not be trying to launch its own VR hardware in the short term. Even then, Apple is apparently said to be looking at VR in a similar way to the Apple Watch, as an accessory or peripheral to the iPhone instead of a completely different device.
Currently, the iPhone is being used for a low-cost form of virtual reality, with the release of
headset accessories that work in a similar way to
Google Cardboard. Munster believes third-parties will continue to use the iPhone and iPad for their own AR and VR projects, as well as creating hardware that uses the mobile devices in a more meaningful way than at present, such as by offering more input options or adding extra controls.
To support this influx of hardware, Apple could create an official framework for VR to operate through by 2018, modifying the MFi program to accept these new accessories. While this does sound similar to Samsung's existing Gear headset, it does differ in that Gear is produced by Samsung directly, while MFi typically revolves around third-party accessories, freeing Apple from having to create its own hardware immediately while also sanctioning the iPhone for use in VR.
Munster also suggests the move towards VR and AR may be the first step in a very long path towards phasing out the iPhone, a path that could take at least 15 years to accomplish. "We believe ten years from now Generation Z will find reality inefficient. We believe the concept of an 'inefficient reality' is evident through smartphone use today – the precursor to mixed reality – offering users the ability to find more information as needed."
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