Apple hasn't announced its VR strategy, perhaps because the experience isn't good enough yet

If Apple announced a VR product, would you be a little excited? However, this time they disappointed you again.

At the annual 2016 Apple Developer Conference which started today, Apple released a series of system and software updates for macOS, iOS 10, etc., while integrating Siri into third parties and opening it to developers, but did not mention a word about the hot VR.

So far, Apple has not released any VR products, nor has it announced a clear VR strategy. The company's ideas in the VR field are basically speculation by the media and the industry, and there has been no official response.

In contrast, other technology companies have shown their ambitions in the VR field. Facebook 's Zuckerberg has long regarded VR as the next generation computing platform and has promoted it on many occasions. At the same time, VR hardware devices of technology giants such as Microsoft , Sony , and Facebook have all been unveiled, and HTC has already sold VIVE to the Chinese market. In the field of mobile VR, Google released the VR platform Daydream at the developer conference last month, hoping to unify the VR world based on Android phones. Apple's old rival Samsung has already released Gear VR, and Chinese mobile phone manufacturers Lenovo, Huawei, LeTV, and OnePlus have also launched VR helmets that match mobile phones. Xiaomi and Hammer are also eager to try.

Regarding Apple's low-key attitude, industry insiders said that it is not that Apple does not want to do VR. In fact, Apple has already made arrangements in the VR field, but it will take some time to launch products that meet its requirements.

Apple is not making any moves in VR?

The answer is no.

Rumor has it that in the mid-2000s, when Steve Jobs was leading Apple, an internal team built a prototype of a VR helmet and applied for a patent for the device. In 2008, Apple filed a patent document showing that it was developing a head-mounted VR device that used the iPhone as a display. This device was similar to Google's Cardboard, had 3D effects, supported eye tracking, sound, and fingerprint recognition. At the time, Facebook was less than four years old, and Oculus was out of the question.

In February this year, Apple concept designer Martin Hajek showed Apple's future virtual reality device in a video. In the video he revealed, the future Apple VR device inherited the usual simple design style: including two high-resolution AMOLED displays, borrowing a lot of Apple Watch craftsmanship and design elements, including the same Apple Watch tracking sensor and strap on the forehead, etc.

If the above speculations are all rumors, Apple's actions also show that it has not ignored VR. In the past few years, Apple has successively acquired companies such as PrimeSense, Metaio, Faceshift, Flyby Media and Emotient, and improved its technical reserves in stereoscopic sensing, facial and motion capture, application development, etc. At the same time, Apple has also poached experts in related fields from competitors and continues to recruit VR/AR related talents.

Apple won't reveal VR strategy for now

"It is obvious that Apple is planning VR, but it will not rashly announce its entry into the VR industry when the market is not yet mature," Qin Zheng, founder of domestic virtual reality company Ant Vision Technology, told Sina Technology. In Qin Zheng's eyes, the entire VR industry is still in its early stages of development, and there are still many technical problems to be solved, "especially for mobile VR, the user experience is not good enough."

This embarrassment has already appeared in Samsung. In March this year, Samsung announced at the GDC conference that the total usage time of Gear VR was 2 million hours. Based on the sales volume of Gear VR at that time, the average usage time of each Gear VR device was only a few hours. From this point of view, mobile VR is still just a toy for people to try out, and it is still far from subverting life.

"For Apple, a company that pursues user experience, the resolution of the iPhone screen does not meet the requirements," said a self-media person based in Silicon Valley. "If the product is launched rashly when the device is not mature, it will ruin its reputation." But he also believes that Apple will not give up VR. "Apple is likely to launch an all-in-one VR machine, but it will be hard to see it this year."

In today's smartphone market, the only system that can compete with Google's Android is Apple's iOS. "If Apple can build a VR platform like Google, it will have a huge impact on the VR industry," said the aforementioned self-media person.

"Once Apple announces its VR strategy, it will be a good thing for domestic developers," said Lou Chi, founder and CEO of Fireworks Workshop. "At present, mobile VR developers have not found a good business model, and many developers' products are facing a bottleneck in monetization. If Apple starts to support VR, it will definitely open up a monetization channel for them."

"Once developers have a way to monetize, they will develop rich and high-quality VR content, which will also promote the entire mobile VR," said Lou Chi.

As a winner of Toutiao's Qingyun Plan and Baijiahao's Bai+ Plan, the 2019 Baidu Digital Author of the Year, the Baijiahao's Most Popular Author in the Technology Field, the 2019 Sogou Technology and Culture Author, and the 2021 Baijiahao Quarterly Influential Creator, he has won many awards, including the 2013 Sohu Best Industry Media Person, the 2015 China New Media Entrepreneurship Competition Beijing Third Place, the 2015 Guangmang Experience Award, the 2015 China New Media Entrepreneurship Competition Finals Third Place, and the 2018 Baidu Dynamic Annual Powerful Celebrity.