News JVTech Apple is only recruiting in one sector. The PlayStation has reason to worry!
Published on 28/11/2022 at 12:40
Faced with the economic crisis which is violently affecting Silicon Valley, Apple, like many of its competitors, has decided to freeze its hiring. But the company is still recruiting in one sector in particular: that of virtual reality.
In recent weeks, Meta, Twitter and Amazon have been among the companies that have been the most talked about following the massive layoffs occurred within their various teams. Other high-tech firms have decided to react by freezing hiring : this is the case of Google and Apple. However, the iPhone firm cannot afford to completely stop its recruitments if it wishes to quickly assert its presence in a sector where it intends to launch in 2023, namely virtual reality and more specifically mixed reality.
Apple has a project to counter the PS5 and its PSVR
Selon Bloomberg, Apple has very big ambitions for its headset combining virtual reality and mixed reality planned for 2023. The company would count develop its own “virtual world” and the most popular services of the firm should also be part of it : using FaceTime, Apple Plans or even Messages in mixed reality should therefore be on the program. Obviously, it will also be possible to have fun with the device.
The helmet should be equipped with more than ten cameras, have an image definition hitherto unseen in consumer VR headsets and be equipped with an M2 chip similar to that found in high-end Macs, which means that the device will be autonomous like the Meta Quest models. He should take advantage of realityOSa version of iOS specifically intended for Apple VR/AR headsets.
However, the price of the device should be very high since Bloomberg suggests a positioning between 2000 and 3000 dollars. More expensive than the Meta Quest Pro which already flirts with 1800 euros, Apple’s virtual reality and mixed reality headset will have to be very solid to find its place on the market.
A concept of Apple VR headset.
If the Cupertino company has greatly slowed down its recruitments in recent months, this is less the case on the side of its Technology Development Group, or TDG, responsible for designing its helmet, associated technologies and upcoming models. If it is rumored that the first version of the VR headset from Apple is now in the finalization phase, the American company aims to quickly shift to the second generation. Glasses, more compact, would also be planned.
This requires having a complete and expert team in the subject. So Apple has been posting a lot of recruitment ads in recent months. This makes it possible to learn that the firm seeks to develop a video service compatible with virtual realitynew versions of its services already present within iOS and “a 3D mixed reality world” that could have professional use as a personI. However, Apple was very clear on one point:
“Metavers is a word we will never use”
Apple’s AR/VR development team is also led by Mike Rockwell, an expert on the subjectwhich is accompanied by Dan Riccio, who has been working on Apple products for a very long time and who is in direct contact with Tim Cook for his projects. The company has also brought back into its fold Dave Scott, a senior engineer who has long worked on Apple’s self-driving car projects.
Finally, it is also possible to cite Yaniv Gur, senior director of engineering who has worked at Apple for more than 20 years and who joined the TDG. His previous involvements in the firm’s projects suggest that he focuses on the design of applications related to productivity, to give Apple’s headphones a professional angle.
An Apple VR headset concept
A proposal that could allow Apple’s VR headset doesn’t just compete with Sony and its PSVR 2 in the entertainment segment. The device could Position yourself against Microsoft’s HoloLense and Meta’s Meta Quest Proin an attempt to attract professionals. This seems to be confirmed with regard to the announced price range.
The subject seems sufficiently high in stakes for Apple that the company is still recruiting significantly, at a time when Silicon Valley tends to see thousands of employees arriving on the labor market following layoffs. To find out if the game is worth the candle, we will have to wait for Apple to decide to make its first announcements around this project.
