Apple has acquired mixed reality specialist Vrvana for around $30 million. TechCruch picked up the story after speaking with two anonymous sources, although Apple itself declined to comment.
While that means it’s worth taking the news with a pinch of salt for the moment, it’s a move that would make sense.
Recent reports suggest Apple is preparing to release an AR headset of its very own in 2020, and Vrvana has the expertise to help the Cupertino giant do exactly that.
The startup might not be one of the industry’s biggest names, but its prototype Totem mixed reality headset has been praised by those who’ve tried it.
The Totem packs a 1440p low-persistence OLED screen, hand tracking and inside-out positional tracking tech, a 120 degree field-of-view, and patent pending hardware accelerated chroma keying.
Meanwhile, Apple’s proposed headset will reportedly have its own display, as opposed to using a smartphone like some competitors, and will run on an all-new chip and tailored operating system.