Facebook, Google and Microsoft have all delved into virtual and augmented reality technology. Now apple is dipping a toe into the space too.
Apple recently acquired an augmented reality start-up called Flyby Media and hired Doug Bowman, who ran the Center for Human-Computer Interaction at Virginia Tech and who has researched topics such as immersion in virtual environments.
An Apple spokesman confirmed the Flyby deal and said, “Apple buys smaller technology companies from time to time, and we generally do not discuss our purpose or plans.”
Facebook bought the virtual reality headset maker Oculus for $2 billion in 2014. Microsoft has demonstrated its HoloLens device,which is focused on augmented reality, a related technology that lets people wearing smart glasses or headsets see and manipulate digital objects in the real world. And Google is the biggest outside investor in Magic Leap, a secretive start-up that is developing a wearable device for mixing real and digital images.Google’s Cardboard glasses also let people watch virtual reality video on their smartphones.
Apple has not, until recently, been publicly enthusiastic about virtual reality. While it has made tiny acquisitions in the field, it has not made a deal as large as Facebook’s Oculus purchase and has not brought any hardware to market.
