Is Microsoft HoloLens the push Apple needs to get into the VR market?

It all began March 25th 2014, with Mark Zuckerberg’s announcement of his acquisition of Oculus VR, and his plans for future applications in virtual reality. Since then, while nothing extremely noteworthy has made newslines yet, at least in Facebook territory, other companies, like Sony and Microsoft, have been making strides, each in its own way, to design creative ways to deliver virtual content to consumers. Sony’s first universal head-mounted 3D HDTV, is perhaps the most impressive example of HUD technology that is finally breaking the traditionally low-end specs of other head mounted displays, sporting a respectable resolution of 1280 by 720 pixels, 3D support, and the ability to connect to both desktop computers and mobile devices.

Microsoft HoloLens, on the other hand, while not yet a commercial product, represents a completely different set of breakthroughs, being a self-contained Windows 10 computer in its own right, it provides the ability to interact with 3D virtual reality, superimposed on the user’s field of view, paving the way for something that, up until now, we have only seen in science-fiction movies.

Apple, in spite of its basic stance against products like Google Glass, has never been completely immune from the fascination of the potential applications of a head-mounted device, especially if it offers a new, practical and enhanced way to deliver content to Apple consumers. To corroborate the theory of a future Apple VR device, a patent for a head mounted display, dated as far back as 2008, was filed by Apple, which described a head-mounted personal display. A new Apple patent, however, has caught the attention of the media, which describes a device very similar to Google Cardboard VR, or the Samsung Gear VR, in that it has a slot fitting an iPhone. 

The new patent references back to the 2008 invention, as a possible integration with the current filing. With Microsoft officially in full-swing with its own Windows Holographics division, its makes little sense for Apple not to at least consider VR/AR applications. 

If VR and AR (Augmented Reality) “catch on” with as much momentum as the smartwatch did, there is a chance Apple could come up with its own head-mounted device, and even deliver 3D content, either augmented, or cinematic.