Apple’s interest in the virtual reality market is not unknown. The apple company has already been working on various functions of this style on its devices, but today it has taken an important step, it has bought a company specialized in this technology and others such as streaming entertainment.
Next VR is now part of Apple. Both companies today announced the purchase of the first by the iPhone maker. Although for the moment neither of them has explained what are the main reasons that have prompted them to sign this purchase, the activities of Next VR so far augur very interesting future projects at Apple.
The company, based so far in Newport Beach, California, offers virtual reality sports content. Football matches, concerts, extreme diving experiences and many others through glasses such as the Oculus Quest. This service could be a great boost in several projects that Apple is currently developing.
On the one hand, there is the virtual reality technology that would combine with the disappeared augmented reality glasses that Apple has promised to its fans for a long time. These glasses seem to be delayed until 2022, enough time for the Next VR staff to settle at Apple and undertake various projects related to this field.
The word streaming also appears strongly in the repertoire of this company and acquires special relevance alongside the Apple TV platform. For now, Apple’s television content is limited to recorded series and programs that are having a very good reception, those of Tim Cook have not yet dared with live broadcasts, something that Next VR employees could help them with.
This startup has agreements with various sports leagues, including the National Basketball Association and entertainment networks like Fox Sports. Adding to the offer of Apple TV, live sports broadcasts and even 360-degree experiences could give an important boost to the platform compared to the rest of the streaming world.
Also keep in mind that, as indicated in 9to5Mac, NextVR has registered more than 40 patents related to these entertainment technologies, as a new method to more effectively rescale video in streaming video without losing image quality.
For the time being and until new projects are presented, we know that Apple has paid 100 million to acquire Next VR and that all its employees will join the rest of Apple’s staff in the Cupertino offices in one week.