Apple has stealthily built a team of “hundreds” of researchers into virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR), according to a report in the Financial Times.
“The secret research unit includes hundreds of staff from a series of carefully targeted acquisitions, as well as employees poached from companies that are working on next-generation headset technologies,” claimed the FT, as Apple acquired AR startup Flyby Media.
“Apple has been building prototypes of possible headset configurations for several months.” Apple recently hired prominent VR expert Doug Bowman, with CEO Tim Cook telling analysts last week that the technology is “really cool and has some interesting applications”.
Whether Apple is making its own Oculus Rift-style headset, or iPhone accessories more akin to Google’s Cardboard initiative, it’s an encouraging sign for anyone working on VR music content – including Universal Music, which recently announced plans to move into the area.
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