Will we ever be able to have Apple-designed virtual reality adventures using our iPhones?
The tech giant's approach to VR has been cautious and quiet compared to peers like Google and Samsung, which are diving headlong into the development of practical consumer platforms. But that doesn't mean Apple isn't contemplating how it might someday dominate the space when the time is right.
The company today was granted a new patent for a remote controlled head-mounted display system to house an iPhone. The language of the patent never explicitly mentions VR as the main function for the setup, but there's no other use we can imagine that would require you to glue your phone that close to your face.
SEE ALSO:Finding your chill in VR is easy when you can meditate on MarsRather than just clipping the iPhone into the housing like some basic VR units do today, the patent describes a truly connected platform. The iPhone would be be integrated into the headgear via its port or some other connection method so the two separate devices could function better together.
The iPhone would connect direct to the headgear.Credit: USPtoOnce the iPhone is housed in the VR unit, the design proposes it would be controlled via remote control (which looks more than a bit like the classic iPod Click Wheel in the drawing) or even touch panels on the side of the headgear.
Credit: USPTOSince this is just a patent, there's no timeline for the release or even development of an Apple VR set. This isn't the first time we've seen something like this from the company, either -- this design is part of a continuation of another patent from 2010, and another version of a head-mounted display surfaced after being rejected by the USPTO in 2014.
Apple CEO Tim Cook is on record about his qualms with VR. He thinks it "closes the world out" to its users, and instead believes augmented reality (AR) could be the next big experiential tech, calling it a "big idea like the smartphone. Notably, one of the biggest rumors about upcoming iPhone 8 is about a new camera and sensor system, which could possibly be harnessed for AR functions.
Make no mistake, though -- if VR platforms continue to develop and gain popularity and Apple finds itself in the position to capitalize on a head-mounted rig, there's a good chance you'll be reading about a brand new Apple VR experience shortly after, no matter what Tim Cook says.
TopicsAppleiPhone
(责任编辑：探索)
Pokémon Go is so big that it has its own VR porn parody now
Pete Souza snags an obvious VIP to write the foreword to his book
Mischievous toddler helps spring baby brother from crib
Family throws elaborate quinceañera for their 15U.S. government issues warning on McDonald's recalled wearable devicesCat gets stuck in the most awkward position ever
Anyone with a cat can tell you that although their cat's claws are impressive scratching and hunting
...[详细]NASA just picked 12 new astronauts out of 18,300 applicants, and they’re all awesome
NASA just announced its newest class of astronauts, a crew of Americans from around the country who
...[详细]Professor who said he would eat his Brexit book if Labour polled above 38% eats book on live TV
Don't make promises you can't keep. Matthew Goodwin, a professor of political science in the United
...[详细]The GOP tweeted a Comey meme and it did not go well at all
How do you do, fellow kids?The internet is a beautiful (and equally toxic) place where people can co
...[详细]Did our grandparents have the best beauty advice?
Do our grandparents really know what's best?They're older and wiser, and they have no shortage of ad
...[详细]BBC reporter accidentally drops the c
In this edition of BBC Newsblunders, a reporter makes an awkward slip.SEE ALSO:BBC reporter accident
...[详细]
We knew that Apple's new iMacs would be disassembled and examined in every possible way shortly afte
...[详细]Hundreds handed over their Tinder to a chatbot to get young people to vote
Our Tinder profiles are sacred vaults of private -- and sometimes lascivious --conversations. But, s
...[详细]This weird squid looks like it has googly eyes, guys
Internet, meet your new spirit animal.
。Scientists aboard the research vessel the E/V Nautilus, off t
...[详细]We knew that Apple's new iMacs would be disassembled and examined in every possible way shortly afte
...[详细]
